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I think joedag1 has made the right decision to put the Mercury Trophy Sport 4 blade performance prop on his Merc 40 powered Whaler. At $249 delivered, it's only $49 more than the 3 blade aftermarket Stiletto prop.

I doubt if a propeller operation like Mercury runs has not covered the field with necessary props for their line of 4-stroke 40, 50 and 60 HP engines.

The original poster here has complained about poor acceleration from his 4-stroke engine with 3 blade aluminum prop. Afterall, we know that 4-stroke engines can be slower on acceleration, and we also know that 4 blade props are faster on acceleration than 3 blade versions. Which is why Mercury has recently intorudced a 4 blade aluminum prop called Spitfire for the 40-60 HP engines, for which they say improves acceleration with no loss of top speed. So within the realm of aluminum, this 4- blade prop should be a top performer.

We also know that their top-of-the-line prop for the 40-60 HP engines is the 4 blade Trophy Sport, and we see joedag1 is reporting faster acceleration and great top end on his 130 Whaler. Obviously, Mercury knew what they were doing here, producing their performance line for this size in 4 blades, not 3. They could have very easily made a 3 blade "Laser II Sport" if needed. Clearly they determined that a 4 blade model was the way to go for high performance on a 40-60HP 4-stroke, not 3 blade. This is also probably why the 4 blade aluminum was brought out.

For these 4-stroke 40-60hp engines (and the same block Yamaha 40-70's), they are basically telling us 4 blades is the way to go.

So my recommendation to the O.P. would be to use the 4 blade aluminum Spitfire @ $149 if cost is an issue, or the performance Trophy Sport at $249 for the best all around performance. You can mail order them direct from jacosmarine.com at the listed prices.