What boat prop repair costs, and when a new prop makes more sense

By Boatwork Team•October 22, 2026•5 min read

A prop shop can fix most bent, nicked or even cracked propellers. The shop welds new material onto the damaged blades, reshapes them to their original geometry, re-pitches them and balances the prop. Typical repairs run about $100 to $150 for aluminum and $200 to $400 for stainless steel, according to BoatTEST. The exception is cheap die-cast aluminum, which usually isn't worth sending out.

What the shop does to your prop

The tech grinds, welds and shapes the blades back to form, then checks pitch. Pitch is how far the prop would move forward in one full turn, and a bent blade throws it off. Shops measure it with pitch blocks or a digital measuring device. After that, the prop is machine-balanced so it won't shake the drive.

Cracks take extra steps. The crack is ground out and welded, and then the blade is tested for other cracks with a probe or penetrating dye, none of which can be done at the dock. Most shops can also replace a spun rubber hub, the rubber insert that slips when it fails, so the engine revs but the boat barely moves.

Repair or replace, depending on the prop material

Prop material	Repairable?	Typical repair cost	Repair vs. new
Die-cast aluminum	Usually not; tends to break apart when straightened	Not worth quoting	Replace
Sand-cast aluminum	Yes, full repair	About $100–$150	Repair runs about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of new
Stainless steel	Yes	About $200–$400	New runs $400–$700, so repair is about half
Bronze / NiBrAl	Yes, including cracks, bends and missing tips, depending on blade thickness and condition	Depends on size and damage	A fraction of the original cost

Whether an aluminum prop is worth fixing depends on how it was cast. Die-cast props are brittle and usually break when straightened, so replace them. That's where the common advice to replace a damaged aluminum prop fits best. Sand-cast props are stronger and take a full repair for about a third to half the cost of new, according to Michigan Wheel. If you don't know which you have, the shop can tell you.

On stainless, a $200 to $400 repair against a $400 to $700 new prop works out to roughly half the cost of new.

Bronze props are usually NiBrAl (nickel-bronze aluminum) or older manganese bronze. They have the most repair life in them. Replacing one should be a last resort. A bronze prop in as-new condition can be re-pitched by up to 3 inches (BoatTEST), so a pitch problem alone rarely justifies a new one. What usually rules a bronze prop out is galvanic corrosion, thin blades, or damage too extensive to rebuild. Galvanic corrosion is the slow metal loss you get when dissimilar metals sit in salt water and the zincs aren't protecting the drive.

Running the 50% rule on a quote

Yamaha's Damaged Boat Prop 101 gives a working rule: if the repair costs more than 50 percent of the prop's value, buy a new one. With stainless props selling new for $400 to $700:

$700 prop: a $200 quote is well under half, so repair. A $400 quote is just over half, which is borderline. Shop around or ask what's driving the price.
$400 prop: a $200 quote is exactly half. Anything higher, and a new prop is the better buy.

Time off the water matters too. If the shop is backed up in season, a spare prop keeps you running while the damaged one is out.

What else to check after a prop strike

A hit hard enough to damage the prop can also bend the propeller shaft. Even a slightly bent shaft causes vibration that wears other driveline parts, so have a dealer or mechanic check it before you put the repaired prop back on. Otherwise you may blame the prop for a shake that's really coming from the shaft. On an inboard, that means checking the shaft and its coupling for runout, which often means hauling the boat. On outboards and sterndrives, the prop shaft sits in the gearcase, so have it checked there, look at the lower unit for leaking gear oil and check the skeg for damage. A broken skeg can usually be rebuilt by fabrication. If the strike reached the gearcase, our guide to outboard engine repair costs covers what that work runs.

If an inboard comes out for the shaft check, our guide on what drives a fiberglass bottom paint quote covers what to weigh if you fold the bottom into the same haul-out.

What to ask the prop shop before you hand it over

No filing of the blade edges. Filing reduces the prop's diameter and changes how it performs.
Before-and-after pitch reports. Many shops document a prop's shape with a scanner or pitchometer. The reports record pitch and tolerances and show the work was done to spec.
Balancing. Confirm the prop will be machine-balanced after the repair.
Crack testing. For bronze, or any blade with a visible crack, confirm the shop will dye-test or probe the rest of the blade.

Can I fix a bent prop myself, and where do I find a shop?

You can straighten a minor bend yourself as a temporary fix to get through the weekend. Broken blades, cracks and any damage that changes pitch need a shop with the presses, welding gear and measuring tools to do it right. When you get back to the dock, pull the prop and take it in.

The National Marine Propeller Association keeps a directory and map of member propeller facilities. Most marine dealers also send props out to a shop they already work with, so your dealer is a reasonable place to drop one off. On Boatwork, some local listings name prop repair as a service. Our Key West boat repair listings, for example, include prop repair among the services local pros offer.

On Boatwork you describe the job, choose which pros to contact, and compare the estimates they send. If the strike went past the prop and into the lower unit or shaft, read our boat engine repair cost guide first so you know what a complete estimate should cover.