I run a bare prop. It does pucker you up in skinny water. When I built my boat, I made a decision that the drag of a keel and the prop induced vibes from it outweighed the benefit of the protection. My boat is dual purpose, lots of 7.5kts, but also capable of a 20kt cruise, and there the skin drag of a keel is significant.
If I ran exclusively at 7.5kts, I would have added a skeg keel.
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