I am told that a hole shot is the time it takes to accelerate onto a plane, and that a stainless prop, although more expensive, will in fact add a bit to top speed. (jfh)
One person with experience working in a marina offers this somewhat strongly worded opinion:
SS props. The yahoos always use them. I believe they are stronger and slighly thinner, thus reducing the resistence and maybe increaseing both acceleration and top speed. However, they are 3X as expensive, harder to repair when you whack them, and are more frequently unrepairable. I suggest having 2 aluminums at different sizes/pitches (one for high-tailing around with a light load, one for skiing/heavy loads). This 1) gives you a spare when you need it. 2) gives you incentive to clean the area when you swap them. 3) gives you better performance overall.