Somewhat related thread [0] from last month about the "tipless" Sharrow MX-1 prop [1] which achieves efficiency gains of between 9-15% over comparable 3-blade propeller designs. They started out working on an aircraft propeller but pivoted to a watercraft prop. 0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33949895 1: https://www.mby.com/gear/sharrow-mx-1-tipless-propeller-1101...
I immediately questioned cavitation and that link delivered. That's INCREDIBLE. The only issue is the price of course. That looks like a perfect candidate for 3D printing and then machining the final part vs billet.
of course, [super]cavitation can do incredible things for efficiency through water as well. maybe even more-so!