by Captain Ray Teel
Most anglers and boaters keep their engines and onboard systems in good working order, but many are guilty of taking their props for granted. They allow the marina to send them out year after year without ever talking to the prop shop or requesting documentation of the propellers condition before and after the repair. They figure "it ran ok last year, so why not just leave it the same." This might be alright if you use your boat as a "floating condo," but if you run your boat 50 or more hours a year chances are you could be doing much better with regards to performance and fuel efficiency.
Looks can be deceiving when it comes to propellers. A new or reconditioned prop may look beautiful to the naked eye, but is it as good as it looks? In short, the answer is "no." Propellers that are reconditioned by conventional means are far from perfect. In fact, even new propellers right out of the box lack the fine-tuned accuracy that ultimately leads to peak performance.
If even new propellers right from the box can cause vibration and rob a boat of top fuel efficiency, then what can be done? Enter Prop Scan—the revolutionary electronic propeller inspection system. Developed in Australia in 1980, the Prop Scan system was introduced to the United States in 1995. It is a technology that has caused quite a stir in the propeller industry.
What sets the Prop Scan system method of propeller repair apart is the fact that it is exact, setting the progression of the pitch and camber from root to tip, and from leading edge to trailing edge at ISO 484-2 Standards (see Fig.1) that are within one-thousandth of an inch. Unlike the "old school" method, blade pitch is not measured from two points on a single radius or with a pitch block. Prop Scan measures up to 10 radii and 16 local areas along each blade using a sensor probe and computer. Each blade on a propeller can be measured in approximately 600 points. Measurements are taken progressively along radii, starting from the hub to the blade tip. It also ensures uniform section shape.
This accuracy is repeated from one blade to the next. The result is a propeller that has perfect pitch, camber and shape on all of its blades. A propeller that has every part of the blade working for you, with the least amount of slippage possible! In addition, if propellers are damaged after Prop Scan modifications have been made, they can be reconditioned again and brought back to the same perfectly tuned condition. The Prop Scan computer keeps a data base of all customers’ propeller designs.
Why then is a perfectly tuned propeller so important? With every part of the propeller working for you in unison and with the least amount of slippage possible, most customers notice a decrease in fuel consumption from 1 to 6 gallons per hour at cruise!
This high-tech method of tuning props has also solved multiple engine synchronization and load problems (both of which can waste fuel) for many boaters. With the advent of electronically controlled engines, load and GPH gauges quickly point out an in-efficient wheel. Prop Scan tunes and perfectly matches sets of propellers, which provides equal loading of engines for maximum performance. Prop Scan works with all types of propellers. The computer software is loaded with every prop design imaginable. Compared to the old pitch-block method of fixing props, the cost is very competitive and the results are far better.
So what does all this mean in layman’s terms? If your props are being reconditioned each year at a traditional pitch-block shop, you are not getting optimum fuel efficiency-period.
Looks can be deceiving when it comes to propellers. A new or reconditioned prop may look beautiful to the naked eye, but is it as good as it looks? In short, the answer is "no." Propellers that are reconditioned by conventional means are far from perfect. In fact, even new propellers right out of the box lack the fine-tuned accuracy that ultimately leads to peak performance.
If even new propellers right from the box can cause vibration and rob a boat of top fuel efficiency, then what can be done? Enter Prop Scan—the revolutionary electronic propeller inspection system. Developed in Australia in 1980, the Prop Scan system was introduced to the United States in 1995. It is a technology that has caused quite a stir in the propeller industry.
What sets the Prop Scan system method of propeller repair apart is the fact that it is exact, setting the progression of the pitch and camber from root to tip, and from leading edge to trailing edge at ISO 484-2 Standards (see Fig.1) that are within one-thousandth of an inch. Unlike the "old school" method, blade pitch is not measured from two points on a single radius or with a pitch block. Prop Scan measures up to 10 radii and 16 local areas along each blade using a sensor probe and computer. Each blade on a propeller can be measured in approximately 600 points. Measurements are taken progressively along radii, starting from the hub to the blade tip. It also ensures uniform section shape.
This accuracy is repeated from one blade to the next. The result is a propeller that has perfect pitch, camber and shape on all of its blades. A propeller that has every part of the blade working for you, with the least amount of slippage possible! In addition, if propellers are damaged after Prop Scan modifications have been made, they can be reconditioned again and brought back to the same perfectly tuned condition. The Prop Scan computer keeps a data base of all customers’ propeller designs.
Why then is a perfectly tuned propeller so important? With every part of the propeller working for you in unison and with the least amount of slippage possible, most customers notice a decrease in fuel consumption from 1 to 6 gallons per hour at cruise!
This high-tech method of tuning props has also solved multiple engine synchronization and load problems (both of which can waste fuel) for many boaters. With the advent of electronically controlled engines, load and GPH gauges quickly point out an in-efficient wheel. Prop Scan tunes and perfectly matches sets of propellers, which provides equal loading of engines for maximum performance. Prop Scan works with all types of propellers. The computer software is loaded with every prop design imaginable. Compared to the old pitch-block method of fixing props, the cost is very competitive and the results are far better.
So what does all this mean in layman’s terms? If your props are being reconditioned each year at a traditional pitch-block shop, you are not getting optimum fuel efficiency-period.
