When did your propeller last have a health check? 

Propellers are one of the forgotten items on a boat. They are positioned underneath the boat out in all the elements and as long as the propeller shaft goes round and the boat is propelled forward then the propeller must be OK, or is it? We see many propellers, mostly with some degree of damage which is why they have been brought to us in the first place. But we also see some just brought in for a clean up and check, what we discover can sometimes be very unexpected by the customer.

Take the propeller to the right, it looks like a good condition used propeller. To service this propeller we do the following:-

1. First we would check the general condition of the propeller. Is it a good colour and not going coppery brown (de zincified)? Does it have a good ring to it when it is tapped? If the propeller does not pass this test then the chances of making successful alterations or repair are diminished and in continued use on your boat also stands a chance of losing a blade if you were to hit an under water obstruction. If it passes this check then we go to step 2. 
2. We would then check the diameter of the propeller and pitch of each blade against what is stamped on the propeller. We have a special rig to put the propellers on to check this. We very seldom find a propeller that has all of its blades the same pitch; there can be as much as 1.5” difference in pitch between the blades. This means that the blade with the biggest pitch is doing all the work and you will not be getting the best performance out of your propeller. We would adjust each blade as necessary to make them the same as the stamped value on the propeller boss and equal to each other. 
3. If it passes the above 2 checks then we put the propeller on the balancer. It is quite common to find heavy blades which put’s the propeller out of balance causing unnecessary vibration and side load on the cutlass bearing. Blades that are heavy are ground down to remove excess material until the weight of each blade is the same. 

The propeller blades are then given an anti-singing edge. This stops any whining nose that can sometimes be heard at certain revs caused by the incorrect water flow past the trailing edge of the blades. 

Finally the propeller is cleaned up to give it that new look and is now ready for return back into service.

Is your propeller damaged? 

If it is found that your propeller is damaged like the example left or it may have tears in the blades then we are able to repair these as long as the propeller is in generally good condition and not de-zincified. We have the facility to straighten bent blades and weld up splits or tears. Any welding is ground back flush and blended into the blade. There may be a slight colour difference between the weld and the original material but once cleaned up is usually hardly noticeable.

How can we help?

Repair

We can repair most fixed blade propellers up to 78 3/4” (2 metres) diameter within our workshops. We can repair bronze, aluminium and stainless propellers. Aluminium propellers do depend on damage and condition as we do find that the repair cost usually comes close to the cost of a new propeller, we can of course quote for a new replacement propeller. 

We can normally offer a quick turn round on propeller repairs, usually within days compared to weeks with the larger companies offering the same service. This keeps the down time on your vessel to a minimum and you don’t have to suffer with bad vibration or loss of power. 

We may be able to help with your folding or feathering propeller problems. These may not be repaired in house, but we do have the contacts for most manufacturers. 

New 

We can offer advice on the correct size and type of propeller for your boat/application and quote to supply a new propeller if required. We have a certain number of popular sized propellers in stock up to 19” diameter which are pilot bored and can be finished with the correct taper and keyway to fit your shaft within 2 hours if you are in a rush. Larger or special propellers can be sourced and ordered in.

Whether you require a general health check to see if you propeller is performing at its best and its condition or you need a repair give us a call we are here to help.