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brwn234
09-18-2009, 11:51 AM
My Bravo I 4 blade is looking a little old. No major damage but it's got some pits, knicks, burrs, etc. on the leading edge. What are my options? Should I just leave it alone? Or should I just let it go? Anybody know a good prop guy in Northern VA?

mrfixxall
09-18-2009, 12:36 PM
My Bravo I 4 blade is looking a little old. No major damage but it's got some pits, knicks, burrs, etc. on the leading edge. What are my options? Should I just leave it alone? Or should I just let it go? Anybody know a good prop guy in Northern VA?


i have one but not in va,,ive been using DAH for many years and gets it rite the first time,you could ship your prop to him on the off season and he will do it rite hands down:)

http://www.dahpropellers.com/

DonziBuoy
09-18-2009, 02:13 PM
I have a bronze prop, and split one of the blades so badly I thought it was junk. a company I used through my marina, located in Brooklyn, which refurbished it better than before - cost me about $130.

I never seen this quality before and I have increased my speed, while having a smoother ride.

if you like I will get you the number.

Jim

brwn234
09-18-2009, 03:36 PM
i have one but not in va,,ive been using DAH for many years and gets it rite the first time,you could ship your prop to him on the off season and he will do it rite hands down:)

http://www.dahpropellers.com/

I planned on having any work done over the winter. How much should I expect to pay?

MOP
09-18-2009, 04:06 PM
S&S Propellers near NY city and Bossler & Sweezy out on Long Island are both very good, I have been using them since I had dark hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
S&S has the computer balancing machine, I have seen some interesting gains in speed on big boats not sure what gains could be expected on our stuff.

DonziBuoy
09-18-2009, 07:14 PM
They did my propeller, put in the size of the boat, the ratio, hp, and my propeller is significantly better - They can even push out a greater or lesser pitch - this is what I was told for my bronze.

The only thing I am having a problem with is I think I am catching air past 4000 rpm, so I am thinking of making the prop slightly smaller in diameter and a little more cup. It really is amazing what they can do.

Jim

mrfixxall
09-18-2009, 07:35 PM
I planned on having any work done over the winter. How much should I expect to pay?

usually a 3 blade is 200-225,4 blade 225-250,,includes fixxing the chips or dings,ballance the prop,straighten blade serfaces,mirror polish and knife edging(option) if you want it..tell john what you want out of your boat and he will do it,if you have any issues with his work which i havnt,been perfect every time john will rework it for free..

Dr. David Fleming
09-19-2009, 11:45 AM
Before I got into Donzi I did a lot of antique mahognay speedboats. My favorites were the old outboards. Many of the engines from 75 or more years ago used a Michigan Wheel which was made in Grand Rapids. They were bronze two and three blades. These could be easily rebuilt today by the average propellor shop who also could add a lot of new tricks like "cupping" the trailing edge of the blade to hold down engine rpm.

Michigan Wheel could also supply a modern propellor for an antique if you called them. Oddly, reducing the diameter of the prop didn't seem to effect the performance but they were very sensitive to pitch. 70 year old propellors often have been rebuilt many times and the diameter of the prop and size of the blades gets worked down in size. When I had them rebuilt they always worked as they should.

Aluminum props are also easy to repair by welding.

A good propellor shop can usually fix a shot prop if no new ones are available. They can change the pitch of the blades also, although they usually didn't like to lower or raise a propellor pitch by more than 1". Take a 12x17 which is 12" dia and 17" pitch. This prop could easily go to 12x16 or 12x18 and could be stretched more if absolutely necessary but the blades start getting too twisted.

Bronze is the old traditional propellor material and is extremely repairable.

Today Mercruiser aluminum propellors are almost a throw away but can be rebuilt. Stainless steel is extremely workable and repairable but if the damage is bad enough it may be cheaper to just go new. B-blades and Merc Racing offer repair for their lab finish racing props.

Your local marina should be able to put you in touch with someone local in your area as it is pretty common for folks to tear them up.

Dr. d

mrfixxall
09-19-2009, 03:36 PM
one of my customers got his 4 blade fixed from DAH,heres some pics,you be the judge :)

first 2 are the dammaged prop..