propeller protection

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pioneer

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I know this subject has been discussed before and there are champions for any number of solutions, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience of coating the prop (manganese bronze) with Sudocrem. I know it's really for nappy rash but I read on one of these forum things that Destiin by Johnson was good and that's also a nappy rash cream. The author of the advice was saying that it's the high zinc oxide content that discourages marine growth and the Lanolin content means it's very sticky so sticks to the prop.
Just wondering what the combined brains of the ECP thought?

Adrian
 
Last year I tried coating the folding prop with Blakes waterproof grease. In Chatham Maritime Marina it is a low fouling area, and did not get scrubbed until lift out. The prop was covered with barnicles, but still opened easily.

This year I am trying Propshield. When talking to the manufacturer, he said it should last all season as it is based on Lanolin. Only time will tell this year. It might seem expensive, but he said that the small tub would last 4 seasons.
 
20 years ago I bought a 750ml tin of a water based AF, can't remember if it was Blakes (as was) or International in order to paint the enormously expensive bronze transducer that us WBO's are supposed to use. The annual amount this uses is miniscule and I also put it on t'prop where it keeps all barnacles and slime at bay. 'Tin' has long since rotted away and the remains live in a large Ragu glass jar and are ceremonially brought out each April for the annual 'how do I get the lid off this' competition. So far I have won the competition and it continues to work. Why? I have no idea.
 
The only successful product I have used in West Mersea (and has been confirmed by others) is brush on International Trilux 33. For the last two years since fitting the Autoprop, I was "flim flammed" into using a product (also called Prop Shield) based on silicone which was meant to be good for 2 years... It wasn't despite being applied by the UK agent, who as a result of the failure offered me a free go for the second year, as they thought it may have been due to the prop being brand new. Sadly it was just as bad, so this year it's back to Trilux 33. My regime is at least 3 coats of underwater primer on prop and shaft followed by as many coats as I can get on (at least 5) before launch. On the shaft over the last two years when the Silicone based product was on the prop, Trilux 33 has still been first class...
 
Concerto said:
This year I am trying Propshield. When talking to the manufacturer, he said it should last all season as it is based on Lanolin. Only time will tell this year. It might seem expensive, but he said that the small tub would last 4 seasons.
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We have used Propshield on our current boat for the past nine years. It is a kind of sealed silicon coating and not anything like antifoul. When we come out of the water each time (every two years) it has been untouched and the prop is free of growth/barnacles etc.
We were told it would last three years but as we are out every other year, have had it replaced each time.
 
I use trilux (spray) / udder ointment / regular use.

Between the 3 seem to work a treat, don't usually get anything more than a slime on the saildrive/prop.
 
wingdiver said:
We have used Propshield on our current boat for the past nine years. It is a kind of sealed silicon coating and not anything like antifoul. When we come out of the water each time (every two years) it has been untouched and the prop is free of growth/barnacles etc.
We were told it would last three years but as we are out every other year, have had it replaced each time.
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For clarity here, there are two very similarly named products, Prop Shield (two words) and Propshield. The former is grease based, the latter is silicone based, two component two pot expensive product.

I tried lanolin years ago, I might just as well have put on barnacle feed...
 
The only thing that i have found to work well and last the full season (swinging mooring on the Medway) is Peller Clean by Seajet. The kit consists of two coats of an epoxy primer and then several coats of a silicone based topcoat. Any fouling seems to fall off when you put the engine in gear. You have to follow the instructions exactly as temperature and time between coats seem critical, so I take the propeller home and do it on the kitchen table.

It is expensive (£44) but there is enough for several propellers in each kit.
 
Gladys said:
You think that is expensive? Propshield, the silicone version cost £150 for one prop, although the pack would have covered more it has no shelf life, so you effectively have to do all of them together
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I feel sufficiently sad about the money you are spending to off you a free go with my water based AF. I think I spent about a tenner twenty years ago on the small tin and I reckon I'll be gone before it is. £150 for AFing one prop, have ye all gone mad!
 
I have mostly used Orca, a lanolin product. It helps a bit, especially if we do a Baltic/Holland cruise. Last year I took the advice of someone in the yard and used Autoglym resin polish, which was useless and the prop was cruddy when we had to lift in early July. I am a bit reluctant to hide my prop with paint, but Trilux sounds promising since I use it on the saildrive leg and it is pretty clean when we come out.

I do keep Sucocrem handy, but only for use before colonoscopy, if you know what I mean.
 
25 years on the East Coast and have tried everything. Worst results by far have been lanolin and also udder cream. These products were clearly a rumour spread by the mollusc population on the lookout for a free meal which I foolishly provided. Highly polished props work well if constantly moving. Whilst stopped they provide a great resting place for crustaceans who prefer to lay abed then they refuse to leave. Best so far has been hard racing antifouling tho by half way through the season much has worn off. This year its the velux, 3 coats after the suitable primer. Will let you know how it performs.
Last week whilst performing the useless art of mollusc prevention a neighbour told me about the sailor who had his boat prop teflon coated. It never gathered a mollusc and I guess he could do the bacon and eggs on it without leaving a mark.
 
There is Lanolin and there is Anhydrous Lanolin. The latter does a fair job on my prop and a good job on my prop if I don't use it much. It is also good to separate two different metals if you don't like the mess of Duralac. I also use it to service my winches each year instead of lithium grease. It does get a bit stiff when the temperature drops below 10degC.
I bought a 1Kg tub about 8 years ago from a medical supplies company am just about due for a new one now. There is a rumour that Kiwis use it as a complete antifouling on the hull but I know a few Kiwis and not yet met one that can confirm the story. Of course New Zealand has so many sheep they may be just trying to find a use for one of the byproducts of wool production.
 
As a Kiwi I can confirm that we use sheep lanolin for antifouling and other marine tasks. So that no animals are harmed in the process it is normal to keep a couple of them on board and when drying out we use them like giant wet wipes on the hull. Usually one port side and one starboard. This procedure can also be carried out underway with ropes tied to the sheeps appendages followed by gentle pulling along the hull with frequent uplifts for the animals to breathe. The beauty of this approach to lubrication is that if you are ever low on engine oil, the whole sheep can be inserted through the dip stick hole direct into the sump and the lanolin will get you home.
For those who would like to use this approach from one of the worlds leading sailing nations I can supply the required sheep at a discount for forumites. Please be aware of poor copies from lesser developed countries as we have found that there are unscrupulous dealers selling Welsh sheep marked falsely as from New Zeeland.
 
Sinbad1951 said:
As a Kiwi I can confirm that we use sheep lanolin for antifouling and other marine tasks. So that no animals are harmed in the process it is normal to keep a couple of them on board and when drying out we use them like giant wet wipes on the hull. Usually one port side and one starboard. This procedure can also be carried out underway with ropes tied to the sheeps appendages followed by gentle pulling along the hull with frequent uplifts for the animals to breathe. The beauty of this approach to lubrication is that if you are ever low on engine oil, the whole sheep can be inserted through the dip stick hole direct into the sump and the lanolin will get you home.
For those who would like to use this approach from one of the worlds leading sailing nations I can supply the required sheep at a discount for forumites. Please be aware of poor copies from lesser developed countries as we have found that there are unscrupulous dealers selling Welsh sheep marked falsely as from New Zeeland.
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I don't believe this can be true, surely the hooves would scratch the gel-coat?
Regarding your failure with lanolin & udder cream, you realise that it has to be applied by druids at midnight with a full moon?
 
tillergirl said:
I feel sufficiently sad about the money you are spending to off you a free go with my water based AF. I think I spent about a tenner twenty years ago on the small tin and I reckon I'll be gone before it is. £150 for AFing one prop, have ye all gone mad!
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I realise I had gone mad at the end of season 1, but the prop was the thick end of £2k - and from a performance point of view worth every penny... Thanks for your kind offer Roger, I'm happy to be going down the Trilux route though, having already bought the tin.
 
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