Propeller Search.The wonder of Ebay.

[oldgit]

Been searching for replacement prop for sometime now after last lift out indicated that my rather motheaten port propeller really really was in dire need of scrapping..
Ringing round various prop suppliers,starting with the man round the corner and ending up with Vetus indicated that new would be the last resort. Several months searching with tightwad determination produced nothing,simply due to oddball fine pitch size needed for my boat and needing 4 blades
Loads of stuff with very coarse pitches but nothing even remotely tweakable for me.
My "new" prop arrived today all the way from USA it took about 10 days to arrive.Everything is now done automatically via ebays new shipping system,you click the mouse and ebay works out the shipping/customs and the price you click on gets it to your front door.
Vetus prop. £1400.
Basic new prop.£800.
Ebay prop £150.00 inc taxes and shippng.But shaft taper will need changing from imperial to metric by local prop shop..
Whars not to like ?

 

[rafiki_]

Good job!

 

[benjenbav]

Sounds like it was worth a bit of hunting around.

Out of pure curiosity, you mention tweakability. What's the process for changing the pitch? Is the whole thing basically heated and the blades bent? Obviously using specialised equipment, but is that how it's done?

 

[oldgit]

Sounds like it was worth a bit of hunting around.

Out of pure curiosity, you mention tweakability. What's the process for changing the pitch? Is the whole thing basically heated and the blades bent? Obviously using specialised equipment, but is that how it's done?

Basically thats it.
If your prop man knows what he is doing he can probably change pitch 4 or 5 inches,although some places will only go to a couple of inches.
They can also increase or reduce blade area and diameter of prop.
Mind you it can get to the stage when its simply cheaper to buy a new prop.

Can recommend this lot.
http://www.invicta-marine.com/

Loads of 25 P propellers of all sizes for fast planing craft around ,both 3 and four blade but I needed a 22" x 16.5P 4 blade prop and they are rarer than a Sealine owner with a sense of humour.

 

[julians]

Is the eBay prop a 'branded' but second hand prop,or is it of unknown provenance?

I guess I'm asking if you can be sure it is of the right quality?

 

[benjenbav]

Basically thats it.
If your prop man knows what he is doing he can probably change pitch 4 or 5 inches,although some places will only go to a couple of inches.
They can also increase or reduce blade area and diameter of prop.
Mind you it can get to the stage when its simply cheaper to buy a new prop.

Can recommend this lot.
http://www.invicta-marine.com/

Loads of 25 P propellers of all sizes for fast planing craft around ,both 3 and four blade but I needed a 22" x 16.5P 4 blade prop and they are rarer than a Sealine owner with a sense of humour.

Thanks. Always wondered.

 

[oldgit]

Is the eBay prop a 'branded' but second hand prop,or is it of unknown provenance?

I guess I'm asking if you can be sure it is of the right quality?

Most of the larger propellers on ebay will come with a bit of detail usually the makers name and brand name of the prop in question. In my particular case (Columbian Bronze Corp ) there was a choice of two, from long established well known makes.As the last propeller was bronze and lasted 20 odd years did not see much advantage in trying to seek out something made of more exotic materials.
Many are well known names throughout the world.
My only caveat was ending something from one of the chinese clone companies.While there is probably some good quality stuff from that part of the world ,caution would be a good idea.

 

[Greg2]

Bit of a result!
I often try the same approach but it doesn't always work. Tried the used route for a RIB/tender and bought a pup. Been hanging on for the right thing to come up but to no avail, so just ordered a very expensive brand new model. Don't want to look on eBay/Boatsandoutboards etc now! Hey ho, you win some lose some I guess.

 

[Latestarter1]

Most of the larger propellers on ebay will come with a bit of detail usually the makers name and brand name of the prop in question. In my particular case (Columbian Bronze Corp ) there was a choice of two, from long established well known makes.As the last propeller was bronze and lasted 20 odd years did not see much advantage in trying to seek out something made of more exotic materials.
Many are well known names throughout the world.
My only caveat was ending something from one of the chinese clone companies.While there is probably some good quality stuff from that part of the world ,caution would be a good idea.

Your choice was spot on, boaters in the U.S. far more particular than Europe, no duds from there.

Interestingly stuff out of China is excellent likewise South Korea, ZF Faster propellers come out of Taiwan and have some remarkable characteristics, however they are surprisingly more expensive than stuff out of Clements, Teignbridge or Radice of Italy.

Watch out propellers used to come from Philippines and required some care in sourcing as some companies in Europe notably in Holland import blanks from Philippines and hand finish, even this stuff is hard to fault.

Choice of bronze for your application is fine, only planing boats with high blade loadings require Nibral.

Nice to see with some thought you had a deal.

PS are you absolutely certain you will need to re-machine taper? U.S SAE J755standard is widely used Worldwide however 1 in 12 more popular in UK where 1 in 16 is a bit backyard, in the US opposite applies. Alan Burnard designer of Fairey had a preference for 1 in 16 and considered using 1 in 20 without a key-way.