spurs v stripper

boatmike

boatmike

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My Moody 35 will shortly come out of the water and have new 3 blade feathering prop fitted (featherstream). I also intend to fit a rope cutter and its a toss up between SPURS and Ambassador Stripper. SPURS slightly cheaper but I want to fit the best performing kit rather than the cheapest. Anyone with experience of either, your opinions of pros and cons would be welcome. Thanks in advance for your contributions!
 
Stripper every time. More effective cutting action (like a pair of pinking shears) and made out of 316 stainless. Spurs is not as it relies on the blade being hardened and sharp to cut and that can't be done with 316 (Spurs has an anode because of the galvanic action between the cutter and the shaft).

Have a look under boats laid up for the winter and you will see something like 10:1 in favour of Stripper.
 
Tranona said:
Stripper every time. More effective cutting action (like a pair of pinking shears) and made out of 316 stainless. Spurs is not as it relies on the blade being hardened and sharp to cut and that can't be done with 316 (Spurs has an anode because of the galvanic action between the cutter and the shaft).

Have a look under boats laid up for the winter and you will see something like 10:1 in favour of Stripper.
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Thanks T. I was leaning in that direction anyway but good to get opinions. Apart from what you say the Stripper seems to be a little more robust than the SPURS which might well be an issue if something a bit heavier than rope is encountered. Interested to hear any stories from anyone encountering fouling where the rope cutter saved the day though.
 
I have heard of a Spur breaking an arm off, but never any problem with a Stripper. To me there is no choice better than a Stripper. Unfortunately my boat came with a disc cutter and I cannot justify changing it in my own mind. May be if it des not handle a fishing float line, then I will change it to a Stripper.
 
A downside for both the Spurs and the Stripper is that the P-bracket wall has to be sufficiently robust to ensure the holding block stays put. Some Sadler owners have had problems with losing the block during cutting. Vyv Cox, I believe, had this happen twice. The owner of Ambassador Stripper recommends tapping also (carefully) into the cutlass bearing wall if further depth is needed.
 
Yes, if you use a flat bottom tap you can feel when you get through the shell and touch the rubber. The Moody has a much more substantial p bracket than the one used by Sadler.
 
I have a Featherstream prop and when I spoke to Darglow recently about some new anodes they told me that they now produce their own version of the Stripper, called the HydroAxe. Looks very similar. I have a Stripper and am happy with it.
 
Poey50 said:
A downside for both the Spurs and the Stripper is that the P-bracket wall has to be sufficiently robust to ensure the holding block stays put. Some Sadler owners have had problems with losing the block during cutting. Vyv Cox, I believe, had this happen twice. The owner of Ambassador Stripper recommends tapping also (carefully) into the cutlass bearing wall if further depth is needed.
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Yes I confirm this. I lost two fixed blades from my Stripper. At the time of the first one the P-bracket was suspect due to dezincification. I replaced the P-bracket and tapped the holes for the Stripper very carefully. Not long afterwards a 16 mm warp fell overboard and the fixed blade ripped out of the new P-bracket, which incidentally was more substantial than the original.

I believe that Ambassador can supply a collar for P-brackets to improve the strength of the fastening.
 
vyv_cox said:
.I believe that Ambassador can supply a collar for P-brackets to improve the strength of the fastening.
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I did enquire about this with the owner / distributor. He had considered it but the variety of P-brackets made it uneconomic to pursue. He is aware of some home-made versions but said that they tend to be quite agricultural.
 
The problem with P brackets is that they are usually barrel shaped rather than straight sided like GRP tubes and some of the thin cutless housings. With the normal block you get adjustment from the foot screws to cope with taper.
 
vyv_cox said:
Yes I confirm this. I lost two fixed blades from my Stripper. At the time of the first one the P-bracket was suspect due to dezincification. I replaced the P-bracket and tapped the holes for the Stripper very carefully. Not long afterwards a 16 mm warp fell overboard and the fixed blade ripped out of the new P-bracket, which incidentally was more substantial than the original.

I believe that Ambassador can supply a collar for P-brackets to improve the strength of the fastening.
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We lost ours this year, pulled right out of the p bracket fixing. I know of another S34 that has lost theirs twice too.
 
With the Ambassador stripper it's important regularly to check the play/clearance between the fixed and moving parts, and replace the nylon(?) bushes between them as necessary. If the metal parts start to rub together, they make a loud rattling sound and have to be entirely replaced (they aren't cheap!). Some waters around the UK are particularly abrasive and the bushes don't last more than a year.
 
I have the stripper on a Moody 33mk2. Works well, firstly on my 12mm genoa sheet and secondly on a large plastic sheet when motoring across the North Sea to Holland. Going alternatively forward and reverse eventually cut it up but we were tossing up who was going swimming beforehand....
 
Useful thread- I hadn't realised that these were two different products! Explains why I couldn't find a replacement anode for mine, turns out I don't have an Ambassador after all...
 
Kelpie said:
Useful thread- I hadn't realised that these were two different products! Explains why I couldn't find a replacement anode for mine, turns out I don't have an Ambassador after all...
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That is a bit confusing. It is only Spurs that need an anode for the reasons I mentioned above. Very easy to tell the difference. Spurs blades are shaped like spurs - hence the name and the reason for their weakness as pointed out by Concerto and Strippers are serrated tapered blades like pinking sheers. The only commonality is that they both have a fixed and a rotating blade(s).
 
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