Stripper vs Spurs

[asj1]

Thinking of fitting one of the above propshaft stripper attachments to my Fulmar with a 3 blade fixed prop with Bukh 20hp engine. Does anyone have thoughts on which of these two systems is better and / or easier to fit and maintain

The Stripper certainly looks the more robust system but appears to be about 20% more expensive -- is it worth it.

 

[stevebirch2002]

Hi

I can only give my personal opinion but the stripper is a piece of cake to fit, very robust, the company are very helpful and comes top in the magazine tests. I know it is more expensive but I think it is well worth it. IMHO

 

[TigaWave]

Have you had a look at the new cutter? QuicKutter from Australia, the RNLI are trialling them on their new offshore boat.
quickutter.com

 

[Guest]

I had stripper when bought boat .... even though spacer was knackered - it worked great.

When shaft etc. was changed - engineer threw away worn out bits and left it off ......... season later picked up net at Folly Inn ....

If I wasn't such a skinflint - I'd buy another !!!!

 

[asj1]

Interesting product - have you fitted it yourself? Has anyone?

 

[Prospero]

Yes I fitted a Spurs Cutter to my Tempest last year and it does work!. The job was easy and the instructions excellent and easy to follow. When they advise you to use a bottom tap for the mounting holes they mean it because there is no extra depth in the cut P bracket. I applied plenty of locktite in stick form to the bolts etc. and to date I am happy with the installation. Good luck it really is an easy job.

 

[TigaWave]

QuiKutters™ have been fitted to commercial fishing boats in the UK as well as several yachts and power boats. The RNLI chose to evaluate them last year on their new £2m Tamar class.

 

[jerryat]

Hi asj1,

I fitted a Spurs unit to my Fulmar some few years ago after a lot of 'research' into which of the two (Stripper or Spurs) to buy. I contacted the RNLI amongst others and asked for their advice, but they said they were not allowed to make recommendations. Fair enough. I then asked the chap what he would fit if were buying one for his own boat - Spurs!! They were then apparently using them on the RNLI boats in preference to the Stripper because the sharp edge (the Spurs is hardened s/s) kept sharper longer especially in shallow waters where there was a high concentration of sand/silt in suspension.

However, whether this was true or not, it occurred to me, as it has with many other items of American equipment, that the Yanks are so litigious (sp?) in nature, that they tend to over engineer many things just to be on the safe side.

Certainly, the same day I launched my boat with the new Spurs, the tide swept me over my 25mm nylon mooring strop and without thinking I shoved the motor into gear and promply chopped the damn thing clean in half!! THAT was brand new too! So I was sort p**sed off and pleased at the same time. The Spurs had worked so well (there was just the tiniest judder for a fraction of a second) that the first thing I noticed was my pick-up bouy heading downriver for the open sea!!

I know it's saved our prop on several other occasions, especially down the Portuguese coast with all the lobster pots, and the edges are as sharp now as they were when fitted. The only repair in about 10 years is a new set of plastic bearings.

Friends have the Stripper and are pleased with it, though none actually know it works. Well I KNOW mine does!!

Hope this helps
Cheers Jerry

 

[asj1]

Jerry,

Youv'e convinced me that the cheaper and less robust looking model is up to the job -- Any idea whether you had model A or B, both seem to do 1" prop shafts the difference is simply in the size of hub and blades with B being slightly larger.

Regards

 

[Robin]

We had a Stripper on our last boat which managed to clear a big plastic hessian like sack from our 3 bladed prop whilst motoring towards Ushant and in the lanes. It went on with a bang and SWMBO put it straight into neutral (I was asleep below), then we went forward & backwards a few times and it chewed it off. Later when we arrived and reversed in the anchor it bit another bit off, I dived on it and there was just a little strip left to show what it had been, a scallop bag I believe from a fishing boat.

We have a similar Stripper on our current boat which has a Brunton Autoprop and it too has done it's job well, witnessed by the chewed up debris when you pass through floating weed rafts in the Channel, many of which have bits of rope and nets tangled in them. In the early days of the Spurs, there was a problem with corrosion of the S/S which is a different grade to the Stripper I believe, needed in order to be sharpened more and to retain it's edge? The Stripper works in a different way and can be made in more corrosion resistant S/S? Maybe someone else can remember or knows the details, I know before I made our choice I looked at dozens of them around the boatyard before choosing the Stripper.

I guess they are both good, I know we wouldn't be without ours.

 

[asj1]

thanks Robin, opinion seems to be fairly evenly divided between the Spurs and the Stripper - it may come down to exactly which model I need an dthe relative cost.

regards

 

[hylass]

I have installed and used a Stripper since 13 years of long term navigation, I know that it works at several occasions.. and I can say that I'm fully satisfied with it..
But no experience with the Spurs..

 

[jerryat]

Hi asj1!

I believe mine is the 'B', though as I'm away from home at the moment, I can't check to be sure. Mine is a two 'bladed' one though, is very chunky and is incredibly sharp. I'm interested in Robin's reference to corrosion in the Spurs early versions, as this was EXACTLY what was told to me about the Stripper, which was then (maybe still is) made in 316 S/S which was a lot softer than the hardened Spurs stuff, hence the relatively easy loss of edge.

I'm sure all these things have been resolved over the years, and I doubt now whether there's much, if anything between them; it's a matter of personal choice.

For example, you will find the Spurs extremely quick at chopping up plastic sheeting, bags etc, though I cannot personally vouch for it's performance with nets, having never, to my knowledge, got involved with one! And long may that situation last!

Frankly, both units have their proponents and if either is properly fitted and maintained, I'm sure will look after you and your boat well.

Good luck with whichever you choose.

Cheers Jerry

 

[Robin]

Hi Jerry

I'm sure they must have resolved the corrosion problem from way back. I seem to remember when I bought our first Stripper which was probably 12 or more years back, looking at Spurs around the lay-up yards and they had a small S/S wire bridging 2 parts of the fixed part together and therefore linking with the anode system?? The rotating part would have been directly linked to the anode via the shaft it was clamped to. I seem to remember that Spurs were made from the kind of S/S that knives are made from ie can be sharpened and retain the edge, maybe this was 304 grade S/S versus 316 grade on the Stripper? In the examples I saw with corrosion the short S/S wire had been broken loose.

The man from Ambassador occasionally posts on here so maybe he will see this and pop up. The key thing though is that either seem to do the job required, the type I would have more reservations about would be the simple disc cutters, how well would they cope with plastic sheets etc?

Robin

 

[jerryat]

Hi Robin,

Yes, I can see your point re the s/s connecting earth/anode wire on the very early versions of the Spurs, particularly if this was broken or disconnected. This is now obsolete now of course and the thing is fitted with an anode. Don't know about the type of s/s knives are made of, though Spurs were, I'm sure, 'hardened' 316. I just wish MY s/s knives kept their edge that long!!

Entirely agree with you re those circular things. I just cannot see how they'd be efffective with plastic, rope or netting without the sort of scissor like 'chopping' action provided by Spurs and Stripper.

Cheers Jerry

 

[Colvic Watson]

What's the website for the Spurs anyone?

 

[asj1]

spurscutters.co.uk

 

[Colvic Watson]

Thanks!