Volvo Penta D6 DPH - Propeller replacement

DavidJ said:
How long are you going to keep your boat?
My SS props are 20 years old now and still good.
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That's a good question. I would like to think for at least a few more years, maybe longer.

The Nibral props from VP that were on it served me well. I'm curious to know if there are worthwhile performance gains with SS to justify the 2x cost.
 
FastMarkA said:
That's a good question. I would like to think for at least a few more years, maybe longer.

The Nibral props from VP that were on it served me well. I'm curious to know if there are worthwhile performance gains with SS to justify the 2x cost.
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As @SC35 says SS are thinner so less drag and also when I had mine (kindly upgraded by Sealine for free ….thanks Trevor B) I was told there was less flex with SS so hold their shape.
My guess is you may see a couple of knots more with SS
 
FastMarkA said:
I'm facing a similar scenario at the moment.

What's your opinion on SS vs Nibral?

At the moment, I'm wrestling with spending almost double for SS, versus Nibral which worked just fine for me over several seasons.
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Hello FastMark
sorry for late reply.

It is a little too early to confirm you if I am totally satisfied with SS propellers. Only time will tell me how long they will last.
Concerning speed: my mechanics told me that I was going to win at least 1knot, but I cannot confirm that.
To be honest, I had problems with antifouling this season as it was badly applied, so that alters any comparison with previous season.

One thing that I really like about SS props is that I have not applied any antifouling and thus I can keep them cleaned with just a regular scrab.
I can also do it in winter: just beach the legs and clean with a brush.

What size do you have?
I had G6 (Nibral) and I thus installed H6 SS
Some people say that you coud also go down one size, as SS are more rigid, flex less and thus they feel "longer".
 
Thes pics have been taken today. Boat not moving since 15days: props all covered with brown/greenish stuff.
After a 5min cleaning, they are shiny again.
 

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marcochi76 said:
Hello FastMark
sorry for late reply.

It is a little too early to confirm you if I am totally satisfied with SS propellers. Only time will tell me how long they will last.
Concerning speed: my mechanics told me that I was going to win at least 1knot, but I cannot confirm that.
To be honest, I had problems with antifouling this season as it was badly applied, so that alters any comparison with previous season.

One thing that I really like about SS props is that I have not applied any antifouling and thus I can keep them cleaned with just a regular scrab.
I can also do it in winter: just beach the legs and clean with a brush.

What size do you have?
I had G6 (Nibral) and I thus installed H6 SS
Some people say that you coud also go down one size, as SS are more rigid, flex less and thus they feel "longer".
Click to expand...

SUPER HELPFUL, thank you! This is what makes the global boating community so great.

I have G5s right now; which is interesting because my boat has the D6 330s as well. So I'd either go to the H5s, or another set of G5s...or perhaps ask Volvo expertise what it means to get G6/H6s?

I'm in fresh water, and the Nibrals do love to attract growth. But even still, with the Nibrals pushing a 27k lb boat, I snag 35-35.5 knots top end with a clean hull, and I'm absolutely ok with that. Of course, it's not always about top end, but when I cruise at ~2950RPM I'm at 28-29 knots. Totally satisfied with that.
 
on the brochure of portofino 40 it is stated that the boat has front and rear propellers of different size, to have the best torque and best max speed.
Is it really the case?
 
marcochi76 said:
on the brochure of portofino 40 it is stated that the boat has front and rear propellers of different size, to have the best torque and best max speed.
Is it really the case?
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I feel like I need to wire you some money for your research work!

I will look more closely at the item numbers engraved onto the props to see, but it would be quite a surprise for a boat manufacturer (Sunseeker) to assume the engineering responsibility for the engine/drive manufacturer (Volvo).

Will report back!
 
marcochi76 said:
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I would be very surprised if they were different sizes in terms of the Volvo prop number, and suspect this is wording adapted from Volvo and refers to the fact that one prop has 3 blades and the other has 4?
Mixing sizes is certainly a no-no as far as Volvo Penta guidelines go, and would prove a nightmare in the real world to manage, as if given the prop size from one prop I would certainly assume that both were the same and order a matched set
 
Andyroonot said:
I would be very surprised if they were different sizes in terms of the Volvo prop number, and suspect this is wording adapted from Volvo and refers to the fact that one prop has 3 blades and the other has 4?
Mixing sizes is certainly a no-no as far as Volvo Penta guidelines go, and would prove a nightmare in the real world to manage, as if given the prop size from one prop I would certainly assume that both were the same and order a matched set
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Exactly, while I'm long out of warranty, I could see this totally cancelling out any possibility of VP coverage right out of the factory. I agree with you, I believe the talking point shared with the press was grossly misinterpreted.

The VP rep is pushing the Nibrals over SS, so we are doing exact replacements of what was installed originally, using the part numbers right off the existing propellers.

The boat ran great with them, so taking the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach.
 
Andyroonot said:
I would be very surprised if they were different sizes in terms of the Volvo prop number, and suspect this is wording adapted from Volvo and refers to the fact that one prop has 3 blades and the other has 4?
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This ... the propellors in a size set are different sizes in the sense of being 4 blade / 3 blade with slightly different pitch.
But when ordering from Volvo, you order a "size set" e.g. H5 or J5 with the same size code for both.
Running front/rear props with different size codes is a no-no.
 
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