prop damage

[wake4life6]

Today I unloaded my boat on a new launch and it was to shallow my prop ran through some loose gravel it nicked up the edges of my prop. I don't know if I need to repair it or not no vibrations at all everything seems 100% normal but obviously don't want to mess anything up just rough on the outer edge how can you tell if it needs to be redone?

[WakeSlayer]

RE: prop damage

I would not worry too much if you did not ding it up too badly. Obviously you want it perfect, but a good repair is expensive. You would want to send it to a shop that has a CNC machine to make sure it is true when they are done.

[AirTool]

Re: prop damage

Today I unloaded my boat on a new launch and it was to shallow my prop ran through some loose gravel it nicked up the edges of my prop. I don't know if I need to repair it or not no vibrations at all everything seems 100% normal but obviously don't want to mess anything up just rough on the outer edge how can you tell if it needs to be redone?

From Delta Prop, order a new one the same as yours if your prop spec is perfect or tweak for another case. Put it on and send your old one to ACME in the box your new one came in and let them fix it better than anyone else will. If there are no tears, they can probably tell you the repair cost and freight by email. bweeks@acmemarine.com

I had my 422 repaired by one of the finest prop shops on the Port of Houston and they could have done better in my opinion. I know acme wouldn't have given it back to me the way that shop did. I think I paid the local show 130 bucks. I wasn't that bad to start...should have just kept it as a spare.

If you don't have two props....you should get a spare...before not having one ruins your day...or entire vacation.

[Mikeski]

RE: Re: prop damage

Wakejunky had a horrible experience sending his props to Acme for repair. They just send them out to a repair shop anyway. He sent two Acme props in for repairs, the repaired props vibrated worse after the repairs.

They don't re-mill the CNC props, all prop repairs are done by bending, welding, hammering the blades then polishing and balancing. Any Acme prop without the cnc corduroy is a prop that has been repaired.

These days I just do my own minor prop repairs and keep the damaged-repaired props as a spare. I have had a few bad repair jobs myself, so bad I decided that I can just do a better job myself using a molding gauge and taking my time. Some body hammers, a good file and lots of patience is all it takes.

[SkiTower]

Re: RE: Re: prop damage

These days I just do my own minor prop repairs and keep the damaged-repaired props as a spare. I have had a few bad repair jobs myself, so bad I decided that I can just do a better job myself using a molding gauge and taking my time. Some body hammers, a good file and lots of patience is all it takes.

I'm highly impressed when I hear someone fixing their own prop. My second 'ding' was at a remote location. I didn't want it to ruin my weekend and found a 'local' prop shop that was super nice and dropped what they were doing and fixed it. It looked GREAT. However, once I ran it, my wife and I noticed a slight vibration at high speeds. My thought was the shaft was bent. Took it to Whitelake when I had the chance and after looking at it they said the prop wasn't exactly right. They sent it out to their guy to fix and the problem was solved.

I have no opinion of ACME, but WL's guy is on the money. But as stated above, it won't have the cnc corduroy.

[Zigzag55k]

prop damage

I do not encourage home prop repairs unless you have the tools for the repairs and know the specs for your prop. Many prop repair guys can actually make your prop better and make it perform to your specific guidelines. With that said I've also seen many prop repairs where the prop was cut down to make for a cheap and quick repair. I cringe every time I hear or see this happen. Now with that said you get what you pay for. Most four blade Nibral prop repairs should land in the 130 to 150 range depending on welding and balancing.

Prop shops have gauges designed for props, blocks that fit your specific prop, leather hammers for hammering the prop to the block and leather shims for fine tuning. Obviously they will have welding equipment the welding rods for nibral are not cheap. Most importantly they can balance a prop and yes some prop shops charge extra for this, it is not including in the repair at some shops. Make sure they are balancing no balancing equals buying tires for your vehicle without balancing (it will vibrate like crazy).

A good way to find a prop shop is find out where the stainless bass boats props are being repaired. Hopefully they will have the inboard blocks and be willing to do your prop. Bass boats guys are very sensitive to props so they demand perfection. A good prop shop will know the formulas that make your prop work and they can and will make your prop better. Many of the formulas can be found in a book called the Propeller Handbook written by David Gerr. This is a great book to read if you want to understand theories and formulas.

My last thoughts are never try to fix your prop with pliers. Good props guys do not like this and most will hand your prop right back to you. CNC props are great but only good for two repairs on average due to tips being so thin. Most importantly know your WOT rpms with the prop you want repaired so a prop guy can fix correctly. This way he can use formulas to tweak to your results such as hole shot, more top speed or less rpms at certain mph through the slalom course.

Mark Q

[NCH2oSki]

RE: prop damage

I have had really good service at reasonable prices from these guys. http://etnpropeller.com/ They have blocks for just about any inboard ski boat prop, and balance them as part of the repair.

[gride300]

RE: prop damage

i spoke with some one at acme and he told me they send them to someone. i know former secc does good prop repair as i badly dented a friend's 196 prop putting it in the lift and they did a nice job or whomever they sent it to did.

[AirTool]

Re: RE: Re: prop damage

Wakejunky had a horrible experience sending his props to Acme for repair. They just send them out to a repair shop anyway. He sent two Acme props in for repairs, the repaired props vibrated worse after the repairs.

That is disappointing.

There are two major prop shops in Houston. I'll try the other one next time.

Hopefully, there won't be a next time.

[Mikeski]

RE: Re: RE: Re: prop damage

I guess I should qualify my home brew prop repairs. I am very particular about my props, I rarely run any prop that has been modified in any way. I will run a repaired prop as a backup to save a weekend if I damage my main prop. On my 211 I have two props, an Acme 1234 and an Acme 1160, the 1160 is my main prop, the 1234 is my heavy load or high altitude prop. If I damage one I will swap in the other as my spare. I doubt I will ever repair either of these for permanent use. If I dink a rock at the shore or bump a submerged stick leaving a slight tweak in a blade I will try to repair it myself. I did this with my 380, I got lucky and it ran perfectly. When I wanted more out of the 380 a took it to Bay Propeller in Alameda, CA. They claimed they could make it better for me by reducing pitch and adding cup, I paid them $180 to do more damage than good. On return the prop just did not run out well at all, it ran smooth from a balance standpoint but it was noisy, almost as if there was some constant cavitation at running speeds. One weekend I tried my buddies 644 and it worked much better so I started my string of prop upgrades that is now 7 props deep.

I feel that props need maintenance. After a few seasons they get dull and pick up minor flaws. Most of these flaws can be removed with a file or sandpaper. I also sharpen my props every winter, this keeps the boat running smooth and quiet. I don't go crazy, I just take a bit off the backside of the leading edge of each blade, doing my best to keep things even so I don't throw off the balance.

My buddy has an older MB direct drive that I use as my slalom boat. It had a non-cnc OJ with minor tweaks on all the blades. I just repaired the little tweaks, filed, and sanded it back into decent shape. Even with the minor tweaks it did not runout too bad. It's runs perfectly acceptable after my repair, although I did find a screaming deal on a new old stock prop so we are running the new one now, and keeping the repaired prop as the spare.

If you really want to know what is going on with your prop search for a "prop scan" repair shop. They will scan your prop before and after the repair. Each blade will be tuned within a very close tolerance. Typically repairs of this nature run in the $250 range but they claim they run better than new.

[SkiTower]

RE: Re: RE: Re: prop damage

Excellent explanation Mikeski. My comments were not to you specifically but I've heard comments like that several times. I can understand the types of stuff you're doing. But when you go to fix a ding, that's another story. My first busted prop was so bad it couldn't be fixed. My second was a ding but didn't like the vibration in the boat. My third was so slight it took a while to detect it. All had to be professionally fixed (the first was just replaced).

[2gofaster]

Re: RE: prop damage

i spoke with some one at acme and he told me they send them to someone. i know former secc does good prop repair as i badly dented a friend's 196 prop putting it in the lift and they did a nice job or whomever they sent it to did.

I've got an email from Bill Weeks at Acme from a few months ago that says they do their own repairs in house unless they need welding.