For all those needing prop repair - DO NOT use ACME

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  • wakejunky
    Senior Member of PLANETNAUTIQUE
    • Jul 2003
    • 679

    • Ca

    • 2003 SAN

    For all those needing prop repair - DO NOT use ACME

    I have been given the run around, bullsh*t story line from these guys for the past 3 months.

    I've now had my props back to them twice. Each time, I can never seem to get the same story twice from them. These are the mis-leadings they have represented themselves during my dealings with them.

    1.) They do the prop repair - WRONG, they send it out. The guy I was dealing with, would say WE do the most ACME prop repairs in the business and WE inspect them yada, yada, yada. Well, come to find out, talking to this guy further, they they send them out to some third party repair shop . They only manufacture props there, no prop repair.

    2.) They said a week turn around time. WRONG. They have had my props in hand for more than 4 weeks. In fact they were promised to me 2 weeks ago.

    3.) They said they inspect them once they are returned from the repair shop. WRONG. When I got my props back the first time, it look like my 5 year old took a hammer to it. It was shoddy work. I brought the props to a "real" repair shop to have them prop scanned and the pitch was off on two of the four blades by more than .030" and then on my other prop the pitch was convex instead of concave and the pitch was off.
    I also got the WE can't inspect every prop that comes back because WE repair so many of them. WE do hundreds of props a month.

    4.) When questioning the shoddy work. It turned into the WE have a guy here that has 20 years experience, which sometimes turned into 25 and 30 depending on which time I talked to this guy. But, sometimes he doesn't always work on them and it might be somebody HERE who only has 4 or 5 years experience. So, this was his reason for the shoddy work.

    Am I pissed? You bet I am. I can't believe a company would represent themselves as they did and not to mention I've been out of commission for more than 2.5 months just waiting for them to get a couple of props repaired.

    Needless to say, I'll be taking my business somewhere else.

    Chris
  • AbunDiga909
    1,000 Post Club Member
    • Sep 2003
    • 2470

    • St. Louis, MO


    #2
    RE: For all those needing prop repair - DO NOT use ACME

    wakejunky, sorry to hear your story, stories like these get me pissed just reading them...

    Good luck in finding the right guy to fix the job, and a fair price, keep us updated w/ Acme...
    [color=blue][size=2][b]I Nautique, therefore I am.[/b][/size][/color]

    Comment

    • surroundsound64
      1,000 Post Club Member
      • Jul 2005
      • 2147

      • Longview, TX

      • 2018 230 1981 Ski Nautique

      #3
      Man, that's rediculious. Why is it so hard to find good service?! I mean, are they not getting paid enough? Are their rates not sufficient? If anything they are probably overpriced!!!

      I guess it all boils down to greed. Like a lot of business, they can make more money selling new stuff than repairing the old. Kinda sad.
      2018 SAN 230
      1981 Ski Nautique
      Sold - 2011 Sport 200V
      Sold - 2000 SAN

      Comment

      • NautiqueJeff
        A d m i n i s t r a t o r
        • Mar 2002
        • 16519
        • Lake Norman

        • Mooresville, NC

        • 2025 SAN G23 PNE 1985 Sea Nautique 1980 Twin-Engine Fish Nautique

        #4
        I must say I am kind of glad this got posted when it did. I have a prop on my desk ready to be shipped out to Acme for repair. I guess I'll just go local now.

        They do make great new props though.
        I own and operate Silver Cove Marine, which is an inboard boat restoration, service, and sales facility located in Mooresville, North Carolina. We specializes in Nautiques and Correct Crafts, and also provide general service for Nautiques fifteen years old and older.

        If we can be of service to you, please contact us anytime!




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        Comment

        • wakejunky
          Senior Member of PLANETNAUTIQUE
          • Jul 2003
          • 679

          • Ca

          • 2003 SAN

          #5
          I will give them that. They make nice props. I just wouldn't use them again for any repair.

          Chris

          Comment

          • Hollywood
            1,000 Post Club Member
            • Sep 2003
            • 1930

            • WIIL


            #6
            Lesson learned, repair your prop elsewhere from Acme. How many props do you go through a season? You're certainly increasing your chances at poor service the more props you damage...

            Comment

            • AirNautique211
              • Feb 2025
              • 316

              • Central Indiana


              #7
              Okay - here is my story. Last year I wiped out a prop at Lake Monroe (Indiana) on the rocks at Four Winds point. If you have been on Monroe, you know exactly where I am talking about. Anyway, I called Acme direct to order one (1) new prop and two (2) nuts the following Monday before leaving for a 2 week business trip in Chigago. When I retrurned from my trip my order had arrived - two (2) new props and one (1) nut. I checked my bill and the invoice - I was only charged for one (1) prop and two (2) nuts. I called Acme to discuss the issue, thinking it would be the right thing to do. I was told not to worry about it and that they would send me another nut. I said "are you sure?", they said don't worry about it. Well I never recieved the second nut, but still have two (2) brand new props - MD had my other prop fixed and it is still on the boat.

              I am not sure who I spoke to at Acme, but it's probably the repair guy!?! I am not complainin'.

              Comment

              • surroundsound64
                1,000 Post Club Member
                • Jul 2005
                • 2147

                • Longview, TX

                • 2018 230 1981 Ski Nautique

                #8
                Originally posted by AirNautique211
                Okay - here is my story. Last year I wiped out a prop at Lake Monroe (Indiana) on the rocks at Four Winds point. If you have been on Monroe, you know exactly where I am talking about. Anyway, I called Acme direct to order one (1) new prop and two (2) nuts the following Monday before leaving for a 2 week business trip in Chigago. When I retrurned from my trip my order had arrived - two (2) new props and one (1) nut. I checked my bill and the invoice - I was only charged for one (1) prop and two (2) nuts. I called Acme to discuss the issue, thinking it would be the right thing to do. I was told not to worry about it and that they would send me another nut. I said "are you sure?", they said don't worry about it. Well I never recieved the second nut, but still have two (2) brand new props - MD had my other prop fixed and it is still on the boat.

                I am not sure who I spoke to at Acme, but it's probably the repair guy!?! I am not complainin'.
                :shock: DUDE! That's awesome!!!!

                Moral of the story, when you buy new stuff from Acme, get just enough stuff that they get the order all screwed up!
                2018 SAN 230
                1981 Ski Nautique
                Sold - 2011 Sport 200V
                Sold - 2000 SAN

                Comment

                • wake_fun
                  1,000 Post Club Member
                  • Jul 2003
                  • 1330

                  • CA

                  • 1995 Super Sport

                  #9
                  I'm glad you posted this. I was ready to send out an ACME prop also............
                  Photo Album
                  Ballast Install 1
                  Ballast Install 2
                  Amp Install
                  PPass Install
                  Alternator Install

                  Comment

                  • Edwin
                    • Jul 2003
                    • 219

                    • St. Louis


                    #10
                    ACME issues...

                    Back when ACME hit the scene in 2001, I decided to give one a try on my boat. I talked with Bill Weeks, ended up ordering the prop he suggested. Long story short, it was way over propped for the boat. I sent it back, he sent me a lower pitch prop to try. Second prop still was too tall, sent it back as well. Took a few weeks of phone calls to get all the credits issued but got it squared away.

                    Fast forward to 3 weeks later, I get a charge from ACME that shows up on the credit card statement. Seems the rocket scientist who was entering orders just pulled up my previous order, backed out my ship to address and added the new customers' address, kept my credit card info, and shipped them a prop at my expense. Took a couple months to get that cleared up. Yellow_Flash_Colorz:

                    Comment

                    • AbunDiga909
                      1,000 Post Club Member
                      • Sep 2003
                      • 2470

                      • St. Louis, MO


                      #11
                      ACME issues...

                      Edwin, nice sig :grin: LOL
                      [color=blue][size=2][b]I Nautique, therefore I am.[/b][/size][/color]

                      Comment

                      • tab
                        • Sep 2005
                        • 2

                        • Lake of the Pines CA


                        #12
                        Any opinions on Michigan Wheel Ambush? TAB

                        Comment

                        • mdboats
                          • Apr 2004
                          • 64

                          • Indianapolis


                          #13
                          prop repair

                          Prop repair is an art form and here is what I look for in prop repair and this is what the consumer needs to know in regards to prop repair. You should know your boat, how it feels, what your WOT is in relation to speed, what your rpms are for desired speed. It helps if you have a quick reading GPS, slalom course with magnets & PP, use the same body of water and know your load capacity when measuring performance. If you can give this data to prop repair person they should be able to make the prop do what you need it to do within limits of the prop & boat.

                          Let’s start with the repair process. The prop will be measured with a dial gauge that rolls along the surface of the prop. A baseline is then set within the tolerances of what the prop repair person is going to bring the prop back to. He will then set the prop to the appropriate pitch blocks and use a leather hammer and leather shim to bring the blades back to tolerance. This is a very tedious process. Once he has the pitch corrected he will then balance the prop. This is by far the critical part of the rebuild process (you don't want an out of balance wheel). He will then polish the prop with a satin finish, check for balance one more time and be done. Sounds easy it's not.

                          Common problems; a prop out of time (not repairable), a prop needing welding just added more time if the repair is done correctly. Not having the right pitch blocks for repairing (very common with the new CNC product). CNC props with very thin tips. Those are the common problems and there are right ways to fix this and wrong ways.

                          Out of time means a blade out of configuration with the hub of the prop, even if it can be beat back into place it will mostly pop out when prop has force applied to it. Solution new prop.

                          Welding, some rebuild will just grind down the prop to make all blades equal. Solution makes sure you take your prop to guy who will weld and keep your prop as close to specs as he can. This can get expensive.

                          Not having the right pitch blocks, Solution have the prop person get new ones, what if there not available? Solution a good prop guy can match one up that's close and with use of his shims and gauges he will get the prop to specs. Note a lot of blocks are not available for the new CNC stuff through traditional prop suppliers.

                          CNC props look wavy at the tips. That is OK. Acmes have very thin tips and to take the waves out will throw the prop out of balance or make it so thin this will be your last repair.

                          I will give a plug here to Jacks Prop Shop in Indianapolis (317) 966-6577. He does outstanding and has made the props perform exactly as I needed it to. I keep an rpm baseline control log in my boat for course skiing and his repairs have required no Perfect Pass adjustments.

                          Another thing I really need to stress is the balance issue, make sure all blades are balanced not just two of four. If the prop repair person is repairing the prop quickly and in a timely manner you should expect to pay $160 to $ 175 for a 14'' CNC four blade repair. I post this because prop repairs have gone up in the last six months due to materials cost.

                          I hope this helps, I like OJ an Acme props for new product since they do the most R & D with the boat builders.

                          Mark Q

                          Comment

                          • redelf75
                            Senior Member of PLANETNAUTIQUE
                            • Sep 2003
                            • 767

                            • NYC


                            #14
                            RE: prop repair

                            Has anyone had their prop re-done by Delta Prop? As we already have a group buy for new props with them, it seems logical to ask for discount on reconditioning. Thoughts?

                            BTW, our group buy on new props is expiring at the end of the month - if anyone is interested. Luke, can this discount be extended?

                            Comment

                            • Mikeski
                              1,000 Post Club Member
                              • Jul 2003
                              • 2908

                              • San Francisco, CA

                              • Current 2005 SV 211, due for upgrade! GS22 or GS24 perhaps? Previous

                              #15
                              RE: prop repair

                              I have been paying attention to what everybody has been saying about repaired CNC props. I was told before that once a CNC prop has been damaged that it will never be the same, I previously disagreed since I have had pretty good luck in the past with repairs of non CNC props. Now, I am beginning to agree that CNC props cannot be repaired to new condition. They work OK as spares but that's about it. This has been seen with repairs from a couple different shops on mine and my buddies boats. The other thing that bothers me is that these props bend like butter. It's almost like a designed failure point by the prop manufacturer. At this point I feel like I should just budget one new prop per season.

                              Here is what doesn't make sense. We hit something in the water with my Acme 380 early on in my 211. The damage was not visible with the naked eye. Using a moulding gauge I could see where two of the blades were a bit flatter than the others. Using a lead mallett and a block of wood I started beating on the prop until it looked like the blades were at the same angle. After my garage repair the prop ran smooth as new. So, if I can get it right with my caveman tools why can't the guys in the business do it?

                              Anybody seen a good stainless CNC prop for a Nautique V-drive?

                              Comment

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