Well we took the Susan Marie to lake Crescent for it's end of season bath/Cruise. It was a great day for October so we took two of our grandson with us. we went all the way around the lake at different speeds and opened it up a few times, but mostly 10 to 16 kts. after we turned around at the west end of the lake I opened it up to 18 kts and headed back for storm king. About 1/3 of the way back the motor started shaking violently and I her shut it down right away. When I raised it up one of the 4 blades was busted off of the comprop. We were cruising in perfectly clear water about 400' deep and I had my eyes on the water when it happened. I do not think we hit anything.
On the way down there on the other side of the lake there was some woody debris floating on the surface. I did hear a small tink, tink on the bottom of the boat at 12 knts but it was a very small stick and I did not feel it hit he prop. I wanted to run the kicker out anyways, so we used that to take a slow cruise back to the dock. I then put the Standard 3 blade prop on and went back out for another spin. To me this prop felt smoother than the comprop. top speed was .5 kts higher topped out at an identical 5400 rpm. To me it felt like the three blade was coming out of the hole faster also. The Comprop would rev out faster out of the hole but I don't think the boat was moving as fast as it did with the standerd three blade.
ten years ago there was some threads on this subject and there were a number of opinions including Bill (PO) who thought that just the opposite was true and thought very highly of this prop. I am wondering ten years later what the track record has been for these props and how well they are thought of by those that use them.
This prop had no more than 140 hours on it. I am still not sure why it broke. I did some research and some said that the composite props will break off a blade if you hit a small stick. perhaps I did hit the previously mentioned stick and put a small crack in it that later opened up and severed the blade. School of thought by some that if you hit a log and break off all the blades it is better than taking out the whole lower end. If I am in the middle of the strait of Juan De Fuca and I hit a small chunk of wood in rough water an aluminum prop would be OK. if the comprop breaks a blade it is unusable. on a flat lake Crescent I did not mind climbing out on the swim step to switch out the prop. I don't know if I would like that very much in the middle of the strait in rough weather. It could be a problem. I am wondering if these props ever come a part from fatigue or only if you strike an object.
Let me know your experiences (Good or Bad) with these props ten years later.
Thanks, Doug
On the way down there on the other side of the lake there was some woody debris floating on the surface. I did hear a small tink, tink on the bottom of the boat at 12 knts but it was a very small stick and I did not feel it hit he prop. I wanted to run the kicker out anyways, so we used that to take a slow cruise back to the dock. I then put the Standard 3 blade prop on and went back out for another spin. To me this prop felt smoother than the comprop. top speed was .5 kts higher topped out at an identical 5400 rpm. To me it felt like the three blade was coming out of the hole faster also. The Comprop would rev out faster out of the hole but I don't think the boat was moving as fast as it did with the standerd three blade.
ten years ago there was some threads on this subject and there were a number of opinions including Bill (PO) who thought that just the opposite was true and thought very highly of this prop. I am wondering ten years later what the track record has been for these props and how well they are thought of by those that use them.
This prop had no more than 140 hours on it. I am still not sure why it broke. I did some research and some said that the composite props will break off a blade if you hit a small stick. perhaps I did hit the previously mentioned stick and put a small crack in it that later opened up and severed the blade. School of thought by some that if you hit a log and break off all the blades it is better than taking out the whole lower end. If I am in the middle of the strait of Juan De Fuca and I hit a small chunk of wood in rough water an aluminum prop would be OK. if the comprop breaks a blade it is unusable. on a flat lake Crescent I did not mind climbing out on the swim step to switch out the prop. I don't know if I would like that very much in the middle of the strait in rough weather. It could be a problem. I am wondering if these props ever come a part from fatigue or only if you strike an object.
Let me know your experiences (Good or Bad) with these props ten years later.
Thanks, Doug
