BBLADES Quarterly Newsletter & Miami Boat Show
BBlades Headed To Miami International Boat Show
February 7, 2014
Warm enough for you? For most of the nation, it’s been a long, cold, snowy winter. If you’re lucky enough to live in year-round boating, we hope you take advantage of it! Make the rest of us jealous—share your winter boating photos on the BBLADES Facebook page. Spring isn’t that far away (is it?!), and it’s never too early to think about getting the boat ready. We have ways to help if you keep reading, or if you visit BBLADES on-line.
Winter Tune-Up Special Ends Soon!
For the remainder of February, BBLADES will inspect and repair your aluminum or stainless steel wheel, perform lab finishing to customize the performance of your prop, or reshape any new propeller purchased for just $80 an hour during the final days of our Winter Tune-up Special. Normal use of a prop can produce dings, dents, and cracks you aren’t even aware of until they affect the performance of your boat. No matter who manufactured your propeller, BBLADES can perform whatever work you require.
Going To Miami…
Once again, you’ll find BBLADES at the Miami International Boat Show February 13 – 17; NOT because it’s winter in Wisconsin, but because we have big news to announce (which readers were tipped to in the fall).
We’re moving into bigger space in booth #4063, which is directly across from our old space in the display tent at the Miami Beach Convention Center. We’ll be running a few show specials, of course, including the popular BBLADES BSAFE Prop Lock for just $70 each or $130 for a set, with BSAFE #6 Prop Lock available for $130 each and $250 for the pair. Keep the Miami sunshine off your head with a BBLADES hat for $15, or get a farmers tan in a BBLADES T-shirt for only $20.
Can’t make it to Miami? Instead of a postcard, we’ll send you to the website, where you can get the same show products, ON SALE!
And as for that big news we mentioned up top…
BBLADES Bravo OB/F:
New Prop for Today’s Big Outboards
We are proud to introduce our latest propeller, the BBLADES Bravo OB/F, a customized Bravo casting built to tame the high-torque of today’s high-horsepower two-stroke and four-stroke outboards.
The BBLADES Bravo OB/F is perhaps the most versatile outboard propeller available. A four-blade, 14.75 diameter stainless steel wheel (available in two-inch pitch increments from 22- to 36- inches) with a custom-tuned exhaust tube that reduces drag, improves trim reaction and improves planning and top-end speed. The leading edge of each blade is wedged and balanced, while the trailing edge cup heights are lengthened and matched for cleaner, smoother acceleration. It’s available in both left- and right-hand rotation.
An exclusive feature of the BBLADES Bravo OB/F is its 7/8th-inch tunable exhaust vents with plugs that allow boaters to customize the necessary propeller ventilation for their specific boat set-up, and improve planning. Other propeller companies offer a non-tunable one-inch vent or a 5/8th-inch tunable vent. They also offer a separate propeller for two-stroke and four-stroke applications, while BBLADES has found the formula that makes the Bravo OB/F ideal for any 150 to 300 horsepower outboard from any manufacturer in a single propeller option.
After the customization is completed, BBLADES finishes the prop to a high-polish that makes the Bravo OB/F look as good as it runs. Priced at just $797, the BBLADES Bravo OB/F is one of the least expensive performance enhancements a boater can buy, and boaters who want a little something extra can inquire about the lab-finished versions.
See this bad boy in Miami or give us a call to discuss your application.
BBLADES Lower Unit “Blueprinting” Improves Performance and Handling
One of the early speed secrets in performance boating was the “blueprinting” of lower units—playing with the surface of the nosecone and skeg of a drive to gain more speed or improve handling.
Once the preview= of only the most serious racers, “blueprinting” lower units moved into the “main stream” performance boating world about 15 years ago. Among those craftsmen, who were pioneers in the art, are Bob and Brett at BBLADES. They helped develop the original Mercury Racing templates that were used to monitor American Powerboat Association regulations put in place as the practice gained popularity with racers. Since then, they have fine-tuned the process and developed designs for Mercury Bravo Sportmaster, NXT, #6 SSM, and – their specialty – Outboard Sportmaster gear cases and full line of IMCO drives.
The most important result of “blueprinting” lower units is in multi-engine applications to make sure the gear cases are perfectly matched to avoid one drive “fighting” another through the water. Uniformity is the key between drives and on each lower unit to ensure each responds the same way.
“Blueprinting” smooths the surface of each gear case, removing manufacturing variances, to control the way water moves across the case to the propeller. It helps make the water flow uniform, and controls the amount of aeration around a propeller, helping to reduce prop slippage.
Give us a call to discuss what gains you might see by “blueprinting” your lowers, or make sure to stop by booth #4063 at Miami!
Join BBlades Mailing List and Stay Up-To-Date!
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates.
