Propeller Blade Thicknesses.....

Yes thin can be fast......but everything has its breaking point. When it comes to Stern Dirve props there are some other forces at work as well. Drive heigths have become so very high that the round ear props are really suffering. But our friend at Houston liked to make props very thin....it was his way of insuring you would have to come back. And I mean sooner rather than later!

Julie
 
Buy the way is that your "Barn Shop"? Cute! I am glad you found somewere to put the propeller!

Julie

AKA "The Cave"

It used to be a horse barn and we don't have horses any longer. I'm almost finished with it and I could not bring myself to throw the old prop away!

Thanks
 

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If there is such a thing as a sexy prop...........these are them! :drool5:

Thank you Dasvidmnc!

We spent a good amount of money on R & D trying to figure this one out for you guys. This new treatment will provide additional strength to propellers. It will also allow us to go thinnner, for certain applications to gain top end WITHOUT sacrificing strength and durability!

I happen to think that they are pretty sexy too!

Julie
 
Does that mean no chillers and smaller pullies mommy?

hmmm... considering i'm running 1075's??????? i'd bet you are A-OK!

FYI - I ran those props on two events..... my friend, richard, whom has a 368 w/ 1400's ran the exact run, nearly side-by-side, and when we got back on the trailer, his 1200 hp propellers (not Throttle-up's) were all nicked up.

the "old style" Throttle-Up props, which is what we are all currently running have had the porousness (sp?) of the metal significantly reduced compared to most of the other props out there.... so, if you're talking thickness-to-thickness, Throttle-up 850hp props are/should be stronger/tougher and more able to withstand "the elements", including debris, heavier boats & larger hp engines vs. the identical propeller of another brand.

re: "old style" ---- the "new style" props are even thinner, with the "golden" coating, which makes them as tough, or stronger/tougher, than the "old style", thicker props (which, remember, are already stronger/tougher than most of the other's).

so, Throttle-Up has just 1-up'd itself.


PS: Also, they have, for the last two years, held the title, "World's Fastest Propeller"..... It will be interesting to see what happens this year with this new "golden" #6, outboard and stern drive prop.

Way to go, Matt, Julie and the entire Throttle-Up Team!!!!!!!!

------- now quit being so humble and let all those guys who keep throwing blades realize A) how dangerous it is (ala Gary Smith & Aqua Mania) and B) how much of a hassle and expense it is to be carrying around duplicate sets of props --- in case you throw a blade? :willy_nilly:

joe

ps: unfortunatly, however, i can attest that if you back into a wooden piling, they will bend! (and no, GL, before you ask, I did it w/ the set that is currently on my boat, not the set you have.). :banghead:
 
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Check your propeller blade thickness at the start of the season...COME ON!!!??? I know things are slow, but this takes the cake. I've heard just about everything now.:rofl:

Since you didn't include what boat you have in your avatar, i presume, either way, this thread is not directed toward you or your canoe --------- haha.... only kidding (remember, you dished it firrrrrrst!).

Seriously, When you step-up and buy/have a boat with an excessive amount of hp, you can not imagine how much expense the vibration alone from a bent or nicked propeller can cause - drive shaft vibration alone can quickly ruin a drive, drive shaft and motor.

Joe

ps: OneBadInjun --- If we weren't so polite around here I'd tell you how much of an idiot you just made of yourself --- but, then again, you could always argue, "Ignorance is Bliss"..... and I'd at least stand behind the first part, goofball!:ack2::seeya:
 

...and yes, I'm sure you and Woodsy can have a pair also!!!!!!!!!!

Tell Kerry I bet they'll even make a special set of Golden teeth caps for him... which he could put in on Friday & Saturday nights while he's trying to sell "someone" on coming over to see his "baseball card collection"!
:biggrinjester:LOL.......

Joe
 
Great info here.... When I bought my BMax drives several years ago they noted labbed props would void all warranties.

How about old labbed props? I understand over time they kinda wear out and loose trueness. Can they be rehabbed?

After all these years I finally got my X Dimension where it should be and I might need a set of labbed 28's but first I gotta do some WOT runs... Cruise picked up 3 mph so far and I'm really happy with the results of the project so far! Even if I don't pick up on the top end, which I expect I should, I don't even care cause I picked up the cruise so much and the boat handles even better than it did previously!
 
Julie - I broke another Bravo prop this weekend, same place as the one pictured above, only this one wasn't labbed. Thankfully I notived the crack in the blade at the gas station before I dropped in the water. Any ideas on that one??
 
Great info here.... When I bought my BMax drives several years ago they noted labbed props would void all warranties.

How about old labbed props? I understand over time they kinda wear out and loose trueness. Can they be rehabbed?

After all these years I finally got my X Dimension where it should be and I might need a set of labbed 28's but first I gotta do some WOT runs... Cruise picked up 3 mph so far and I'm really happy with the results of the project so far! Even if I don't pick up on the top end, which I expect I should, I don't even care cause I picked up the cruise so much and the boat handles even better than it did previously!

So are you saying that BMax voids the drive warranty if you run labbed props? Or are you saying the labbed props have no warranty?

Lab Finished props are thinner and therefore have a shorter life span. They also become a higher maintainence piece of equipment, on your boat. Higher maintainence also implies higher dollar. Labbed props can certainly be reconditioned and should be maintained.

Appropriate drive heigth can be a night and day difference on any boat. But blade confirguration is key in combination with this as well.

Let us know how your testing goes!

Julie
 
Julie - I broke another Bravo prop this weekend, same place as the one pictured above, only this one wasn't labbed. Thankfully I notived the crack in the blade at the gas station before I dropped in the water. Any ideas on that one??

Sorry to hear you have had another prop issue, Matt. If it is a smaller sized crack, than a repair may be in order. But, you need to look into the root cause of the blade failure. Here is a very important thing to consider.

High Rake, Round Ear props were not designed to surface pierce. So for those of you installing shorties keep in mind that this may lead to or be directly causing your blade failures. Your asking a propeller to due something it was designed to do.

I mention this as you have now cracked labbed and stock props.

Julie
 
So are you saying that BMax voids the drive warranty if you run labbed props?

Yes, they void the warranty. Apparently they had several lower bearing and propshaft failures due to customers throwing blades so they don't honor the warranty if you run labbed props.

I was given the info when I bought the drives so I stuck to it. But, I'm 1.5/2yrs out of warranty now! :sifone:
 
A labbed propeller needs to be visually inspected before and after every run. If you have nicks on the leading edges (LE) or on the trailing edges (TE), you need to address them immediately. A nick in either the LE or the TE is the equivlent to a stress risers. These are small anomylies on the metals surface, which create a "week spot" on the metals surface.

If you think of it this way.....when you pick up a rock on your windsheild, a lot of times it is a very small chip and if it is not addressed it progressively gets larger. The next thing you know it zips right across your windshield. This is similar to what a blade will experience if nicks are not addressed.

So, moral to the story.... you can never check your props to frequently!

Julie
 
I don't have a labbed prop, but I was thinking about it. My question is how do you maintain a labbed prop?

I'm just a casual observer here but let me jump in for a second. A labbed prop can certainly be refurbished if you have minor nicks and dents, generally with the loss of some metal and subsequently a bit of blade area. A proper propeller shop will even all of this out in the refurbishing process (lotta "pro's" in this sentence). An improper propeller shop will only work on the affected blade(s) and leave you with a bit of a balance problem.

However........ There is a condition called "swept blades" that cannot be properly repaired....at least for very long. "Swept Blades" occurs most often on cleaver props and is manifested by a loss of straightness on the trailing edge towards the tips. Basically the end of the prop blades sweep backward from the long term force against them in a rearward bend. The untrained eye will see a nice curve and think everything is fine, but, in fact, the blade(s) has (have) lost its (their) bite and peak performance. Some prop shops will attempt to heat and bend them back, but obviously if they bent once, when they were newer and stronger, subsequent use will simply restart the problem...in a hurry. The end result of this phenomenon is usually the loss of a blade or blades' tip(s).

And now back to Julie and her more than informative and valid thread.

T2x
 
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