Is Propspeed worth it?

[DEAN2140]

I have a two-blade folding Gori prop (purchased for $1295 about 15 years ago)for my 28' Alerion and have been encouraged by the boatyard to part with $400 to apply this product to the prop. I have a diver who services the bottom regularly. I am wondering if this isn't just another marginally efficient product offered at a ridiculous price because it is well known that sailors will pay anything to make their boats look better, go faster or last longer. I welcome your thoughts.

[wholybee]

Ask your diver. He will know how much growth you get between cleanings, how easily or difficult it is for him to clean, and whether or not it is worth it.

[IslandHopper]

I'm my diver and I think it's worth it.

[fstbttms]

This professional hull cleaner says it’s the best thing since sliced bread

[two-rocks]

Darn. These glowing reviews might make me part with some beer money.

That said, I can’t find any lobster boat or power boat among the hundred+ or so on the hard at my marina that use it - none of which are budget constrained.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by two-rocks

Darn. These glowing reviews might make me part with some beer money.

That said, I can’t find any lobster boat or power boat among the hundred+ or so on the hard at my marina that use it - none of which are budget constrained.

I'm not sure which is more amusing- that you claim to know the budget constraints of each of the hundred+ powerboats in your boatyard or that you consider commercial fishermen to be the benchmark when it comes to boat maintenance

[SailingHarmonie]

For a folding prop, especially, this is really helpful. Even if you have a regular cleaning, it doesn't take much fouling at all to have a huge impact on the performance of a folding prop.

I can tell you if the product is properly applied, it works as advertised. On our boat it lasts about 12 to 14 months. In that time the prop is always clean. Normal use just carries off everything.

If not properly applied, it doesn't last long. Props that are also very much over-zinced can also have trouble with adhesion.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

Props that are also very much over-zinced can also have trouble with adhesion.

Not sure how you "over-zinc" a prop. In any event, on what do you base this claim?

[ohthetrees]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

I'm not sure which is more amusing- that you claim to know the budget constraints of each of the hundred+ powerboats in your boatyard or that you consider commercial fishermen to be the benchmark when it comes to boat maintenance

Undoubtedly you know a lot about the industry, and bottoms, paint, props, cleaning etc. But I don’t understand why you take that dismissive superior tone with people. You could easily say something like:

“Commercial fishing boats might be more budget constrained than you imagine, and in my experience commercial fishing operations don’t always make the very best maintenance choices.”

Instead you chose to use a tone that seemed to intend to belittle, to make him feel ridiculous and small. It isn’t crazy or stupid of him to observe a bunch of well kept fishing boats and assume they have optimized maintenance routines and have figured stuff like this out. If you know differently a kind correction would do the job just as well. There just isn’t any call for your belittling tone, , and I don’t understand it. Do you find you get into a lot of online beef with people by any chance?

[bdbcat]

An observation:
I seems that Propspeed has a significant beneficial effect of slowing galvanic activity on the prop. On my aluminum boat, before propspeed, shaft zincs did their job protecting the prop and surrounding aluminum. The zincs eroded fairly fast. Needed replacement yearly. After propspeed applied, zincs last much longer, and prop looks perfect.


2 cents.
Dave

[marcjsmith]

how about prop glide?

[two-rocks]

Originally Posted by ohthetrees

Instead you chose to use a tone that seemed to intend to belittle, to make him feel ridiculous and small.

I have thick(ish) skin...that said, the boats are not all commercial (10 maybe).

My statement stands, and he's welcome to make his own survey of the boats/owners at this location. I do value his posts, but will have to keep in mind his career choice for anything outside his area of "expertise".

I'll rephrase: the recreational powerboats in my harbor that use enough fuel to make any propspeed advantage look cheap, don't seem to use it.

[Quadrille in JB]

I used prop glide for several years after switching from prop speed, which always worked well. Prop glide worked great for two years, but when I applied it, as per the directions which I have done every year, it lasted only two months this year. My diver said he sees that on a lot of boats this year.. I don’t know if they changed their formula, but I will not use it again even though it worked right in the past. I guess I’ll shell out the extra money and go with Prop Speed.

[Bellinghamster]

I sure hope so! Currently in the process of having it applied to 2x 48" 4-blade props plus bow and stern thrusters of a boat I take care of for a friend (86ft Nordhavn). (a *bit* more than $400 worth).
Previous propspeed application was a little over 3 years ago, and I think held up very well. I think a lot of the the growth was where a diver scraped the coating last spring, and even then there wasn't very much of it despite sitting still at the dock for the past 6 months in north Puget Sound. I kind of wish I would have dove on it to see how much growth there was before spinning up the props for the 6hr trip to the yard. Thruster impellers looked about the same, maybe a little cleaner.
I'd say it's worth it, and plan to put it on my sailboat prop next time I haul... I'm in the same marina as the Nordhavn, and my prop turns into a beachball of barnacles and mussels over the winter with no coating.

[BobFord]

I have used Propspeed and most other products , on Gori props.
After many years of disappointments, my ideal coating is Lanolin Grease. The gears need a dob of Lanolin quite regularly , especially if props sit too long. Easy done with a dive. Each annual dryout , a smear of Lanolin on blades which becomes a thin dull layer and no growth. Surprised me how long grease will last on a prop- probably 4x longer than paint.