Propeller Problems

Difficulties you may be having with your propeller:

Propeller Induced Vibration:
Propeller induced vibration can be caused by inaccuracies in pitch, camber and section shape. Prop Scan® allows us to see and remove these inaccuracies. This results in a smoother, more efficient and often faster propeller.


Tip Erosion:
Abrasives present in the surroundings often cause tip erosion. Tip erosion reduces the overall diameter and performance of your propeller.

Propeller Cavitation:
Propeller cavitation causes vibration, noise and serious damage to your propeller. Can it be avoided? Cavitation problems must be split into two categories. 1 Propeller induced cavitation. 2 Vessel induced cavitation i.e. cavitation caused by appendages, hull shape and application.

If the cavitation is propeller induced then Prop Scan® technicians can measure your propeller and show you the cause of it.

Singing Propeller:
Some propellers produce a high pitched noise at certain points between idle speed and full RPM. At the best of times this can be annoying, if this point lies spot in the middle of your cruising RPM it will be intolerable. Prop Scan® technicians have the solution.

Propeller induced engine overload:
If you are the proud owner of a beautiful yacht but you are a little embarrassed about the black smoke that is emerging from its transom, then it's time to do something about it. Overloading your engine will vastly reduce the overall life of this engine.

Propeller not loading the engine:
When an engine revs higher than its recommended maximum RPM, it does not develop its maximum Horsepower. In other words you are not using your engine at its utmost capabilities. Most of the time this means there is additional speed to be gained.

Fuel Consumption:
Does your boat consume more fuel than the recommended amount? The reason for greater fuel consumption is having a low classed propeller. On average, an ISO Class I propeller uses between 5-10% less fuel than a Class III propeller!

Propellers not synchronized:
Many twin screw vessels have badly synchronized propellers, in other words the port and starboard engine are not loaded equally at maximum RPM. This is caused by pitch, camber and section shape differences between the two propellers.

Reversing problems:Reversing qualities are influenced by the position of your propeller and the section shape on the suction side of your propeller. If there is a suction section shape problem, technicians can locate it.

Poor propeller performance:
Poor propeller performance can be caused by MANY different reasons. Incorrect propeller selection, poor propeller accuracy etc. etc.. What ever it is there is now a way to find it.

Bring your propellers in and we will
measure, and provide a Prop Scan®
computer generated report of your
propeller free of charge!