Prop Speed report

[Joe Myerson]

Hi All,

Creme Brulee was hauled yesterday, and she's now safely on jackstands next to our new second home on Red Brook Harbor.

Fellow CDer Rich Van Heynigen and I, along with another boat owner, split the cost of a kit of PropSpeed propeller treatment. I'm going to send a full report, along with pix, to Practical Sailor. But here's the short version:

This stuff, though expensive, works like a charm. Rich's and my propellers had no growth at all. While Rich did extensive cruising during the past season, my boat sat at its mooring for a long time, because I was ill for a long time, and then because Lynne and I took a long-planned vacation.

When the boat came out of the water, there was NO GROWTH on the propeller at all.

And, according to the crew at Parker's Boat Yard, where I had her hauled, PropSpeed should be good for at least two seasons.

No, I have no connection with this product, which is prohibitively expensive IMHO. However, if you can split a kit with a couple of other boat owners, it's a great deal.

--Joe

[Russell]

I used Prop Speed once about 5 years ago and it was a big waste of money for me. Perhaps in the northern waters it does work well, per your experience, but in tropical waters it didnt seem to do squat. After trying nearly every product on my prop over the years, I have stopped spending money on it, the only method I have found that works in tropical waters is the good old "hop over the side with a scraper and say hello to your resident barricuda".

[Joe Myerson]

I used Prop Speed once about 5 years ago and it was a big waste of money for me.

Russell,

That's an interesting observation, coming as it does from a sailor with lots of experience in tropical waters. My anchorage is in a small, brackish salt pond, and the temperatures in the summer have been rising every year. Last year, the temperature reached 86 degrees (F.), and the barnacles seem to grow larger as the water temperature increased. My bonding plate was covered with the damn things, but my prop was clean.

In past years, I always had barnacles on the prop. The worst season was the one when I did nothing. Second-worst was when I put anhydrous lanolin on the prop. The zinc spray from Pettit seems to work well enough, but some of the little b*stards still managed to adhere to the prop by the end of the season. This year: Nada.

It will be interesting to see how well it works next year, when I do not apply another coat.

--Joe

[Bob Ohler]

Good report Joe. Thanks.

[Andy Denmark]

I concur with Russell.

Down here (brackish water on NC coast) the barnacles don't seem deterred by any kind of coating.

Having run a boatyard here for many years I was able to try a variety of methods to deter barnacle growth. If the boat is in the water nothing works better than a snorkel and scraper just before embarking. If the boat is out of the water there is a SMALL advantage to burnishing down to bright,shiny bronze and smearing on a thin coating of anhydrous lanolin over everything but the zinc just before launching. This is NOT Lanocoat but is the stuff you buy from a drugstore (they generally must order it). It is thick and sticky -- not easily smeared --- but it works for awhile. A lifetime supply costs <$15 and it has a multitude of uses (turnbuckle lube, electrical socket corrosion inhibitor, tiller head lube, ad infinitum). The surface needs to be dry therefore it can't be applied in the water.

The paint-on methods seem to be an exercise in coercing the unwary customer to spend his $$$ for some advertised benefit that seldom pans out in reality. Customers read the reports, buy the product, then insist the yard apply it according to the directions. Because it costs a bunch of boat units, both in materials and labor, Joe Customer sings its praises but in reality the stuff only works better in his mind and that only for a brief time.

My opinion only, FWIW.

[Joe Myerson]

Hi Andy,

I still have most of that $15 jar of anhydrous lanolin. I use it to protect bolts that I might want to remove later, but it did nothing when I smeared it all over my bronze propeller (on the hard).

Like I said before, the zinc spray worked fairly well, but the PropSpeed (which is very expensive), kept my prop clean. This is even though, because of illness and a previously scheduled vacation, I did very little sailing this season. I'm not doubting what you're saying--you've had a lot more experience than me, and your conditions are certainly not the same as mine. But, on Buzzards Bay, Mass., at least, this stuff is the best that I've used. And Rich, who did much more sailing than I did last season, agrees. (I have yet to contact Steve, the third participant in this test.)

If any other CDers have observations, either on PropSpeed, or on the issue of propeller anti-fouling, please contribute to this thread.

Thanks,

Joe

[John G.]

How much does it cost?

[Oswego John]

As I read this discussion, a thought came to mind. Please don't laugh too hard.

Do you remember those ads on TV about teflon frying pans that nothing will stick to its surface?

What if a prop had that teflon coating? (My humorous contribution for a slow Saturday)

But what if? Any thoughts?

O J

[Andy Denmark]

Joe,

I tend to think the difference in warm water bioactivity and cold water bioactivity might well explain the variations of performance with barnacle growth and prevention.. Our water temps in the summer often approach 90 degrees, especially in the backwaters and creeks that dominate much of the NC coastline. The varieties of barnacles might well be different enough to influence growth in 'other' areas.

That said, I'll try your method on the next haulout and see what happens. What's to lose?

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready to head south on Rhiannon tomorrow morning with no firm destination or schedule. I'll catch up with the CD Board somewhere along the way.

Later,

[Joe Myerson]

Andy,
Have a safe trip. And, yes, water temperature and salinity are probably both factors. I remember meeting a representative of PropSpeed at a Newport Boat Show, and he said it was developed for powerboats in Florida. My little salt pond, which is algae-prone, somewhat brackish and has temperatures as high as 86 degrees, was becoming a real barnacle and slime heaven. The PropSpeed worked really well for me.

My two partners in this experiment are also based on the south coast of Cape Cod, where the waters reach into the high 70s and low 80s in the summer.

John G: I believe the kit that we split three ways retailed for about $120. However, Rich is a professional boatbuilder, so he got a professional discount. Still, if you were to find a couple of buddies to split a kit, I'd think it would be worth the effort.

--Joe