Cleaning Shaft & Prop

[Grateful Dad]

I recently purchased my first inboard powered sailboat and I am not sure if/how to clean the shaft and prop. There is a good deal of oxidation and such on it but no barnacles or anything. Is this something I should clean or is it best left alone? If it should be cleaned what is the best method?Thanks in advancePaul Brackett

 

[Ross]

The only place

a shaft touches is the cutlass bearing and the stuffing box packing. The rest is sorta like the driveshaft on a car( old car or truck) it really don't matter much what is on it as long as it turns freely.

 

[Tim]

Fine grit paper

Ross is correct, however if you'd like to clean it up you can use very fine grit wet/dry sandpaper or emery cloth and wetsand it clean.You can finish it with some 600 or 800 grit and get it really shiny too. If this is an older boat, this may be a good idea as you could clean/inspect/replace the stuffing box, or install a dripless seal, and also replace the cutlass bearing if necessary.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I recently cleaned...

... the bronze shaft and prop on my H28.5. It had a number of years of bottom paint on it. I began with a electric drill loaded with a paint scraper wheel, which took most of the old paint off. Then coarse sand paper and worked my way down to a fine grit. Prop and shaft now look like new. The real question is how to protect them from fouling when I launch next month. I was surprised to learn that Don Casey suggest doing nothing or coating the prop and shaft with wax. IMHO, that would last about a few days. I am also not inclined to jump into the mostly polluted Chesapeake to clean the prop and shaft every few weeks. Casey also states that a copper based paint and bronze hardware are incompatible, although that was on my prop and shaft and did no noticeable damange of any sort. In any event, I plan to prime the shaft and prop with a lead-based spray primer and paint them again with bottom paint, probably modified epoxy since that seems to last longer. The old bottom paint did a very good job of keeping the shaft and prop free of barnacles and other growth.

 

[Kevin B]

Try CLR

Paul, I only have fresh water experience so I don't know what salt water adds to the problem, but I just spray the prop and shaft with CLR, let it sit a few minutes and rub off with a scouring pad, or fine steel wool.Kevin

 

[tom]

Antifouling paint

Here at Panama city barnacles seem to really like growing on props. I noticed that west marine sells antifouling specifically for props and shafts. I am sure that other retailers have simular products. Next haulout I'll try some and see if it works. A dock neighbor epoxy coated his prop before using antifouling with good results. My prop and shaft were painting without the epoxy and it only lasted about 6 months. But a few well placed barnacles will really hurt performance and the stuff growing on the shaft will cut and scrape if you bump into them. I had a fishing line get around my prop and shaft and I was bleeding pretty good after I went down to cut the line away. Not only my hands but also my legs as I bumped into the shaft. I think that the Zinc does something to interfere with the antifouling on the shaft. The copper ions in the antifouling have an electrical charge. Take good care of your shaft!!! I replaced mine a couple of years ago and it cost several hundred dollars and requires a haulout. So far I really like the drippless seal that was installed at the same time as the shaft. Another dock neighbor also had to replace his shaft as it was badly corroded.

 

[Jerry]

Spray Zinc

Last season I tried three coats of spray-on Zinc coating on the shaft and the three blade prop on my '77, H27. At haul out I had the least amount of growth I have seen in about eight seasons. The spray is sold in marine stores but is less expensive in places like Home Depot.Worked for me. Gonne do it again.JerryTriton

 

[Don]

Caution

While it will help resist marine growth on the prop and shaft, zinc chromate (which is what the zinc spray paint is) can have one big drawback. If you currently (no pun intended) have any stray current corrosion and notice your zincs being eaten up quicker than "normal", the zinc coating on the prop and shaft will create similar corrosion on whatever you paint and in extreme cases, can cause serious prop corrosion.What you are effectiely doing by spraying the prop is causing a larger surface area of zinc than that of the anode put there to protect it. The surface of the prop can deteriorate faster than the zinc anode.

 

[tom]

Jerry were you talking about zinc chromate??

I looked for spray on zinc but all I could find was Zinc Chromate. A little more information would be appreciated. I might haul out in April and would really like to stop stuff from growing on my prop and shaft.

 

[RichH]

The amount of 'polish' is important .....

If the prop and shafting has a high polish, there will be much less chance for barnacles, etc. to adhere. I use 3M mini polishing discs to lightly sand the surface followed by power buffing with jewelers rouge on the bronze and 'tripoli' compound on the stainless - to get a mirror shine. (I power buff with a 'fabric wheel' with just a 'bit' of rouge or tripoli. Rouge and tripoli are obtained in stick form in hardware stores. And then ..... I put on a thick coating of Desitin Baby Ass cream and let it thoroughly dry. It will remain on in the areas of lower velocity (where the barnacles usually adhere - hub, etc.) and tends to keep the critters off. For my bottom paint near the prop shaft I use oxytetracycline powder and mix it into the bottom paint near the prop/strut .... the crystals slowly leach out an antibiotic during the season that barnacles do not like. You can obtain oxytetracycline from a veterinarian .... but you have to crush the crystals 'smaller'.

 

[Benny]

Antifoul paint

Remove your prop, clean it and apply a couple of coats of antifoul paint.

 

[Jerry]

Spray Zinc 2

All, Not Zinc Chromate...just Zinc. There's a big difference. As Don pointed out the chromate doesn't have the necessary properties to protect and might just be a (pardon pun) negative. There are non-chromate Zinc sprays available in marine and home stores. Marine stores also carry the chromate stuff to protect interior metal surfaces, etc.Jerry

 

[Grateful Dad]

Thanks

Well I have a lot of options to think about. Thanks for all of the responses.