prop and shaft
- Thread starter MIKE1009
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This is a tough one
Walk around a big boat yard and look at other boats: about half have their shafts/props are painted with bottom paint. The half are not. Most of the latter have all the tell tale footprints of lots of hard growth too. Don Casey advises against painting the prop/shaft for fear of creating corrosion between a copper based paint and a bronze shaft/prop. In my case, my prop and shaft were bottom painted and they had no hard growth all season. This year I stripped a few layers off down to bare metal (and saw no evidence of corrosion), primed with 2 coats of Interlux Primocon and painted the prop and shaft with a modified epoxy bottom paint as I thought a paint harder than CPP or ablatives might last longer. We'll see at the end of the seaon...
Walk around a big boat yard and look at other boats: about half have their shafts/props are painted with bottom paint. The half are not. Most of the latter have all the tell tale footprints of lots of hard growth too. Don Casey advises against painting the prop/shaft for fear of creating corrosion between a copper based paint and a bronze shaft/prop. In my case, my prop and shaft were bottom painted and they had no hard growth all season. This year I stripped a few layers off down to bare metal (and saw no evidence of corrosion), primed with 2 coats of Interlux Primocon and painted the prop and shaft with a modified epoxy bottom paint as I thought a paint harder than CPP or ablatives might last longer. We'll see at the end of the seaon...
One but not the other
Shaft is no problem, don't worry about it. Painting the prop is a good idea because just a few barnacles can slow down the prop by throwing it out of whack. However bottom paint will fly off in a week from turbulance. Better to try Pettit's underwater metal paint in a spray can. It's indestructable on the prop and needs only three very light sprayings. I still recommend a monthly diver as well, to keep the early growth off and free the knotmeter from early growth.
Shaft is no problem, don't worry about it. Painting the prop is a good idea because just a few barnacles can slow down the prop by throwing it out of whack. However bottom paint will fly off in a week from turbulance. Better to try Pettit's underwater metal paint in a spray can. It's indestructable on the prop and needs only three very light sprayings. I still recommend a monthly diver as well, to keep the early growth off and free the knotmeter from early growth.
Bottoms UP!
In a hotel in SF, ready to fly out, but still worried you bouys will get into some trouble.Especially that Tony, trouble from way back... Whaddya think Moody ya paint yer shaft? I have never painted a stainless nor a monel shaft, suppose a bronze would be okay or the prop, but why the extra wheight? A prop is normally WAXED, and there are killer waxes that keep critters off, and a good man can clean a prop on one free-dive of one breath!
In a hotel in SF, ready to fly out, but still worried you bouys will get into some trouble.Especially that Tony, trouble from way back... Whaddya think Moody ya paint yer shaft? I have never painted a stainless nor a monel shaft, suppose a bronze would be okay or the prop, but why the extra wheight? A prop is normally WAXED, and there are killer waxes that keep critters off, and a good man can clean a prop on one free-dive of one breath!
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