Prop Speed

What do you folks think.

Worth it on your running gear, versus regular bottom paint?

Bottom paint over an epoxy barrier coat lasted longer than Prop Speed.

I got 5 years out of bottom paint and a little over 2 with PS.

The PS application was over 15 years ago. They may have improved the life of PS over the years?

I now use Rustoleum Cold Galvanizing spray on the prop that lasts 2 years. Pettit Barnacle Barrior is the same thing with less zinc and more $$$. These sprays are a lot less expensive than Prop Speed and about equal in longevity. There is a recent thread where the galvanizing spray is discussed in detail. Prop Speed too.

On my next haul out, I'll go back to epoxy and bottom paint.

I have the capacity to hot zinc spray (Metallise) my prop. Has anybody tried this?

menzies said:

What do you folks think.

Worth it on your running gear, versus regular bottom paint?

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I thought it worked better than hard a/f. Here we a/f every 1-2 years,so it`s more likely to go the distance. Not sure it`s worth putting it on struts etc which don`t turn to spin the new little "barnies" off.

In warm water, such as Florida or Queensland, PropSpeed is great. In cold water, where fouling is very much slower to occur it likely isn't needed. The zinc stuff just doesn't cut it where there is any growth of consequence.

I had PropSpeed applied to all underwater metal (ie struts included) and also to the plastic bow thruster prop. I'll do it again, exactly the same. At best we get 2 years from a good AF in these waters.

Prop speed requires speed to work. On the propeller it probably is turning fast enough to throw the barnacles if your boat is traveling at 7 knots, but the struts and other metal parts need close to 12 knots to be effective. Prop speed is of zero value if your boat sits as it offers no chemical growth inhibitor. Cold galvanize offers an inhibitor whether you're moving or not and tends to be more effective on displacement speed boats.

My experience with Prop speed on my 15 knot charter boat was very good. For the 7 knot trawler it was worthless on all but the propeller.

Ted

I've been using PropSpeed for years, my experience echos others' observations. 2 yrs protection, can go longer, depending on conditions. We travel a lot, I'm sure that's pertinent. I have found that it does a terrific job on the plastic thruster blades. By dumb luck I learned that it helps to prep the blades by sanding, but not too fine. Wife prepped them with the Fein tool with a 80 grit pad, I typically used 180. It seems that 100 grit is about optimum, better tooth, and counter intuitive as it might seem, the rougher surface held up much better than a very smooth one.No primer on the plastic. Performance difference undetectable.

We're in South Florida where growth accumulates rapidly. We're also interested in speed. So, we use Prop Speed, always have, always will. We use it on all underwater metal. It would likely last about two years for us, but we reapply on average about every 18 months just based on when the boat is out of the water and when the bottom is painted.

There are now many other products but the one we use works, so not changing. Most of those pushing the other products don't really know the correct way to apply prop speed. Prop speed is not for just anyone to apply. Only let someone expert with it do so, preferably someone certified by the company.

Another South Floridian fan of Prop Speed. Not only did it keep barnacles off my prop, it added a full knot to my top speed. I highly recommend it in warm water.

We've been using Barnacle Barrier for many years; seems to have worked better on underwater hardware than normal bottom paint. This year, we switched to Rust-O-Leum Cold Galvanizing Spray. Cheap. No track record yet.

-Chris

I did a test two years ago. Each propshaft, Propellor and rudder got different combos, to include cold galvinizing paint, Ala rustoleum, and abltive and non-ablative paint. No PS. Winner was painting interlux 2000 on bare metal and then two coats of non-ablative. The prop shaft with that combo looked new. Painted on in chesapeake and went to Bahamas on ICW and back. Cold galvanizing did not present much of a barrier.

Gordon

Gordon J said:

I did a test two years ago. Each propshaft, Propellor and rudder got different combos, to include cold galvinizing paint, Ala rustoleum, and abltive and non-ablative paint. No PS. Winner was painting interlux 2000 on bare metal and then two coats of non-ablative. The prop shaft with that combo looked new. Painted on in chesapeake and went to Bahamas on ICW and back. Cold galvanizing did not present much of a barrier.

Gordon

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Gross generalizations on my part....but this method would get my vote for a low speed boat....transiting the AICW and spending time in FL and the Bahamas during the winter.

Like BandB and Parks, I love prop speed as it works in south Florida and my boat is slightly faster than Ted’s even using one engine at idle. . Been using it for six years or so.

I've used Prop Speed in the PNW for 15 years. I get 3 years of no growth or barnacles. Not the cheapest alternative, but it works for me.

I just had my Selene done and I found a noticeable reduction in my RPM to actual speed. Close to a 200 RPM reduction.

You must have had some big time growth on your props and running gear.

No Growth

nope, I don’t allow growth on my bottom or props. If your questioning the amount of improvement, we’ll maybe. I will say given we ran the boat from Miami to Punta Gorda, against the prevailing current, we had a real happy fuel savings. If your in a Trawler and are having the boat hauled for bottom work, then do it. Of course if you have doubts then don’t. ?

I’ve been using propspeed for years and did find an improvement (at planing speed) but not as much as you did.

jsbraga said:

I just had my Selene done and I found a noticeable reduction in my RPM to actual speed. Close to a 200 RPM reduction.

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This may have been a bit confusing. Did you mean you were able to run 200 RPM less to achieve same speed as before? Or that you lost 200 RPM off your WOT? 200 less RPM to achieve same speed is good if all other conditions (weather and tide) were the same.

Nightsky said:

This may have been a bit confusing. Did you mean you were able to run 200 RPM less to achieve same speed as before? Or that you lost 200 RPM off your WOT? 200 less RPM to achieve same speed is good if all other conditions (weather and tide) were the same.

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The screw turns at 2,600. Just what the spec is. Considering currents, wind, tides, etc., I quickly recognized we had 8 knots vs. 7.5 knots as what could be a measurable improvement. The <7% improvement is strictly a seat of the pants calculation. It also takes into account 40 years of offshore and near coast cruising. To be really clear, “I was surprised “. [emoji41]

This makes more sense. I find after new bottom pain and prop speed I will also pick up a .5 to 1.0 knot at wot to 19.5 - 20.0 knots. I assume that is normal.

Bigsfish said:

. I find after new bottom paint and prop speed I will also pick up a .5 to 1.0 knot at wot to 19.5 - 20.0 knots..

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I did considerable testing years ago with Prop Speed & Came to this conclusion: I'd pick up .5-1.0 knot after a thorough bottom clean and paint. Then added prop Speed...no change in speed.

Codger

I can certainly believe that although prop speed comes out smoother than bottom paint on runn8ng gear and props. The reason I use prop speed when I paint the bottom is that it lasts longer than bottom paint on the running gear.

jsbraga said:

The screw turns at 2,600. Just what the spec is. Considering currents, wind, tides, etc., I quickly recognized we had 8 knots vs. 7.5 knots as what could be a measurable improvement. The <7% improvement is strictly a seat of the pants calculation. It also takes into account 40 years of offshore and near coast cruising. To be really clear, “I was surprised “. [emoji41]

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Do you mean engine RPM or prop RPM? I would be surprised if you transmission is a 1:1 ratio so your prop speed should be quite a bit less then engine RPM.

Codger2 said:

I did considerable testing years ago with Prop Speed & Came to this conclusion: I'd pick up .5-1.0 knot after a thorough bottom clean and paint. Then added prop Speed...no change in speed.

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That might mean you are under propped and your engines are hitting max rpm without prop speed.

My boat was slightly over propped and wouldn’t hit it’s rated max rpm. When I applied Prop Speed I was able to turn a few more rpm thus the speed increase.

What Parks said.

Nothing works better than Propspeed. The only downside (in this professional hull cleaner's opinion) is that it tends not to last as long as your anti fouling paint.

fstbttms said:

Nothing works better than Propspeed. The only downside (in this professional hull cleaner's opinion) is that it tends not to last as long as your anti fouling paint.

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No, we replace it twice for every bottom painting.

I'd say the other downside, if you want to call it one, is that correct application is critical with it.