Propeller Repair

[Don52]

Attached are some pictures of a prop I repaired for a friend.
The boat was 50 HP and was built in 1968.
Last fall the prop hit a log.

[Don52]

And the last picture

[aametalmaster]

Nice...Bob

[Blondie_486]

It looks like you did a fine job on the repairs!

How much time did you have in the project start to finish? Hopefully the boat owner will be more careful where he/she takes the boat this season.

[Don52]

It looks like you did a fine job on the repairs!

How much time did you have in the project start to finish? Hopefully the boat owner will be more careful where he/she takes the boat this season.

It took me about 1-1/4 hours.
It took a little longer because there was a crack in the middle of the blade from a previous repair.

Don

[wrench3047]

i wish you were around or i knew how to tig when i was seventeen. i ran my Dads mid fifties seventy horse johnson on a sand bar. to get loose i gunned it and ground away half the propeller. My dad didnt say a word. which is worse than getting yelled at. Took a year to find replacement prop.

[Bistineau]

Looks like you saved the day with this repair. The boat owner would probably have a hard time finding a replacement prop for an outboard that old in the size and pitch needed. Not to mention what the price would be IF a replacement could be found. Any idea how it turned out as far as balance goes? If it vibrates too much at operating speeds it could chew up the seals on the shaft causing water to enter the gearbox and trashing the lower unit if not checked. If it has some vibration after this, it can be taken to a prop shop for final balancing, look in the yellow pages for a shop to do this if needed. They can also replace the rubber bushing in the hub if it starts slipping. The impact with the log that cause this damage could have loosened the bushing enough to the point where it could start trying to spin in the hub during acceleration. If the motor revs up more than normal before the boat reaches speed, then that is what's going on. It may take several outings before this happens, but it is probably going to happen eventually with this old of a prop. There are specialty shops out there that do prop repairs as well as modifications that do this kind of work. Some dealership repair departments may also be able to do this, too. So if it starts to slip in the hub, get the bushing replaced before it spins off completely and sends the repaired prop to the bottom of the lake, never to be seen again. Seen that happen before, then you need a tow back in if a replacement is not onboard the boat. Weekends last longer when you carry a spare propeller.

[Don52]

Nice...Bob

Bob,

My friend Jim, the boat owner, is a decent TIG welder. To prepare him for the prop repair, I sent him a link to your latest prop welding repair posting.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...at-prop-repair

I also sent him a link to Welding Tips & Tricks prop welding repair.

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...ropellers.html

After work Jim brought the prop to our TIG welder and discovered that the Argon bottle was empty because it had been left open for some time and the spare was also empty because whoever last switched tanks didn't bother to move it to the empty cylinder corral. I just told him to give it to me . I welded it that evening and brought it in the next day.

[Don52]

You (should) carry a spare propeller.

Fortunately Jim does have a spare prop. I didn't realize that it would be difficult to find one for such an old boat. I will remind him that he might want to keep it on the boat for emergencies.

I will review the technical information of your post with Jim.

Thanks for taking the time to post. I really enjoy everything that I have learned from this forum.

Don

[Blondie_486]

Well it looks great, I couldn't have done it better myself. I'll bet your friend is happy you saved them a bunch of money fixing it vs replacing it.