Have you had your prop repaired?

I have a few dings that I want to get repaired sometime soon, and wanted to get some info from some folks who have had their props repaired, repitched, or whatever.

1. I've heard that there is some special equipment that is necessary to repair a prop, and some shops don't have it, although they say they can do the work. Is this true? Is there anything to look for in a prop repair shop? Any questions to ask?

2. I was thinking of buying a new prop since I weight my boat heavily, but if I can not only get the dings out of mine, but also get it pitched or cupped differently at the same time, it may save me the $400. Is this something that a shop can do and my newly conditioned prop will pull better?

3. What's a fair price to pay for this kind of work?

thanks

I got mine repaired, came out perfect. I think it cost 120.

Did you have them adjust the pitch or cup, or just get it back to normal?

I have had props repaired and adjusted several times. Local shop has the equipment and they charge $110. They can usually change the pitch by about 1 inch.

Just had mine repaired and repitched at the same time. Cost $128.00.

You should have an acme on your boat, so call them and ask them who has the equipment to fix them in your area. their number is stamped on the inside of your prop.

After my Acme got a little tweaked I took a mallet to it and pushed the blades back into shape. It ran pretty smooth then I felt compelled to have it trued up by a prop shop. I paid $120 for the repair, it was so noisy after the repair that I replaced it before the next time out. Keep your prop as a spare and buy a new one. The cost of a new prop is about the same as boat gas for a busy weekend, do it right the first time.

FYI, there is only one shop in Houston that I know of that is authorized to repair Acme props (has the right equipment) anywhere else will not do it right. And yes they will tell you they can. They will tell you that all props are the same.

David - yes, they do have to have special equipment to repair props. Most of your local service shops will send your prop out for repair. Your best bet is to find out who they send it to and take it to them directly. That's what we did and saved ourselves a ton 'o money. The service shops wanted to charge $150, the prop shop charges $85-$110 depending on how bad it is.

Having a second prop on hand is ALWAYS a good idea. My suggestion is to fix your current prop the way it used to be and use it as a back up. Then buy the extra ACME that you want and use that as a main. Let me tell you, it really sucks to be on a long holiday weekend and ding a prop the first day and not have a replacement on hand.

Replacement props are good to have.

I had a local shop fix my acme prop last time and it was not any better when I got it back, although it looked better to the eye. It was obviously out of balance.

The second time I dinged my prop, I called and asked directly: 'do you have an acme 537 pitch block?' The answer was no. Now I know why the first prop was not fixed right. I had to have it fixed a second time.

You may even be able to send it back to acme to have it fixed. If I recall right, they quoted me less than $100 to fix it.

Talltigeguy - I have an Acme 537 too; so is it imperative for me to have the prop fixed at a shop that has Acme 537 pitch blocks?

I called a shop that Acme recommended (they unfortunately don't have a "preferred repair shop" list or anything like that) and the shop doesn't use blocks for CNC machined props. The guy said that it's too difficult to shape CNC machined props, so they shape them (by hand?) and they use a computer program to measure their work and get it back to factory specs.

Additionally, after talking to the Acme rep, he recommended that as long as I'm getting the prop repaired, if I wanted to get more torque on the low end for a weighted boat, to have the repair shop decrease the pitch by 1" and take .045 of cup out, so the pitch would be 15 and the cup would be .060.

Comments?

I sell a lot of Acme props. I recommend Holland Propeller in Holland, MI for prop work. They have the Acme pitch blocks, but also have the machinery to do the job right and keep it in tolerance closer than factory specs.

That said - many props that don't look bad are in real terms - junk. They may never work right again. There is no way to tell with a prop scan and a very experienced eye. Even then, they may be wrong.

My suggestion is to buy a new prop and Weekend Saver Kit. Have the old prop repaired by Holland Propeller and store it in the kit. If you need more torque than the 537, let me know your boat and I can recommend the right prop for your application. Your new prop should be about $350, depending upon diameter if you get it from me.

The Acme blade is a different shape than the rest of the industry. That is why you need Acme specific pitch blocks. They are over $3,000 for a full set for just our sizes.

David,

That is what I did. It made a noticible difference. My top speed is down to about 36 and I can only run about 3/4 throttle un weighted before I max out the RPM's, so you need to primarily drive a weighted down boat pulling boarders if you change that pitch. It will add about 400 RPM greatly helping out of the hole and planing at slower speeds.

Troy - did the shop you took it to have pitch blocks, and then make the pitch and cup adjustments by hand? Is that how it works?

Karl - thanks for the advice. I'd like to give you a call to discuss.

they had the blocks to repair the prop. I am not sure what they used for the adjustments, but everything is smooth, no vibration at all. It is common, but nice that they also restamp it with the new pitch, this helps if it needs to be repaired or tuned up in the future. You can also just buy the 1235 and keep your old prop as a spare after it is fixed. I went this route to save the $400.00.

They had the blocks to repair the 537 prop. I am not sure what they used for the adjustments, but everything is smooth, no vibration at all. It is common, but nice that they also restamp it with the new pitch, this helps if it needs to be repaired or tuned up in the future. You can also just buy the 1235 and keep your old prop as a spare after it is fixed. I chose this route to save the $400.00 as there was no additional charge to adjust the pitch.

So I've gotten some contradictory information, and I was hoping that the prop experts (Karl and others) could help me out on this...

I called the local shop that Acme recommended to do the work and asked them if they use pitch blocks. The guy said no. He said that pitch blocks are "old technology" and that he doesn't like shops that use them because "all they do is put the prop in there upside down and hammer it out, then give it back to you." He said that his shop uses a "propeller scan" and then shapes the prop by hand, and he guaranteed his work.

So obviously (being the prop novice that I am), I'm a little confused.

Are pitch blocks old technology, or did this guy just not want to shell out the $3k to buy them? Everyone is saying to not take my prop to a shop that doesn't have pitch blocks...

I'm obviously no expert, but if he guarantees the work, you should be ok. It is always nice to have a spare, you might be better off buying a new prop (1235) and have this guy fix your old one. If that does not work for you, just give this guy a shot and if you have any vibration at all, go back to him under warranty and get your money back.

That is all I can add, hopefully the others will chime in, good luck

I would contact ACME again and send it directly to them for repair. They are the OEM, so they should be able to help you out with the best repair job and put it back to original factory specs.

Here is my buddies story:

http://www.planetnautique.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=4535&high light=acme

Save the headache, the new prop is not that much more than a replacement.

wow. that is a headache.

I don't know what to do now, esp with all the talk in the nautique forum about "CNC props can't be repaired back to original condition."

Go stainless and the repair process will be a thing of the past. When it's time to get reparied you will have hit something large enough/hard enough to ruin your shaft/strut along wit the the prop. I ocassionaly hti small logs , branches, ect and my prop is as good as new. I did manage to get a small ding in one blade after hitting a concrete block that would haev mauled a NIBRAL.

When I used to run NIBRAL, I had mine reparied once every 3 months...I'd run thru some thick mud and it would bend. The argument of if you would have hit it with NIBRAL only your prop will be damaged...I call bull. IF you hit something hard enough to managle your NIBRAL, more than likely you damaged your underwater gear too.

Antoher added benefit of stainless is that it doesn't bend under torque....your losing small amoutns of power on your NIBRAL b/c the metal is soft and will bend slightly at takeoff.

had a SS prop on my old MC, and Nibrals on my VLX. I really prefer the SS log grinders too.

On repairs - I don't know what a prop scan is, but I also don't see anything wrong with "putting it in there upside down and hammering it out" on a block that is the exact shape you want, versus other repair methods. Nibral is very malleable. What other methods would one use anyway, outside of welding and a little encouragement from a hammer? This ain't rocket science.

Here in Sac, there is a guy "American River Propeller" he does EXCELLENT work. I have taken my Acme and my OJ prop to him. My Acme, (he said it was the best quality prop on the market) would be good as new. Sure enough the next day (yes, the next day) I got it back. I honestly believe it was in better balance than when I took it in.

He is recommended by all the repair shops in the area. Problem is, if you don't specifically ask for it back the next day, he takes a while. (Which if you have a back-up is fine).

$75 if all he has to do is bang it back into shape. (He says he has all the blocks)

$110 if he has to do any welding. (If you put a nick in it)

IF the shop acme recommended uses a scan and then 'shapes the prop by hand' how is that better than using a pitch block? I don't assume that they mean heating it up and using their thumbs to bend it back? I would be sure they hammer it out like any other place does.

I think that we have arrived at a gray zone that may not have a definite right answer: acme pitch block vs. computer scan. I will reaffirm my vote for an acme pitch block. I have spoken to Karl and watched a lot of his comments on this board...I am sure he sells a lot of props and has good experience with this.

I've seen a couple prop shops, and I can't imagine them having a computer system with 3D scanning capability, much less knowing how to use it. In my experience, farriers have more advanced equipment.

That's not to say they don't or can't do good work by hand blacksmithing, though. Quite the opposite - I'd rather have good hand metalworking and tuning, rather than someone just relying on a computer to tell them what to do.

I've used the same guy as Robb. Great service he enev repitched my prop from 13x12.66 to a 13x12 for a better hole shot. I am thinking about gettting a new ACME prop and selling my spare.

You need pitch blocks at the minimum. You still may have to weld on the prop to get it into shape. Everyone uses pitch blocks, even for welding. Something has to hold the new material in place, if required. The pitch blocks also lets you verify if you have the blade geometry right.

A computer scan and rebuild is great. Acme does not do this, they send the props out to a shop that has both pitch blocks and the computer scan. The real difference is how well the machining and balancing is done afterward. There are quite a few shops out there, including Holland Propeller in Holland, MI that have all the latest technology and can deliver a prop better than factory new. There are also a lot of shops out there that are "knockers" and simply hammer the prop back into shape and hope there has not been too much metal fatigue to cause problems (vibration, breakage, dynamic balance issues cause by flexing, etc.).

Acme props can be repaired - to a point. If the blade is bent too much and you try to hammer it out, it will never perform right again. It may scan perfectly, but under load while rotating, it does not perform right. The same can be said for other props as well. This goes for re-pitching as well. Sometimes it works great, other times it just never is right. I have experienced this on twin prop boats. Both were re-pitched and one was dead on, the other vibrated and just did not feel right. Still scanned within a tight tolerance.

Trace,

"I've seen a couple prop shops, and I can't imagine them having a computer system with 3D scanning capability, much less knowing how to use it. In my experience, farriers have more advanced equipment."

So true,

i'm stainless too. no prop repairs are great

i ve had mine repaired in austin, tx at nettle, they do a great job. give them a call they do mail orders too.

A.Props by Nettle
512-837-7707
825 Wagon Trl
Austin TX 78758-4328

(Message edited by alo on September 28, 2006)

ALO - does the prop place you recommended have both itch blocks and scanning ability?

I'm considering paying for shipping and sending the prop to MI or CA to get it done by someone who comes recommended from this board and who has the right equipment for the job.