Boat Propeller Pitch

Boat Propeller Pitch

The type propeller on your boat motor can make a big difference on how the boat performs. The propeller that comes with the motor may not be the best for your boat. Two blade props and the pitch of the prop can make a major difference.

As a rule, a 2 blade prop is more of a speed propeller and a 3 blade prop is more of a power propeller. Somewhere on the prop is usually a pitch number for the prop.  A 12 pitch prop pushes the boat forward 12 inches each turn. How they come up with the number I have no idea, but it gives you a way of comparing different props.

Because a two blade prop has less mass and less blade surface it can be turned faster by the motor and it cuts into and pulls the boat faster through the water. A 3 blade prop  has more surface area for the same diameter as a two blade prop and has more pushing force as it turns.

I have two trolling motors, one that is a 40 thrust with a 3 blade and a 45 thrust with a two blade. The props are the same diameter and they are interchangeable between the motors.

I use the trolling motors for the most part, to move my sailboat from the dock to open water and back after the sail. It is a small but heavy boat so I used the 45 thrust motor on it. After I lost the two bladed prop in a weed mat one afternoon I put the 40 thrust motor on the boat till I could order a new prop.

I found that the 40 thrust motor worked as well or even a little better at moving the boat then the 45 trust motor did. My first thought was that the 45 was on its last legs and was time for replacing. Then as a lark, I put the 3 blade prop on the bigger motor to try it out. I did not want to buy a new prop for a motor that was on its way out. To my surprise the 3 blade prop on the 45 made a noticeable difference in moving the boat. The motor was OK, and  the 3 blade prop made a big difference.

So what I had found was the 40 thrust motor with the 3 blade prop worked as well as the 45 thrust with the 2 blade prop. And by putting a 3 blade prop on the 45 thrust motor I got better results with the little motor on my sailboat.

The weight of my boat has a lot to do with it.  Both motors on the dinghy with stock props work great. The power thrust difference is noticeable in the dinghy between motors. But the props make the difference when they are used on the heavy sailboat. I would not have thought the prop pitch and type would make that much difference.

If you are not happy with how your boat is handling, try a different type of prop on the motor before you go out and spend big bucks on a new motor. Go to a dealer and ask if you can try a few different props on your boat to see if you get an improvement. If you don’t get better results he will be more than happy to sell you a new motor. 8-)

A Boat Finder Roller

Boat Finder Use

The tubular or cylinder shaped boat finders I have in our dinghy can be used as a roller when you beech the boat.  When I put the bow to shore I do not like the grinding sound when the boat hits land and I can just feel the bottom paint being scraped off the hull.

The cylinder shaped finders make good soft rollers that can be put under the bow to get the hull up off the ground a few inches and they also act as rollers so you can pull the boat up on shore more easily; they also help get it back in the water more easily. 

You beech the boat, put a finder under the bow and the boat rides up on the finder as you pull it onshore. Then tie can tie the painter to a shore object or put out a land anchor so your boat will not float away. I really hate having to swim out to get my dingy when it slips away.

Boat hook/paddle Combo

Boat Hook and Paddle

My boat can get full of a lot of useful stuff. But the more stuff you have can be a problem. I like it when you can use something for more than one job.  When I saw a paddle/boathook combo the other day I made my own.

I use my boathook almost every time I go out on the boat. It gives me an extra few feet of reach, can snag stuff out of the water, can snag lines and is very useful. My boat paddle is very useful and is a necessity at times but is seldom used. The paddle just takes up space most of the time.

After seeing the boathook/paddle combo I made one for myself. Now I have just the one double use tool on board. The boat hook is on one end and a small paddle on the other.

Anchor Line Tips

Anchoring lines

You want a lot more anchor line then you think you will ever need. When you drop the hook you want it to dig in. A 8’ to 10 ‘ anchor chain lets the anchor dig in an catch quickly and a long chain lets you get away with anchor line out. It is always much better to let more line out than you think you need.

With a Danforth type anchor you should put out 7 times the line length out for the depth of water you are in.  With a fisherman’s anchor, a 4 or 5 to 1 ratio should be used.

You should have line length markers on your dock like to let you know how much line you have out. A plastic ribbon though the twist of the line with a measurement on it is a way of doing that. 30’ spacing is a good distance between flags.

A cheap plastic laundry basket can make a good anchor line holder. It is big enough to coil the line up in so you can pay it out, it is waterproof and has holes in it so it drains well, and a small size anchor will fit on top of the line and chain road. The basket with the anchor can easily be transported and moved. 8-)

He called me the Junk Maker

I like making things and as a kid I was always making something out of the junk I had or found. When MacGyver came out on TV I thought it was great. I brother called me the Junk Maker and a few other not so nice things. But he and his friends would often come to me when they needed something. One of his friends who became a dentist said I was always outside of the normal box looking in. I was not sure what that meant but I liked it. 

I liked that friend of my brothers because he was just a little different also. In Dental School he had to make a set of faults teeth as a project and he made them for his dog. When his dog had them in he had a loony people smile when he looked at you. He had to take his dog in to show how the teeth fit when he turned in the project. Everyone but the instructor thought it was great, but when the dog smiled at the instructor, the dog won him over.

If you own a boat and you are limited by income it really helps if you can fix, repair and make things. I have almost always been limited by income to just go out and buy things. I also have found I can make neat stuff out of what others pitch out. My X was never sure of some of my “Dan Things” even if they worked. She was an “In the box person”.

With boat stuff there is often multiple ways of doing things. I have found that “old classic” ways of doing things on a boat is much better than new modern stuff that comes on boats now. 

Being able to fix or re-engineer something on your boat to take care of a problem or to solve a problem lets you boat on a budget and still use your boat. I like thinking out of the box to do things like that. Hay…the boat still floats or should I say whatever floats my boat. 8-)