PropSpeed Coating on Gori Props

[Roy M]

I just finished a twin Gori prop installation (16.5" X 12") on a Catana 431 catamaran. I finished it off with a coating of Oceanmax's Propspeed. This is second time I've used it, but, as you can see from the accompanying photos, lots of other boats are switching to it for fuel economy purposes, or, in our cases, lower friction as we slide through the water. I was concerned about its longevity and utility, at first. My own boat, a Searunner 40 tri, using a Martec Mark III folding prop, has had it for over a year now and it looks as good as when I applied it. The boat yard where I hauled introduced me to the stuff. The commercial fishing fleet is beginning to switch, as they haul out, because of the fuel savings. I mention all this stuff because I haven't heard anyone talking about it on the forum. It's a Kiwi product, and has been around for some time. I use the smallest size they make, about 200 ml, and there was enough left over to give to a neighboring fishing boat to coat their prop and part of the shaft, as well as the two Gori folding props on the cat.

I also installed another forward scanning sonar system on the same cat, just like my own boat. I'll post the info on the Electronics threads when I'm done with this post.

The photos show the Gori prop on the Catana cat, an Italian megayacht in the yard with 6" shafts and monster props, and the fisherman's prop next to me in the yard.

[Weyalan]

I used propspeed last time I anti-fouled. It is the best product that I have seen for the job.

[Pblais]

I was concerned about its longevity and utility

Around here the summer brings warm water. It lasts about 9 months. For what it costs I can have a diver clean the prop every month for less money. If the water is cold enough most anything works.

[hellosailor]

The MSDS says it is mainly lanolin (which would be worth 1/10th of the price if that much) and "other nontoxic ingredients". Ah, trade secrets!<G>

Has anyone just tried putting GPS on one prop, and plain lanolin, or lanolin doped with other toxins on the other? I seem to remember this begin discussed 2-3 years ago, with no one coming back to follow up. A couple of products had various plant extracts that cold be considered toxic, or not, in addition to lanolin.

[Roy M]

hellosailor, I'm not sure where you are getting your "data". The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the product I'm referring to is clearly not lanolin based. The primer etcher, shown in the photos, is a combination of phosphoric acid and cadmium. The clear topcoat is a combination of a silicone and xylene carrier. I understand your reticence in adopting new technologies which are unfamiliar, but please offer your sources in the future so that others can verify your counter claims. Here is my source: propspeed.com. At the cost of this material, and the cost of a simple haulout, I doubt that many will experiment with too many other theoretical solutions. I am guilty, over the last thirty-some years, of trying lanolin, greases, silicone grease, and other "solutions" to my prop's fouling. I've never seen anything that remotely approaches the efficacy of Propspeed. Therefore, I offer it as a suggestion. Apparently, others have made the same observation after actual trial rather than speculation.

pblais, perhaps your local diver's rates and yard haulout costs, and fuel costs are considerably more attractive than for others. That is good. For others, life is not so good, and this product provides some apparent benefit for them. I hope things remain as beneficial for you over the remaining period before your next haulout. I believe that many will find this product to be of significant benefit for them. That is why I presented this information.

[seafox]

This stuff is made in NZ. In NZ we can not buy it to apply ourselves. We have to use one of their distributors. Do you guys buy the product there?

What do you pay for it?

[Alan Wheeler]

I can get it here Seafox. It's not cheap as far as paint goes, but it goes along way, so you don't need too much of it.
It is certainly not lanolin based, but is made from something strange. It doesn't feel hard like paint when it is cured.
We still haven't heard any update on the Marker pens yet have we???

[seafox]

I emailed the makers today Alan and they say that they will not sell it direct. Maybe its who you know
Haven't seen any posts about the black marker pen for a while. Surely someone has given it a go.
I can still pull 3200revs 2 months after the lanolin coating so it must be working so far. could do 3300 with a clean prop. Only 2900 when I hauled it out.

[Roy M]

I'm "in the biz", and get it at reduced rates, but it is available by special order in the small 200 ml size for under $200 retail. Normally, it comes in 500 ml packages, which is WAY more than one needs for boats under fifty feet and two props.

[hellosailor]

Roy, there's apparently more than one company using "Propspeed" as a product name. Here in the US, www.propspeedusa.com/faqs.htm came up first, looking like it was just the US distributor of the same product. Apparently not!

But that sure would explain why Gori's product hasn't got any name recognition here.

Looks like the product is some type of "silicone release" coating, i.e. something that weeps silicone (lubricant) instead of conventional toxins. I could see that working, assuming it lasts long enough.

[Roy M]

Again, it doesn't "weep", it sets up as a coating that is semi-flexible and provides little basal support for tube worms or barnacles. It's not a lubricant, although there ARE lubricants containing silicones. And I erred on my description of the metal in the base, it is zinc chromate, NOT cadmium. Sorry. When the shaft begins to turn, all the little beasties and greenies fly off because they can't get a toehold. Now I have to contact Frigoboat to find out if I can coat their "keel coolers" in this stuff to retard growth from sticking. And Propspeed USA is the same product.

This just in: I called Frigoboat and they confirm that Propspeed CAN be used on their keelcoolers. This is very good news. It reduces the efficiency of heat transfer a little bit, but the loss is offset by the reduction in drag from marine growth.

[hellosailor]

Ah, I misread "silicone release coating" to mean a "silicone release" coating (one that releases silicone) rather than a release coating as in a "mold release"coating.

Interesting, because using teflon to coat props has been discussed in the past, but no one has posted anything concrete about it. Teflon of course can't really be "painted" into anything, it has to be cured by heat, making the application a wee bit harder.

Dunno how, but my search for "propspeed" got me to Propshield Stern Gear Antifouling Grease instead this morning. THAT's the lanolin product.

[Roy M]

Yeah, I think that was one of the many things I have tried over the years. It sucks.

[Alan Wheeler]

In regards to any of these products, it is not the release product that tends to be the problem, it is the trying to hold it on the prop issue that is difficult and I think the Propspeed seems to have overcome a lot of this issue. I would suggest that is why it is expensive.

Yes Seafox, I can get it here, more a "who you know bases". So I will talk to you about it later.

[Chief Engineer]

(A voice from a dark alley near in a foreign port)

Pssssttt! Hey Chief, wanna buy some dis?????