When is a MAX prop too old

[skipgundlach]

The above stuff about refurb is right on...

OTOH, if you are religious about greasing (remove bung, insert zerk, squeeze handle until exudate is same color - light tan - as the grease, remove zerk, replace bung, for however many - mine has two - you have, that's all that's needed), they should last relatively forever.

It will require (or you're more likely to be more comfortable, what with the possibility of loss of parts) being out of the water, but easy.

I did send mine back for refurb in a major refit after a wreck; some replacements were required and they tuned the blades...

[Godshalk]

I had the same problem, which I found while trying to diagnose the cause of excessive vibration (turned out to be something else, maybe the prop was OK). PYI was very helpful, offered to rebuild but said it might not last long so I bought a new one.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

The above stuff about refurb is right on...

OTOH, if you are religious about greasing (remove bung, insert zerk, squeeze handle until exudate is same color - light tan - as the grease, remove zerk, replace bung, for however many - mine has two - you have, that's all that's needed), they should last relatively forever.

It will require (or you're more likely to be more comfortable, what with the possibility of loss of parts) being out of the water, but easy.

I did send mine back for refurb in a major refit after a wreck; some replacements were required and they tuned the blades...

Just as an FYI for older Maxprop owners. The early ones were not set up for zerk fittings. My 1985 prop did not. I saw that on another boat and drilled and tapped for them. It saves a lot of time and effort. As Skip said - no disassembly - reassembly.

[jamhass]

On Jerome's suggestion, I added a small zirc to the end cap under the zinc. The zincs have a nice hollow in this area so all fit nicely.

When greasing, I just add until grease comes out around the blade hubs.

Done this for years, and when I haul I disassemble the prop to clean and inspect. Prop has always had good, clean grease well distributed, so no apparent issues with this approach.

[Joli]

We typically send in the prop every five years for review and refurbishment. This last time they recommended replacement of the prop. So it lasted 30+ years...

[contrail]

Jerome told me that with frequent, year round usage, the props should be sent in every five years. That's what I would do. He said that boats with heavy daily use, such as dayboats in charter, the interval could be as short as every year. I think it mostly comes down to how well the prop is maintained, and how many times it gets shifted in and out of gear, and with what care. Although I ran my boat in charter, with me always as the careful captain, I did a lot of instruction, and intuitively sensed that this caused extra wear as the students were building up their feel for shifting marine transmissions. I am sure that was hard on the Max Prop. incidentally, I eventually changed over to Flex-o-fold props, as they were much less costly to buy and run. I never regretted that, but I also did enjoy the Max Props.


In things like this, I believe a lot of it comes down to usage. Whilst there are applications where the boat is used a log (about 130-160 days a year, in my case), most folks are doing well to get underway 30 times a year. So longevity will vary dramatically. I remember when someone, talking about his Spectra watermaker, noted that he had been using it for years and years, and was now at 1500 hours, without problems. A boat full of liveaboard charter guests can use a LOT of water, and I noted that each charter used about 60 hours on the watermaker! 1500 hours didn't seem that much to me, but in reality, for any average user, it was.