# New prop didn't even last one gallon of gas



## .Mike (Sep 5, 2017)

Yesterday, my wife and I were putting the boat in the water as the sun rose, anticipating a nice half-day of fishing. I had put our shiny, new prop on, and we were ready to go.

We motored about 2 miles to a tidal creek, and trolled up it from there. The had tide turned about when we hit the end of the creek, so we rode the falling tide and fished our way out. At about 11, we had caught only one keeper (small 15" red drum... tasty). Our minnows were too small, so we switched to artificials. We didn't bring enough, and quickly found ourselves with no bait. Go home, right? Not so simple.

Where we put in, there is only 1/2 foot of water at mean low tide. Yesterday's tide swung from 7.77ft to 0.58ft to 8.58ft. If we're out for low tide, we're stuck out there until there is enough water to get to the ramp, usually about 3 hours. We checked the weather, and decided that if we could find some bait, we would stay out. We motored another 3 miles to a public dock near a bait shop that has been closed every other time I went there. They were open, but they don't take cards, and I had no cash. The owner of the bait shop spotted me a pint of live shrimp on handshake credit, for which I will pay tomorrow. Let's fish!

We motored about 3 miles back to a tidal creek where I had caught a 25 inch black drum a few weeks ago at similar tide levels. We didn't make it. No more fishing for us.

As I was testing the new prop's ability to keep us on plane at lower speeds/RPMs, something went sideways. We were in 8ft of water, at maybe 3000 RPM and slowly decreasing to see when we lost plane. One of the blades of the prop decided it had enough, and abandoned ship. It sheared right off, without hitting anything. The motor was shaking pretty good, so we decided to troll back to the ramp against the rising tide. I did fire the motor back up for our crossing into the intracoastal waterway, which was pretty stressful on Labor Day. With a damaged prop at idle, and the trolling motor, we were at least able to move in the right direction.

Basically, I got about 8 miles out of my new prop. And, I owe the bait man $12 for shrimp that I couldn't even use! (OK, fine, I fished from the bank this morning with some of them. 1 croaker and 3 juvenile mackerels, I think. All released.) The prop company is sending me a new prop and hub, and I should have them this week.

Photos:


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## Stumpalump (Sep 5, 2017)

Dang it! That sucks. I'm so overdue for a bad prop strike I don't even want to think about it. I run a crappy plastic prop on days I know I'm in the rocks. Saturday we ran from Lees Ferry to the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. It's shallow and rocks. All I saw were rafts, kayak's and jet boats so a local ex Phillies ball player that we met on the ramp let me follow him thru the tuff spots. We made it but I white knuckled it all day. Knocking off three blades does happen so keep that old two blader with you as a spare. Change your gear lube as well to make sure you get out any gear chunks that may have happened during the strike. A little chunk might not hurt but if it goes thru the rest of the gears it will.


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## DaleH (Sep 5, 2017)

Wow ... do you mind me asking the prop brand & model???


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## .Mike (Sep 5, 2017)

Stumpalump said:


> Dang it! That sucks. I'm so overdue for a bad prop strike I don't even want to think about it. I run a crappy plastic prop on days I know I'm in the rocks. Saturday we ran from Lees Ferry to the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. It's shallow and rocks. All I saw were rafts, kayak's and jet boats so a local ex Phillies ball player that we met on the ramp let me follow him thru the tuff spots. We made it but I white knuckled it all day. Knocking off three blades does happen so keep that old two blader with you as a spare. Change your gear lube as well to make sure you get out any gear chunks that may have happened during the strike. A little chunk might not hurt but if it goes thru the rest of the gears it will.



It wasn't even a strike. I was in about 8ft of water with nothing but sand and mud below me. If you could find the missing piece, I'm sure it is in perfect condition. It had to be a manufacturing flaw.



DaleH said:


> Wow ... do you mind me asking the prop brand & model???



Hm. I understand wanting to know-- I would too. I don't want to call out this company or damage their reputation or anything like that. Even the best practices sometimes result in a product that has a flaw. They're sending me a new prop and hub, and asked for a date code off the prop so they can investigate. They seem to be well reviewed, and assuming the next prop works out, I wouldn't hesitate using them again. It was a Turning Point Hustler 9x10 R4-0910.


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## DaleH (Sep 5, 2017)

Don't worry, I am a big Turning Point prop fan and was just curious if it was one of the new "pressed aluminum" models. That line of props are UNREAL in performance!

And I understand your reservations about posting the make, but your points about how anyone can have an issue at times - and the fact that they stand behind their products - is really good to know and make help other's choose a prop in the future.

I worked on turbine aircraft engines and did "blade strike" testing for months, and we had unanticipated failures of blades spinning at 33,000 RPMs :shock: , so I'm all too well aware that it can happen. We use to measure their depth as imbedded in the concrete test cell to determine the force involved. 

Thanks for the update, appreciated!


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## .Mike (Sep 5, 2017)

I can't wait to get the new one. And an extra as a backup.

I think the old prop is the original one that came with my motor in 1992. With it, I topped out at 22MPH at 4950 RPM. When I tested the new one, it was 21.4MPH at 5550 RPM-- slightly too high-- and it really seemed to jump up to speed. The old prop was 10.5 pitch, 9.25 inch. The new one is 10 pitch, 9 inch.




And just for fun, this is what it looks like where I launch my boat at very low tide:


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## LDUBS (Sep 5, 2017)

Holy moly, sorry to see this happened to you. I'm happy that it is being fixed quickly and nice to see another business that does the right thing.


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## .Mike (Sep 6, 2017)

Woohoo, the replacement already arrived. That is pretty fast, considering I contacted them in the afternoon on Labor Day, and today is only Wednesday.

Too bad it seems like Irma is going to keep us out of the water for a while. We stayed last year for Matthew, and will do the same if this is a cat 3 or lower.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Sep 7, 2017)

Wow! Crazy story!


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## .Mike (Sep 18, 2017)

DaleH said:


> Don't worry, I am a big Turning Point prop fan and was just curious if it was one of the new "pressed aluminum" models. That line of props are UNREAL in performance!


My tune is rapidly changing on Turning Point. My experience is now that they have a quality control problem.

This is what the replacement prop looks like. Note the two bends-- one significant-- on the rim, where the prop is supposed to interface with the motor.

Given that the first prop failed catastrophically while I was miles from the boat ramp, this thing isn't touching my motor. 

I insisted that they do another replacement, this time with a personal inspection of the prop before sending it.


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## lovedr79 (Sep 18, 2017)

could that have been from shipping?


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## DaleH (Sep 18, 2017)

lovedr79 said:


> could that have been from shipping?


Could be, but they also do have a prop 'swap out' program. Which is GOOD if you could dial in a better prop ... but is POOR if they didn't check it before it got shipped out to someone else. I'm certainly no apologist for them ... but that's what I'd guess happened in this case.


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## .Mike (Sep 18, 2017)

It is very unlikely that it is shipping damage. They ship in their retail packaging, wrapped in black plastic wrap, and the box was in perfect shape. The prop is suspended in cardboard, which is also in perfect shape. The damaged area is nice and smooth, and it looks like it was powder coated after it was damaged.

If it were just cosmetic, I wouldn't care. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like the part of the rim between the two dents is thinner than the rest of the metal.


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## onthewater102 (Sep 18, 2017)

Paying retail prices you should expect it to arrive pristine (aside from damage incurred in shipping that seems all too unavoidable lately) good for you holding them to your expectations.


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