Three blade, four blade or..loop-blade?

Squire

Squire

Well-Known Member
www.sharrowmarine.com

Sharrow Marine - The Propulsion Revolution is Here

The Sharrow Propeller™ offers a faster, quieter, and more fuel efficient ride through state-of-the-art design that is custom machined and fitted to every boat. Two-time award winner and the first major advancement in propeller technology since the 1830s.
www.sharrowmarine.com www.sharrowmarine.com

Who‘s going to be the first on this forum to step up and try one of these props on their boat? It won’t be me at $4,900US plus tax plus shipping plus GST plus duties!!! Still, it’s a great new product with lots of promise once the development costs are recovered and they can be mainstream competitive.
 
They look beautiful, and seem pretty cool. As you said, WAY too expensive for me to even consider, but if they can be under $1k in a few years perhaps could be considered. Curious how much better they really are (if at all)
 
Baxter said:
They look beautiful, and seem pretty cool. As you said, WAY too expensive for me to even consider, but if they can be under $1k in a few years perhaps could be considered. Curious how much better they really are (if at all)
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Not comparing against any conventional four blade props leaves the question if the gains may be diminished some.
I did a quick and dirty calculation based on 15% fuel savings idling in and out of the marina and cruising at my normal 3500-3600 rpm and I'd need 500-600 hours to make up the difference in price from my current four blade stainless. There are the intangibles around improved handling as well but I think I'd need more real-world testimonials before being convinced.
Considering the number of props I tried before I got dialed in testing these could be an expensive exercise. Putting a ding in one could really ruin your day as well.
 
Squire said:
Not comparing against any conventional four blade props leaves the question if the gains may be diminished some.
I did a quick and dirty calculation based on 15% fuel savings idling in and out of the marina and cruising at my normal 3500-3600 rpm and I'd need 500-600 hours to make up the difference in price from my current four blade stainless. There are the intangibles around improved handling as well but I think I'd need more real-world testimonials before being convinced.
Considering the number of props I tried before I got dialed in testing these could be an expensive exercise. Putting a ding in one could really ruin your day as well.
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At $5k I would need to see my return in fuel savings quicker than 600 hours. 600 hours on my main will take me 10 years, and I don't see a world where anyone would put one of these on a kicker!
 
Baxter said:
At $5k I would need to see my return in fuel savings quicker than 600 hours. 600 hours on my main will take me 10 years, and I don't see a world where anyone would put one of these on a kicker!
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Agreed! Even in retirement now I won't put much more than 100 hrs per year on the main.
 
Cool prop technology but it won't be long before a knock-off hits the market - unless Sharrow beats them to it with a more attractive price. For some reason they haven't yet found a way to mass produce them. Too bad, 'cause China will.
 
Squire said:
Agreed! Even in retirement now I won't put much more than 100 hrs per year on the main.
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I do most of my fishing at kitty hump, which is a 10 minute (at most) run from the launch. Don’t build a lot of hours that way!
 
Foxsea said:
Cool prop technology but it won't be long before a knock-off hits the market - unless Sharrow beats them to it with a more attractive price. For some reason they haven't yet found a way to mass produce them. Too bad, 'cause China will.
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very true!!
 
They will be casting these props soon, and that will drop the price. They are made with a CNC now hence the high price. It's on my list once they are reasonable say 1200-1500 a prop. Wouldnt be surprised if Merc or others came out with some look-alike if they can get around patents. It's obvious why they are better design-just damn complicated to make!
 
I've seen it before and it's interesting.

That said it would be nice to know what exactly they benchmarked their product against. There's dozens of variations of a "traditional propeller" many of which are only suitable for specific applications. I guess that's where the "up to" comes into play.
 
Macfuzza said:
I've seen it before and it's interesting.

That said it would be nice to know what exactly they benchmarked their product against. There's dozens of variations of a "traditional propeller" many of which are only suitable for specific applications. I guess that's where the "up to" comes into play.
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with these Sharrow props now available for Yamaha V6 does anyone have any on the water experience with them here in Canada? Not sure if they are available in Canada yet but I'll be asking around at the Van Boat Show (feb 1-5, 2023) as it's something i'd consider.

boattest.com

Sharrow MX-3 Props Now Available For Yamaha V6 Outboard Engines | BoatTEST

Sharrow Website
boattest.com boattest.com

Sharrow MX-3 Props Now Available For Yamaha V6 Outboard Engines​

Jun 22, 2022
 
Boattest.com has been a ton of tests on various vessel/motor combinations and the performance and fuel efficiency improvements seem amazing. What is most significant is the prop's ability to get a boat on plane much quicker and at a much lower rpm than a conventional prop. This obviously has other advantages when wanting or needing to cruise at a lower speed while still maintaining plane. Despite the cost, it may allow you to save the need to upgrade to a larger engine if your boat is somewhat underpowered or choose a lower hp engine for a given boat.

Given the design, my question would be how the prop would stand up in our Pacific NW conditions - lots of wood and kelp in the water? Obviously expensive to repair but also, would they clog with weeds/kelp easily.

Very intriguing and seems to be game changing technology but will be good to see some real world long term tests.
 
carpeweekend said:
Boattest.com has been a ton of tests on various vessel/motor combinations and the performance and fuel efficiency improvements seem amazing. What is most significant is the prop's ability to get a boat on plane much quicker and at a much lower rpm than a conventional prop. This obviously has other advantages when wanting or needing to cruise at a lower speed while still maintaining plane. Despite the cost, it may allow you to save the need to upgrade to a larger engine if your boat is somewhat underpowered or choose a lower hp engine for a given boat.

Given the design, my question would be how the prop would stand up in our Pacific NW conditions - lots of wood and kelp in the water? Obviously expensive to repair but also, would they clog with weeds/kelp easily.

Very intriguing and seems to be game changing technology but will be good to see some real world long term tests.
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That's a great point. How well does it spit a log?
 
seabeyond said:
5000usd a prop eh. Am I reading this correctly?
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Yeah seems like they should be able to bring that price down a bit. They would get a lot more publicity on their product if more people could afford it. It says they are all cnc’d. I wonder if they could injection mold it or something to bring the cost down
 
I'm not sure about Sharrow's prop. It looks impressive... but all marketing does.
I have a 3 blade stainless prop and terrible milage. If I had a 4 blade could I expect better?
 
If they’re as good as they say I’d have one paid off in fuel savings in a year for sure.
If they cut the price in half I’d consider giving them a try.
Still don’t know how they would hold up with all the debris up here
 
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