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PropSpeed Efficiency

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Partnership

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Oct 22, 2012
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  1. OWNER - I own a Hatteras Yacht
Hatteras Model
52' COCKPIT MY (1990 - 1999)
I am thinking of applying PropSpeed to my 48 Hatteras MY. Everything I am reading say it is good keeping barnacles and growth off the props, but no one is speaking of speed or efficiency. With a 48 MY, I am obviously looking to make the vessel a "speed merchant", but can anyone tell me if their speed improved after using PropSpeed. At 1900, I am currently cruising around 11-12 knots. Could I expect to pick up a 1/2 knot or better. Just curious!
Thanks in advance for any response, good or bad!​
 
If your speed noted was with clean props then I would say no, you will not pick up any additional.
 
Thanks for the reply, but the speed aspect was a question rather than an observation. I am curious as to whether I should expect ANY increase in speed due to treatment with PropSpeed.
 
Probably makes the props a tiny bit less efficient due to the thickness of the coating but nothing Ive seen measured and probably not noticable.

By the way 1900 at 11-12 is not doing you, your engines or the fuel efficiency any favors.
 
Boatsb said:
Probably makes the props a tiny bit less efficient due to the thickness of the coating but nothing Ive seen measured and probably not noticable.

By the way 1900 at 11-12 is not doing you, your engines or the fuel efficiency any favors.
Click to expand...

"By the way 1900 at 11-12 is not doing you, your engines or the fuel efficiency any favors.[/QUOTE]"



DITTO!
 
When we were in New Zealand, they used a lot of prop speed and the “experts” there claimed a slight in crease in RPM’s due to the slickness of the stuff. I have no actuall experience with this but it seemed to be pretty much a universal agreement in New Zealand where I think the stuff is made. John
 
Please explain "By the way 1900 at 11-12 is not doing you, your engines or the fuel efficiency any favors."

THanks
 
Last edited:
Partnership said:
I am thinking of applying PropSpeed to my 48 Hatteras MY. Everything I am reading say it is good keeping barnacles and growth off the props, but no one is speaking of speed or efficiency. With a 48 MY, I am obviously looking to make the vessel a "speed merchant", but can anyone tell me if their speed improved after using PropSpeed. At 1900, I am currently cruising around 11-12 knots. Could I expect to pick up a 1/2 knot or better. Just curious!
Thanks in advance for any response, good or bad!​
Click to expand...



What engines are you running? I'm assuming you have a Series I MY (1981 - 1984) 48. As you
probably know they came from the factory with either 6-71 N's or 6-92 TA's. The 71 engine boat
won't get up and plane, but the 92 boat will unless there are extenuating factors such as tired engines
etc. At your 1900 rpm's you should be up and running. I would not run at that speed until I got to
the bottom of where your problem may be.

I have a 1982 Series 1 48 MY with "High Performance" 92's that will cruise all day between 16 and 17
knots at those RPM's. Bobk has a sistership that is not quite as fast as mine but will also get up and
run.

In response to whether or not the prop speed will increase your speed........maybe. My observation
is that most folks that are looking to squeeze out that extra quarter of a knot are very fastidious
about bottom maintenance and some of the claimed performance improvements by the product
manufacturer only seem to improve slightly because of all the other attention to detail. When I was
a sailor we used to wax the bottoms of our boats prior to a race to hopefully gain a tenth of a knot.
Prop Speed or not, the fastest most efficient bottoms are only that way for a little while when you
first splash the boat. As soon as any growth starts, efficiency suffers. Once again assuming that you
have 71 series engines, don't expect your boat to be a race horse, if on the other hand you have the
92's, then I would look into all of the many other factors that may be hurting your performance. Prop
Speed alone will not gain you several knots.

Walt
 
Walt,
Thanks for the insight. This year will be the first time we will run the boat to any great extent. The PARTNERSHIP, #82 in the production series, has been under renovation for the last two years. If you are curious, take a look at Photo Galley.
It's powered by 6V92's with twin turbo's, which I am told likes to run at 1700-1750. I have run Detroits in my previous Sea Ray Express, but that is a completely different performing vessel. What do you run yours at for peak efficiency.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
 
Partnership said:
Please explain "By the way 1900 at 11-12 is not doing you, your engines or the fuel efficiency any favors."

THanks
Click to expand...

You need to run either at hull speed or on plane. 11/12kts is just about the worst possible speed for a boat that size as you have a big load on the engines and are burning a ton more fuel. Hull speed is roughly the sq root of LWL x 1.3. For the the 48, its probably around 8.8 to 8.9 kts. Any pthng ove that and your fuel burn increases way faster than your speed. If you had flow meters, you d be shocked to see the difference. Typically, just 1.5 to 2 kts over hull speed double the fuel burn... at 12 kts your burning close to what you d burn if fully on plane

Now if its taking 1900 rom to get to 12kts, assuming your DDs are rated at 2300, i doubt the boat will get on plane, or at least not a power setting you could run at cruise.

Start by cleaning the runnning gear and the bottom. Prop speed will prevent growth but it will not makes the props slicker and increase performance. Personally i find prop speed to be too expensive for th benefits. Cheaper to have a diver clean the boat every month. Also, if operating in shallow sand, like we do in the exumas, the props will get sandblasted and the expensive prop speed stripped off.

If with clean running gear and bottom, you r still only get 12 kts at 1900 then it s time to check the engines.
 
I have finally gotten by vessel back for the boat yard after Soda Blasing, applying barrier coats, and anti fouling coats. THe vessel peaked at 2450, with a ground speed pf 15.9 into the current.. Not knowing ay better, I am somewhat pleased with the performance, as she scaled at 53,600 lbs when pulled. Any thoughts or comments.
 
6v92s in a 48MY should go a lot lot lot faster.

Unless its a 5 Kt current.
 
I tried it once and don't think I saw any improvement in speed or efficiency. It's a little hard to know because it gets a bottom job at the same time.

What I can tell you was that when I went back in for my next bottom job (back to my trusted yard) he told me that if I ever use that s**t again, he is going to have to charge me extra because it was a bear getting it off.

George
 
Partnership said:
I have finally gotten by vessel back for the boat yard after Soda Blasing, applying barrier coats, and anti fouling coats. THe vessel peaked at 2450, with a ground speed pf 15.9 into the current.. Not knowing ay better, I am somewhat pleased with the performance, as she scaled at 53,600 lbs when pulled. Any thoughts or comments.
Click to expand...

How strong is the current? If sea trialing in a current you need to run both ways and average the results.

If you re topping at 16/17kts, then you wont stay on plane at cruise power setting and basicslly have an 8.5 kts trawler...
 
We have had propspeed in the past on our current boat and others. I haven’t really seen the vast difference that some claim except in the cost of product. Either using the boat often or having a diver regularly does make a difference. I saw the same performance with multiple products. One thing I can say is all the divers that I have used I haven’t had any of them push or promote the product, and if you cleaned the bottom of a boat I would suggest a product that would make my job easier.
 
Two boats docked next to mine did the prop speed thing a little over a year ago. Both of them were discussing a couple weeks ago and agreed it wasn't worth the money. I probably wont go there when I haul mine out
 
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