Many people across the globe love boats and boating adventures. How do we know? Recent statistics tell us that approximately 140 million people around the world actively take part in boating and water sports.
What’s not to love about embarking on a blue water adventure? However, if you want to enjoy a boating excursion, you need a safe vessel. Boat propellers are vital to the operation of a boat, and thus, enjoy your time at sea.
Are you taking the right measures to care for your boat’s propeller in the manner it needs you to? If you are scratching your head, stop everything you are doing right now, and keep reading!
Boat Maintenance
When your boat is in the boatyard, it is important the check your boat propeller and perform routine boat propeller care. The boat propeller is vital for your boat’s performance, including fuel consumption.
Boat propeller damage is complex, and to repair it, you must call upon a professional. Keep your propeller in the best working order by being proactive.
Boat Propeller Care
Here are more specific details on how to maintain and check your boat’s propeller.
First, you must cleanse it often. Remove all marine growth. To remove barnacles, recommendations say to use a plastic scraper.
You can use a homemade recipe, too, for a cleaner. Mix up some flour, salt, and white vinegar. You can apply this paste to the surface of your boat propeller for approximately 15 minutes and then rinse it with warm water.
Next, polish it. However, be ready to use your elbow grease. Don’t use a grinder, but you can use a ball of superfine wire wool to help it.
Grease the Boat Propeller
Folding and feathering boat propellers will require greasing. The manufacturer provides instructions related to greasing the boat propeller. Also, the manufacturer can provide kits for doing this.
Check the Boat Propeller Material
You should check the surface of the boat propeller blades often. Look for scratches, nicks, and dents. Particularly, check the tips of the blades.
If you have stainless-steel blades, you will want to see if you find any hairline cracks. Especially check the edges for hairline cracks. If you catch a hairline crack, it is much cheaper to repair it than to purchase a new boat propeller.
However, if you ignore a hairline crack, it will continue to deteriorate to where you must purchase a new one. It is always cheaper to purchase pieces of a propeller, rather than the entire boat propeller. We recommend you shop for a boat propeller puller here.
Affecting Performance and Causing Vibration
If chunks of metal are missing or if a blade is bent out of its shape, it will hurt the performance of the boat. Further, you will experience vibration, which can damage seals, bearings, struts, and drive shafts. In cases such as these, ask a specialist to help you repair your boat propeller.
Take Care Boat Propellers
While a boat is an enormous investment in terms of money, it also allows you to invest your time in something you enjoy. Do you love sailing in blue waters? Then you must take great care of your boat so you can continue to do what you love.
Boat propellers need TLC, like any other parts of a vehicle. Make sure you give it its due attention and proper maintenance.
Anytime you want to learn more about vehicle repairs, come back and visit us. We have a lot of repair and DIY tips that will help you maintain the vehicles you love so that your vehicle can serve you the way you want it to.