Anyone any feedback on Ringprops?

[umblecumbuz]

Ringprops are in the WestMarine and other catalogs, but untried here in the Med.<br /><br />Has anyone any experience with them? Any comparisons as to performance, quality, etc?<br /><br />The thought that they are much safer, and can sustain hard knocks without damage, is appealing.

 

[bayman]

Re: Anyone any feedback on Ringprops?

The concept has been around and used for a long time, but the idea hasn't been used much on recreational boats. I think the main problem with this type of prop is the performance at high speeds.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Anyone any feedback on Ringprops?

boating mag ran an article about prop guards a while back. don't remember everything, but the jist of the article was that they cut performance (speed, acceleration, fuel economy) in a big way. something like 30% all around. they even claimed they affected handling and could cause the boat to be more dangerous. of course, they were sort of lobbying for boaters' support, as they mentioned several lawsuits that could lead to mandatory guards on all boats, which would really suck.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Anyone any feedback on Ringprops?

Matt,<br /><br />These are not exactly prop guards - they are props with a different shape that includes a sort-of wavy ring around the blades.<br /><br />See their website: <br />www.ringprop.com/home.html<br /><br />Their video claims that they're faster, safer and can spin a boat on a dime!<br /><br />Got me curious.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Anyone any feedback on Ringprops?

Regarding prop guards, they're deadly! Strike a limb with a conventional prop and the blade is going to leave quite a gash. But when it hits bone, it pushes it away. Still a nasty injury, but at least you still have the limb. The rings you put around the prop, hold that limb nicely in place and the effect is much more like a Food Processor. <br /><br />This design incorporates that right into the prop itself. While the effect may not be as bad as with a prop guard, it's still going to hold a hand or foot and cut it clean off where a conventional could push it away.<br /><br />But those are odd situations. My concern is regarding damage repair. I doubt you'd find anybody willing to rebuild one. So just like a fairly inexpensive plastic prop ... damage it and chuck it. That's an awfully expensive throw-away prop!

 

[code p1mp]

Re: Anyone any feedback on Ringprops?

This is the biggest crock I have seen yet.. Every link says "info comming soon" on thier website. That ring is a gimmick, not to metion the fact that it would have to be machined to such an extent that it couldn't be thicker or thinner at any point. Centerfugal forces would cause the improperly weighted ring to pull on its thickest part shaking the rotation into an ellipses and severly putting strain on your lower unit. These props would be money pits and impossible to re-tool.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Anyone any feedback on Ringprops?

WillyB - thanks for your input. I think the damage repair comment you made is important. It could turn out to be an expensive prop. Here, we rarely hit anything worse than a dead fish. Deep, clear water - so prop damage is a low priority.<br /><br />Code - the ring round the prop is an aerofoil section, which is wider on some parts of the ring than others. It's not a hard task to mould then machine such a section, and I'm sure they've gone into it thoroughly, so I can't agree with your conclusions.<br /><br />Guess there aren't many Ringprop users around yet!