Horrible ProPulse Experience today - any ideas what would cause?

[1badhusky]

Put one on my 07 Bayliner 185 w/ the 4.3, seemed to be running great - smoother than my dinged up 3 blade alu prop up to 30, then tried a high speed run up to 40 and it felt like I hit a rock and my outdrive imploded.

Brought it back down to neutral, tried to check it but couldn't see w/ the giant swim platform so put it in gear, anything above idle foward and it felt like it had broken blade - horrible vibration.

Limped back to the boat launch, pulled the boat - absolutely nothing wrong w/ the prop as far as I could tell. Spline good, no dings or cracks, everything set up exactly like it was when I put it on. Pitch on all four blades was still correct.

So I was thinking I destroyed my outdrive. Put the old alu 3 blade back on - boat ran fine for the next 4 hours.

So something is seriously f'd up w/ that ProPulse, but damn if I can tell what it is and why it would run fine, seemingly implode at 40mph, then hardly work at all at any speed, and nothing look damaged at all???

I guess it doesn't matter - I'll never put it back on my boat - back to west marine it goes and I'm getting an aluminum prop.

 

[hwsiii]

Re: Horrible ProPulse Experience today - any ideas what would cause?

Husky, from the literature on the propulse my theory is that the prop was not put together right the first time you used it. Take the prop apart with the bolts in the back with the manual right next to you and then look at what slipped. I think you will find the problem very quickly. There are too many of them being used for it to be a design problem in my opinion.



H

 

[txtoyman]

Re: Horrible ProPulse Experience today - any ideas what would cause?

I don't know, go to the C-Brats forum and they either HATE them and will never have another - or the LOVE them and won't run anything else. I;d like to try one but am kinda shy of them after some comments about them shedding blades so easily.

 

[capt sam]

Re: Horrible ProPulse Experience today - any ideas what would cause?

I bought one a few years ago at a marine trading show, made sure all the adjustments were correct and water tested it, similiar results, I thought I lost a blade. It sits in the shed now collecting dust.

 

[1badhusky]

Re: Horrible ProPulse Experience today - any ideas what would cause?

Found the problem, and it's basically full on design fail...

Sorry for the bad pic, but 3 out of 4 of these little tabs had cracked. They are the tabs that adjust the pitch of each blade. So the crazy vibration was 3 of my 4 blades going back and forth from 18-21 pitch.

What a total piece of crap this prop was. With as much as could be on the line when you go out on the water, worrying about this kind of bs is not something I'll ever do again.

For those who love their propulse props, ok, maybe I got a bad one, but once you experience limping into port at 1.5 mph amidst the heavy traffic of the Columbia River, you won't want to do it again. Not to mention that this could have totally screwed up my outdrive or done this while I was in a storm or crossing a bar.

Propulse - you should be god damned ashamed of making even one prop that this happens to. Yeah, I'm pretty po'd.