Carry A Spare?
Published: Tuesday, June 2, 2020
By: Professionals of Henry H. Smith Co.
We carry spare batteries, flashlights, flares, sunscreen, and many other items to enjoy the water safely. Similarly, part of our car’s safety equipment always includes a spare tire or another way to deal with a flat. We cannot know when we will run over something that causes a flat tire and we must be sure we can somehow get ourselves back to safety. That’s why almost everyone’s first driving lesson from Mom or Dad includes explaining how to change a flat tire.
Why is it that the spare propeller for our boats is not looked at in the same way? So many boats take to the waterways without thinking to take a spare. Our safety list usually includes a paddle to get us to safety, but on most powerboats, especially in waves and wind, a paddle will not be very effective or sufficient.
Just as in your car, it is very important that you carry spare drive parts and know how to change them. Changing a propeller in the water on a sterndrive or outboard is relatively easy to do.
Most propeller designs include relief points to save your gears and expensive drive components from impact loads. These come in the form of rubber or plastic sleeves that ‘break away’ upon impacts that would otherwise do more significant damage than ‘spinning the hub.’ Newer designs use hub kits that may simply require replacement of the plastic drive sleeve.
Beyond safety, sometimes a spare prop can simply save a weekend! With our short boating season, we cannot afford to lose a gorgeous weekend to equipment problems. Regardless of our weekend boating plans, something could happen to the propeller just before, requiring a long fix or a replacement of your prop and more time than is available before the weekend. Having a spare and the knowledge to change your prop could save your plans.
There are many ways to achieve that ‘spare tire’ to get us safely back to shore. A complete propeller assembly may not be necessary, just as some newer cars are opting for alternative systems to inflate a flat tire. If your propeller design uses a hub kit, a replacement drive sleeve may be all that you need to carry. Emergency props are another option; they’re typically plastic and fit on the motor’s shaft, replacing the broken drive sleeve and propeller. This is obviously not a performance solution, but one that will get you to shore.
Along with the knowledge, you must also carry the tools to make the change and extras of the small hardware pins and washers (read: easy to drop overboard) used to make the change. Read through your owner’s manual and even practice changing the propeller, much like you did when learning to change a tire. It is much easier to learn and practice the procedure at a dock in the calm than it is in open water.
Just as a flat tire happens when you least expect it, propeller damage can happen at the worst possible time and location. In the unfortunate event of propeller damage, you will be relieved to know that you have the tools, knowledge, and components necessary to make the change and get your boat safely back to shore.
About the Author
Founded in Detroit by Henry H. and William H. Smith, the company continues to employ 3rd and 4th generation members of the family, carrying on a legacy established in 1900 - to be your Marine Drive Specialists. www.henrysmith.com
This article first appeared in the Launch Issue (May/Jun) 2020 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
tags: Propellers, safety
