Vibration

[dgraves]

I bought a 1983 airgator about 1 year ago. I use it to duck hunt out of in the winter and then we use it to bow fish during the summer. I have a chevy 350 motor with wooden prop on it. When I took it out a couple of weeks ago I notice a vibration when I started taking off about 1500 rpm. But it stops when I go above that and will not do it again till the motor starts slowing the rpm's back down. Any sugestions? Thanks

 

[Olf Art]

Have you checked the motor mounts ? They might have loosened or deteriorated.

 

[dgraves]

No I have not but I will this afternoon. I checked my prop and it is on the hub and the bolts are tight. Thanks.

 

[plumcrazy]

do you keep the prop out of th e rain and horzontal wood will obsorb moisture and lose there ballance

 

[dgraves]

I was told to keep the prop up and down. Is this correct or in correct? But my boat was covered when I was not using it. Will it dry out or do I have to get it rebalanced.
Thanks.

 

[Des Moines Boater]

Water does get into wood props. To keep the water equal on both blades you need to turn your prop horizontal. Putting it straight up and down allows all the rain to run to and settle on the lower blade. You can pull the prop and put it on a make shift balance and see if one side is heaver than the other. A bubble balance at a tire shop works too. They do dry out but they can also rot over time.

If you kept it out of the weather that shouldn't be a problem. Make sure you check your bolts too and torque them for the bolt you have. They do come loose. Once it is torqued correctly check the tracking. Use an object to get within an eighth of on inch from one point on the end of the prop blade then spin the other blade around and see if it is close to the same tracking point. If the blade weights are balanced and the tracking is true then you need to look at something else. Good luck and let us know.

 

[SwampMatt]

Florida Air Prop told us when we bought our new prop from them that even if stored dry the INTERNAL moisture can seep to one end of the prop if stored up/down. Even if stored indoors i.e. if it's off the boat, store it FLAT, not leaning against the wall.

So there is this rule: store your boat with the prop sideways/horizontal. Tow it with it up/down for less wind resistance. But remember to give it a 1/4 turn when you get home. A day or two vertical is not a problem - just not weeks stored that way.

I don't know if putting the heavy end up for a few days/weeks would fix it. You may have to take it back to the mfgr to have it refurbished and re-balanced. I think they strip it to bare wood, let it stabilize to uniform internal moisture for a week or two, (maybe they bake it in a kiln) then put on new metal leading edges & tips, re-balance and re-varnish/paint it. I think it costs 2 or 3 hundred to have that done.

Don't run with an unbalanced prop! Check your welds for cracks & chipped paint at joints.

matt.

 

[dgraves]

Do you know of a place that I could send it around Oklahoma or Texas to check it out? If I wanted to put a composite on there what would I need?

 

[SwampMatt]

Just found this out looking for a website to post in another thread....

http://www.arrowprop.com/

Arrowprop Company
P.O. Box 610
Meeker, OK 74855, USA

Phone: (405)279-3833
Fax: (405)279-2377
E-Mail: Arrowprop@aol.com

I'll bet they could give you some good advice and maybe even good service too. Worth a call!

Hope this helps.

matt.