Bow thruster blade upgrade

While you are doing the blade upgrade, you may want to change the oil in the tailpiece. Vetus recommends changing it every 2 to 4 years.

Seems pretty easy to do, just open the oil tank, remove the drain plug, let all the old oil out, fill it back up, put the plug in when the new oil starts coming out.
 
Aftert wo years, this Vetus Prop upgrade has been one of the best upgrades I've done. This and net cutters (Spurs). Now if there was a better Cutless bearing product out there ?
 
Arrived today $133.00 with shipping. Bought a replacement zinc as well. Looks like this project will be finished on Saturday. Pics to follow.
 
:thumbsup:You will enjoy the quietness of the new design. Efficient too.
 
New one installed, oil changed and new zinc (after the photo).

2010-02-21121.jpg



Thanks CSR.
 
To all,

We just made the leap to the new and improved prop for our Vetus 80.

We bought the Set 0088 kit from Jamestown Distributors (also a great place to deal with). The shear pin shipped supplied with the unit was of a different size than the one used with the 3 blade prop (4mm vs. 5mm). It slipped right through and was a cause for concern. We also discovered that there are different zincs used in the 80 depending on when it was made. Liuckily we were able to get the correct one from BoatZincsUS which mounted to the oil drain plug.

Vetus-BP-129-installed.jpg


After contacting Vetus and working with a very patience and helpful rep named Tim we determined that that the shear pin did not have to be tightly fitted and would not effect performance or damage the shaft. With that in mind we proceeded to mount the prop and found that due to the tailpiece being a hair off center the new prop would not fit or turn freely and touched the tube walls.

Again some emails to Vetus and we felt comfortable shaving off about 1/16" of the blades in order for it to work properly. We were under the gun and had only 12 hours before launch to get it done. We found that mounting the blade on a drill press (no lathe was available) allowed us to spin and shave off the 1/16" evenly and with enough percision.

We installed it a few hours before splashdown and it worked great. Quieter and prehaps more thrust (hard to tell) and worth the $136!

Joe
 
I did this a month ago too. It does definitely seem quieter, but also doesn't seem to me to be as strong as the original three blade...
 
Upgrading to the six blade prop. I have always painted the three blade prop with MDR transducer paint, but it was already rough when I purchased the boat. It worked well (no fouling) but paint was worn off by haul out in the fall.
Should I paint the new prop or leave it as is?
 
Should I paint the brand new bow thruster prop or leave it as is?

Nothing guys?
 
I upgraded my thruster prop a few years ago and have been painting it ever since. I have used spray trilux 33 because I had it from doing the leg of the thruster and have had minimal paint build up and no growth in the prop.
 
Thanks !
 
Asureyez said:
Aftert wo years, this Vetus Prop upgrade has been one of the best upgrades I've done. This and net cutters (Spurs). Now if there was a better Cutless bearing product out there ?
Click to expand...
Did you have any issues on the SPURS with tapered shafts. I have a 540 with CAT3196's and the shaft is tapered from the strut hub to the prop hub. SPURs says they need a little over an inch of strait shaft. Did you need to use the shaft extension?

Thanks

Jim
 
We have the upgraded thruster props on our bow and stern thrusters. You will love how much quieter it is and the additional thrust. No downsides
 
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