Sharrow Torroidal props - anyone using one?

[Scott Cunningham]

Have been hearing some buzz on the Sharrow propellers? Has anyone tried them out on their boat?

I have a 2003 SR 200, with a 265 HP and the contra-rotating final drive. It has decent power, but if I can bump up the power/speed/mileage by 20% or so simply by swapping out the props, I might consider it.

--edit--- Just looked up the price... Yikes.... I'd pay a few hundred for a prop, not a few thousand.

 

[blaster]

I would love one but the cost is too much to swallow. The noise reduction is really amazing and is probably a greater benefit than the increased efficiency. Hopefully they will catch on and economy of scale will bring the cost down to an affordable level. I would maybe go $1500 for one but I can’t justify $5000

 

[Tucker K5]

Called them last year and got a quote for my 680. $5000……. I wish.

 

[Blueone]

The return on investment isn’t there yet

 

[Tucker K5]

At $90k investment and $6 fuel it’s a 350 engine hour (at 32 mph) ROI.

 

[Scott215]

What is the advantage to these props versus say a stainless steel stiletto or the likes

 

[Tucker K5]

What is the advantage to these props versus say a stainless steel stiletto or the likes

35% improved fuel efficiency which would IMO imply 35% less drivetrain wear (per mile) and 35% more range on a tank of fuel.

https://www.sharrowmarine.com/perfo...rld-cat-325-dc-with-twin-yamaha-300-hp-motors

 

[b_arrington]

My “regular” 29x32 NiBrAl prop runs about $9k. I can’t imagine what a Sharrow prop that size would be.

 

[Tucker K5]

They told me it would be about $30k for engineering and then it was about $30k each for the props.

 

[Scott Cunningham]

What is the advantage to these props versus say a stainless steel stiletto or the likes

The prop has a really ingenious blade design, much more complex than the typical curved blade of a normal screw.

I already have the contra rotating prop final drive (VERY happy with that). It offered many of the performance gains that the torroidal props do, with the added advantage of almost completely eliminating prop torque twist. If I ordered another IO I'd be sure to have that as part of the package.

I'm wondering why that instead of mounting two props on the same shaft in the complex contra rotating config they didn't take the final drive and "T" it off into a L and R housing, each with its own props. Basically a single motor turning two linked props. I imagine the performance gains would be even better