Propeller shaft: Prop speed, Antifoul or Electrical tape?

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julesmoto
julesmoto
NSW
1585 posts
NSW, 1585 posts
20 Jul 2026 3:23pm
Currently got my boat on the slips and trying to decide how to best protect the prop shaft from fouling.
I have had it suggested to me to wrap it in electrical tape which is a method I have never heard of before. It's a stainless steel shaft and there is a fair bit of it exposed.
Any advice in the next 48 hours gratefully received.
UncleBob
UncleBob
NSW
1317 posts
NSW, 1317 posts
20 Jul 2026 3:40pm
Well, antifoul paint is as the name suggests a paint that prevents, or at least helps prevent marine growth, prop speed is a foul release coating that helps prevent the marine growth from bonding to the substrate when it grows and electrical tape is, well an insulation layer held in place with an adhesive, possessing neither release agents or growth inhibitors.
I would say prop speed for the prop and antifoul for the shaft.
Achernar
Achernar
QLD
398 posts
QLD, 398 posts
20 Jul 2026 9:07pm
Electric tape does not sound like a good solution. Firstly, it is not designed to keep fouling off a prop shaft. Secondly, if your prop shaft is stainless steel, it needs oxygen to stop corrosion. SS stays bright because the chrome in it reacts with oxygen to form a very thin oxide layer that protects the iron. Starve it of oxygen, and the seawater will corrode the iron, which is why SS in oxygen-depleted water turns into a pile of rust very quickly. Seawater at the surface (where your boat should be) has enough dissolved oxygen to feed the chrome. The electrical tape could insulate the prop shaft from the oxygen it needs to prevent corrosion.
garymalmgren
garymalmgren
1402 posts
1402 posts
20 Jul 2026 7:39pm
RE: The electrical tape could insulate the prop shaft from the oxygen it needs to prevent corrosion.

Prop speed is a silicone compound and it would insulate the stainless steel much better than a few wraps of plastic electrical tape.
I experimented with galvanizing spay can paint on my prop and shaft a few years ago and posted here.Not a success!!
Serb did his long term anti-foul experiment.
Now it's Jule's time to give tape a go and let us know,
What do we have to lose?

gary
Chris 249
Chris 249
NSW
3593 posts
NSW, 3593 posts
21 Jul 2026 7:43am
What’s the concensus on how long Propspeed lasts? Our plastic feathering prop is susceptible to fouling, in that if the blades don’t spin into the correct position the engine won’t deliver revs in reverse. On the other hand, Propspeed costs about the same as a new Windsurfer sail or a nice carbon wheel for the racing bike, and in many ways I’d rather spend the cash on toys like that and just dive in to clean the prop.

Has anyone tried a lick of hard racing antifoul on the prop and shaft? I used to have hard racing on the old boat and I can’t recall the prop and shaft getting dirty before the hull did.
garymalmgren
garymalmgren
1402 posts
1402 posts
21 Jul 2026 8:36am
What’s the concensus on how long Propspeed lasts? Our plastic feathering prop is susceptible to fouling,

There is no consensus on the life of propeller coating.
Location, water temperature, water quality, water flow, how often and how long you motor, the quality of the initial application all affect the longevity.
5 years ago my Prop Speed lasted a year. Now I am going on 18 months with a clean prop.
5 years ago the local oyster harvest was great this year it is really bad.
Maybe the fuel spill from the Coast Guard cutter has something to do with that.

RE: Our plastic feathering prop is susceptible to fouling,
You have a plastic propeller?

gary
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