Just came off the slip this morning, everything looks great and no problems
encountered, however, I was disapointed to see that 50% of the Propspeed
had vanished and some of the prop was pretty well down to bare metal.
I only saw the boat after it had been gurneyed so I'm not sure exactly what
it looked like straight out of the water. I was told to expect two years out of
Propspeed, but not this time. Missus and I use the boat every week but we only
motor to clear water before raising the sails, so I reckon we'd motor about one
or two hours a week.
The Propspeed was applied by the marina guys exactly one year ago. If it's a
case of not being done properly, then next time I'd like to do it myself, but where
do I get the kits from??. Iv'e heard they are available to certain club members
but I'm not a club member, so is there somewhere I can go to in the Sydney
area to purchase it. I believe there are two products - Prop Speed and Prop Gold.

Been discussed on the forum before. It is said that Cabots CFP is as good as Prop Speed. My mate just put it on the prop of his Adams 31. A half litre tin of it costs $50 as does a half litre tin of just about any other paint these days.

A half litre tin of CFP is probably enough for a dozen applications on a propellor with four coats each time. Probably cheaper than anti foul.

ok. so propspeed is a liquid silicone.
It is nothing like cabots CFP which is a polyurethane. but if the cabots product does the job, then why not.
propspeed do not distribute their product on a retail basis because of the risk of it being incorrectly applied and so not working properly and being judged unfairly.
so, if you do manage to get your hands on some, a couple of things...
firstly, you do not need to suit up to use propspeed.
secondly it should be fully removed back to bare metal before each application - using water & wet/dry paper. do not dry rub it or use a machine - the dust is carsogenic & if using a machine (with mask) you will be flinging silicone all over the bottom of your boat, which is not a good surface prep for your antifoul.
the primer needs to be accurately mixed & liberally applied. do not let if fully dry - the instructions suggest that it is best done by two people (one on primer & one on the silicone application).
the silicone is brushed on thickly but avoid having runs thru it & you don't want it forming gravity drips or beads off the bottom edges, because if/when the bead breaks off it will start to tear the rest of the silicone coating away.
when finished, throw the brush away. do not be tempted to try & clean the brush - it will stay contaminated with silicone & if you happen to reuse the thinners for other brushes you will get silicone into them as well. - we wont go into the problem of silicone contamination with paint systems here.
anyway, it is a great product when properly applied & used appropriately. as morningbird says, for $145 to have it applied properly when your slip, clean & antifoul job is running at around $2.5k or more is not a lot in the scheme of things. but if you are wanting to get 3 years or more between slippings and need to save bucks thru DYI, then propspeed is probably not for you. Ideally it is an annual to 18mths re-application.
I don't have any vested interest in the product, but I would have put in on a hundred or more props, so just sharing my experience. Others here may well have a different view.
cheers.

mike_e said..
ok. so propspeed is a liquid silicone.
It is nothing like cabots CFP which is a polyurethane. but if the cabots product does the job, then why not.
propspeed do not distribute their product on a retail basis because of the risk of it being incorrectly applied and so not working properly and being judged unfairly.
so, if you do manage to get your hands on some, a couple of things...
firstly, you do not need to suit up to use propspeed.
secondly it should be fully removed back to bare metal before each application - using water & wet/dry paper. do not dry rub it or use a machine - the dust is carsogenic & if using a machine (with mask) you will be flinging silicone all over the bottom of your boat, which is not a good surface prep for your antifoul.
the primer needs to be accurately mixed & liberally applied. do not let if fully dry - the instructions suggest that it is best done by two people (one on primer & one on the silicone application).
the silicone is brushed on thickly but avoid having runs thru it & you don't want it forming gravity drips or beads off the bottom edges, because if/when the bead breaks off it will start to tear the rest of the silicone coating away.
when finished, throw the brush away. do not be tempted to try & clean the brush - it will stay contaminated with silicone & if you happen to reuse the thinners for other brushes you will get silicone into them as well. - we wont go into the problem of silicone contamination with paint systems here.
anyway, it is a great product when properly applied & used appropriately. as morningbird says, for $145 to have it applied properly when your slip, clean & antifoul job is running at around $2.5k or more is not a lot in the scheme of things. but if you are wanting to get 3 years or more between slippings and need to save bucks thru DYI, then propspeed is probably not for you. Ideally it is an annual to 18mths re-application.
I don't have any vested interest in the product, but I would have put in on a hundred or more props, so just sharing my experience. Others here may well have a different view.
cheers.

Any thoughts on that other product we are now starting to see, Velox. Seems to be just as expensive but probably easier to obtain.

Hi Ramona, I have not used Velox, so cant comment, sorry.
the only other treatment for props that we used was plain old, hard antifoul (eg international ultra) which works ok, but with anything boats, they need to be used, so if it is sitting on a mooring, with no one cleaning it, then you will get growth building up.
we would still use hard antifoul on the prop shafts rather than propspeed, because there doesn't seem to be the required surface speed that propspeed needs. I have seen some yards do all the running gear including rudders which would be an expensive exercise with not much benefit.
cheers.

mike_e said..
Hi Ramona, I have not used Velox, so cant comment, sorry.
the only other treatment for props that we used was plain old, hard antifoul (eg international ultra) which works ok, but with anything boats, they need to be used, so if it is sitting on a mooring, with no one cleaning it, then you will get growth building up.
we would still use hard antifoul on the prop shafts rather than propspeed, because there doesn't seem to be the required surface speed that propspeed needs. I have seen some yards do all the running gear including rudders which would be an expensive exercise with not much benefit.
cheers.

The game boats around here get both props, rudders and shafts done. The shipwright who does the job charges $450 but reckons it should be more like $850 because he has to discount his labour costs. It is labour intensive that's for sure. I have seen one boat using Velox but it's pretty expensive still. I have used all types of antifoul over the years plus lanolin and stove black but I think I will try the Cabots stuff next time.

if you find something that really works, you will make a fortune. At the moment Propspeed seems to be the answer, as long as you use the boat at least every two weeks. If you don't use your boat regularly, you are wasting your money with Propspeed, just use a good hard antifouling and go for a dive every so often and give ithe prop a wash.

Hi Jode, well I qualify for regular boat use. The marina guy told me that if the molluscs get a chance to 'dig in".
When the prop turns it tears a chunk of Propspeed off and the damage is done, so as you say.....use your boat.

Theace. Now that's interesting, for you to have noticed a marked drop off in performance does not bode well for
the Cabots product, however, you will need to tell us the results of any investigation just in case the cause is
something else. Cisco has "said' that Cabots is good but, he hasn't tried it by the sound of it so, whatever you find
out could save folks a deal of effort.

thanks Ace . How does that compare with whatever you had on the prop last time you coated it ?

Hi sands, Before I had the prop caboted I had prop speed . it lasted about 12 months before it went off I use the boat regularly and always give the prop a good workout.will give you more info as soon as I go for a dive .