CNC machines produce our perfectly matched 5-blade or 6-blade cleaver propellers.
Skilled craftsmen hand-finish each CNC prop.
Continuing from Virtual Tour - Part 6: Propellers…we’ll review the evolution of surface piercing propellers, culminating with our amazing CNC Sterndrive Cleavers.
I first reviewed my classic literature collection for information regarding the evolution of surface piercing propellers. Copy from the propeller section of a 1972 Hi-Performance Mercury/MerCruiser Accessories catalog references our change from bronze to stainless steel that year. I sent Dick Snyder an e-mail to get his input regarding racing propeller history.
Dick Snyder
Three-blade “elephant ear” props on a quad 1250BP rig ready for testing at Lake X.
A 2-blade stainless prop on a merCruiser III drive. This drive was packaged with a 475 h.p. engine.
Dick Snyder was in charge of Mercury’s propeller engineering in the early ’60s. “When I took over prop engineering in the early ’60s, I had inherited nothing but low rake (6 degree), 2-bladed props. We had no racing or hi-performance props. “There soon came a time when I fell in love with 15 degrees of rake and 3-bladed props for the added smoothness and a little better acceleration. You typically would lose a small amount of top-end going from a 2-blade to 3-blade prop. The higher 15-degree rake allowed the props to “hold” at greater trim angles for enhanced bow lift and greater hull efficiency. This resulted with even greater top-end speeds than the lower rake 2-blade props,” Dick explained. In 1984, Dick was promoted to Director of Mercury Hi-Performance. So he promoted Bob Hetzel to run Mercury’s racing prop and gearcase shop. “We had quite an interesting development of stainless steel props for racing, followed by replacing bronze for stainless steel on our recreational props,” said Dick. Read the rest of this entry »
