jerryk
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Post by jerryk on Jun 25, 2022 10:57:52 GMT -5
Has anyone seen or used Sharrow propellers on a Yamaha yet? I heard that Sharrow was doing some sort of partnership with Yamaha and I'd love to see how their prop does on our Sailfish boats. For those that haven't seen them yet, the Sharrow prop is more of a loop than a blade-based prop and for most of the applications I've seen some pretty huge improvements in efficiency and fuel mileage at almost all speeds. They are expensive and appear to be customized for each boat, but given the cost of fuel these days the payback may not be as bad as it once was. Discussion launched...go!
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jerryk
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Post by jerryk on Jun 25, 2022 11:06:59 GMT -5
I just checked the Sharrow website...https://www.sharrowmarine.com/store/mx-3 shows as available in spring 2023 for Yamahas, but may be an option from factory build boats sooner so I'm interested in any comments you have. Details from the site:
The Sharrow MX-3 is a new propeller series developed by Sharrow Marine for the Yamaha V6 line-up of outboard engines (200 HP, 225 HP, 250 HP, and 300 HP V6 engines).
The Sharrow MX-3™ is available in right-hand and left-hand configurations in the optimal pitch/diameter for your boat/motor combination. There are 22 propellers in the Sharrow MX-3 series offered in ½ pitch increments so you can dial-in and fine-tune your experience on the water!
The Sharrow MX-3™ is CNC machined in the USA from our premium quality stainless steel alloy and LAB finished to over 10X the industry standard of accuracy to blueprint specifications.
The Sharrow Propeller™ is the first major advancement in propeller technology since the 1830s. Its design has solved the most basic problem of rotary propulsion. Specifically, tip cavitation and vortices have been eliminated or significantly reduced, providing the following benefits over traditional propeller designs:
More command of the vessel when docking
Planes at 500-1000 lower RPM
Significant speed increase at mid-range RPMs
As much as 30% more efficient between 2500-4000 RPM
Provides up to 30% greater range
Noticeably less vibration
Up to 50% more reverse thrust
Quieter at planing speeds
Superior handling in tight turns at high speeds
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Post by hookedup on Jun 25, 2022 11:30:01 GMT -5
I haven't seen the price for the new "Yamaha" props, but I got a price for one about a year ago (MX-2 I believe). It was 4k. Same features as you listed. Just couldn't think of the right things to say to convince the Admiral we couldn't live without one.
For sure if I was doing this commercially or using the boat a LOT more it would be a viable option. Hard sell with 100-200 hours per year, but maybe with the price of fuel what it is, it might make more sense. Hope they can bring the price down.
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jerryk
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Post by jerryk on Jun 25, 2022 11:38:57 GMT -5
The site shows a $500 deposit down now gets you one in the spring 2023, and the price is $5k. I agree makes more sense for a commercial boat, but I now want to do the math to see what a payback it is at $6/gallon, $7/gallon, $8/gallon...just thinking ahead, sadly.
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Post by hookedup on Jun 25, 2022 11:46:57 GMT -5
Ugh. Price went in the wrong direction, but isn't everything more expensive now? Fuel at the dock was $5.99 last week, so I'm already at $6.
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jerryk
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Post by jerryk on Jun 25, 2022 11:51:35 GMT -5
I'm hoping that at some point those props reach a point where the supply/demand of the market, plus the casting technology with higher volume production, causes a drop in price. Some day they should be competitive with premium stainless props now on the market. They sure look interesting to me, but running two engines doubles my prop costs too, so maybe someone with a single would benefit more readily until pricing drops.
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hans
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Post by hans on Jun 29, 2022 16:13:42 GMT -5
boattest did a video on their site with test comparison with a 150 merc on a bowrider. www.sharrowmarine.com/sharrow-propellerbased on the BoatTest guy this one is legit and has a lot of pros, but for 5k you better dont ding it up, I have twins - so that would make it 10k...
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jerryk
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Post by jerryk on Jun 29, 2022 16:29:54 GMT -5
$10k is too much for me too, but the technology has my interest. You gotta save a lot on gas to make up that cost. But as an option on a new boat it make more sense since you offset the cost by deleting the standard prop. I am interested to hear some real world results...
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Post by finatic on Jun 29, 2022 17:24:56 GMT -5
I thought they were approximately 5k each. Big money. One would have to put a lot of hours on the boat to make that back on fuel saving.
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Post by hookedup on Jun 29, 2022 17:57:24 GMT -5
I thought they were approximately 5k each. Big money. One would have to put a lot of hours on the boat to make that back on fuel saving. That's what the Admiral told me, among other things. Most of those are illegal in print.
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jerryk
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Post by jerryk on Nov 10, 2022 15:19:28 GMT -5
So I wanted to bump this up again since I just saw a report where they tested performance on a Robalo 302 Center Console with twin 300 Yammies using factory prop versus the new Sharrow MX-3 props. It got me thinking again and I decided to do a cost/benefits analysis to see how it fell out. I was surprised that at $5k per prop, with twin 200's on my boat, I would with some level of confidence make it to break even by the end of 6 years, paying for the Sharrow upgrade with gas savings. I tried to be realistic in many of the assumptions I used, which include 150 hours of use per year, a starting price per gallon of gas at $4.50 with 2% increase each year, and cruising speed usage 85% of the time. I'll attach the spreadsheet I made if you are really geeky like me and want to play around with it or see how I did the calculations as the spreadsheet formulas are visible. I promise I'm not working for Sharrow, but that upgrade is now pressing on my mind...if I keep the boat just 9 years with Sharrow props on it I can pay for autopilot and still be ahead! Hmmmm.
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Post by hookedup on Nov 10, 2022 15:29:56 GMT -5
Not the same as our boats, but what was advertised and what was actually observed was dramatically different.
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jerryk
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Post by jerryk on Nov 10, 2022 16:23:02 GMT -5
Thanks, the bottom line is there just isn't a lot of data out there and the discussion link you put above was for a different kind of boat and for which I'm not sure the pitch of the prop has been properly dialed in yet. I tend to trust that the BOATtest.com data that I see on various types of boats, once the pitch is properly dialed in, is fairly realistic as they are not linked to Sharrow or any manufacturer and have no vested interest in what they find in their tests. Nonetheless, I would love to hear of some real world data on boats like ours with Yamaha outboards.
If you look at the spreadsheet I did, you can play with numbers in some of the fields like the MPG fields and the results will promote to the range and savings per year. You can also play with the price of gas fields if you don't like my initial assumptions of $4.50/gal with 2% increase each year, and see how that plays out in the payback savings. I'm still intrigued and the added performance in boat handling that they profess would just be a bonus to me. I would love to run at 25 MPH with 35 or 30% better MPG however, since much of my cruising is limited to that speed due to the manatee zones around here, and I really don't care about top end because I almost never run for long at WOT. Mostly 2500 to 3500 RPM.
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Post by hookedup on Nov 10, 2022 17:15:47 GMT -5
I tend to run around that same speed most of the time. WOT on most days around here isn't realistic unless you're into pain. I was able to convince the Admiral about all the upgrades so far, but the the Sharrow prop would be a hard sell considering most years I'm putting on less than 200 hours. I would like the lower planning speed at times, and less fuel burn when heading out 80 miles to the gulf stream, but at only 200 hours per year the payback is somewhere beyond 5 years. I did the calculation when they first came out, but I've forgotten exactly where the break even might occur. I guess all my years working for a company that based investments on 2 year payback made me see 5+ years as not a good investment.
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jerryk
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Post by jerryk on Nov 10, 2022 17:42:47 GMT -5
I hear you. Then again, this is my third boat and the other two I owned for at least a minimum of 10 years each, and put well over 1000 hours on each of them. So with that in mind the payback and net savings starts to look attractive to me. If I was smart and had ten grand laying around doing nothing, I think the order would be in already.
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