Marine Safe Propeller

[Baithoven]

Hey all.

How are we?

Yo. I was watching some show on tv about inventing stuff some time ago. It was a propper show. Anyway. One of the inventions was a boat propeller that didn't hurt marine life and also didn't affect/effect boat speed. It was green from memory and you could turn the propeller on and put your arm into it and it wouldn't hurt you. Same thing for Turtles and Dugong and stuff. Anyway. It was probably the best invention I've seen in many, many years. It won the show. But for some reason I haven't noticed them around? I would have thought it would be compulsory to have one.

Bit of a shame they have gone underground. Everybody should have one of these propellers if they own a boat. It should be compulsory by a certain date to own one. Simple.

Anyway. If anybody knows the propeller I'm talking about please share what info you have. Be good to start a movement to really get these things out there. Also apologies I don't have a profile picture. Couldn't figure out hwo to get one.

Peace,

Rob

[Doobsy]

Mate, haven't seen the prop but sounds interesting.

Excellent User Name BTW.

[Baithoven]

Hey Doobsy,

Thanks for the reply.

Here is some info about it http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2736928.htm

God bless!

Rob

[Gad]

Hey all.

How are we?

Yo. I was watching some show on tv about inventing stuff some time ago. It was a propper show. Anyway. One of the inventions was a boat propeller that didn't hurt marine life and also didn't affect/effect boat speed. It was green from memory and you could turn the propeller on and put your arm into it and it wouldn't hurt you. Same thing for Turtles and Dugong and stuff. Anyway. It was probably the best invention I've seen in many, many years. It won the show. But for some reason I haven't noticed them around? I would have thought it would be compulsory to have one.

Bit of a shame they have gone underground. Everybody should have one of these propellers if they own a boat. It should be compulsory by a certain date to own one. Simple.

Anyway. If anybody knows the propeller I'm talking about please share what info you have. Be good to start a movement to really get these things out there. Also apologies I don't have a profile picture. Couldn't figure out hwo to get one.

Peace,

Rob

you jest, of course?

[Baithoven]

You don't think that the safety of people and marine life is important? This should be paramount to the boating experience. Especially in places like Moreton Bay that have dugong populations. These things could save lives of both people and marine life. I think that's a fair reason to make them compulsory, Gad.

[Bommie]

looks like you would lose a lot of bite, reducing performance and it would still hurt getting hit by it

[Baithoven]

@Bommie - It doesn't hurt. If you watch the video or saw the episode of inventors. You can put your arm in it at full speed and it doesn't hurt. It is also designed so that it doesn't reduce performance in any way. Did you visit the link?

[Gad]

You don't think that the safety of people and marine life is important? This should be paramount to the boating experience. Especially in places like Moreton Bay that have dugong populations. These things could save lives of both people and marine life. I think that's a fair reason to make them compulsory, Gad.

What I think is, if I agreed with you,we would both be wrong

[regulated]

You wouldn't be connected with the product in any way would you. Might be a good item but there is still a big heavy boat and leg which could harm anything when travelling at speed. I suppose thatp why we have go slow zones and not this product

[tugger]

In the link I did not see him put his arm in at full speed it looked like it was at idle and BJ is right most turtles and dugongs are killed by the skeg of the motor hitting the animals while at speed

[Bommie]

if any one is really concerned then you would do away with the propeller all together and go impeller jet propulsion but then as Tugger has said you still have the leg in the water which is still going to hurt

in the link the boat is on a trailer engine at idle, not moving forward in the water at 3/4 to wot.

/>http://www.mercurymarine.com/engines/jets/fourstroke-jet-outboards/

[Baithoven]

Fair call.

[Funfisher]

It should be compulsory by a certain date to own one. Simple.

sounds good your shout?

[Baithoven]

I can shout at you if you want.

[rosstralia46]

Guarantee you would lose top end speed especially when pushing a bigger boat and as tugger has already said a lot of them get hit by the skeg it would also cost quite a lot to replace every propeller for every make and model of every boat in Queensland and not viable at all

[Bill_V]

Compulsory......nope......too many regulations on us already. If you want to buy one fill your boots. I am yet to kill a dolphin, dugong or person with my prop as yet in all my years on the water so I m not wasting my money on one.

[rayke1938]

If the safety factor is due entirely to the shape of the prop would not the effectiveness be destroyed after you had dredged a couple of sand banks.

Also the inertia of the prop going at full revs hitting a solid object would be sufficient to cause damage anyhow.

Maybe a good idea but not effective or practical.

I would need to see him poke a leg of pork into the rotating prop with the motor going at 4000rpm and see what happens.

Cheers

Ray

[ellicat]

A case where some market research could have saved some hours it would seem.

Top marks to the bloke for having a go though.

[Gazza]

A boat @ speed Skeg slices and prop dices :pinch:

ever heard of a wead wacker as others have said the bloke is sticking his arm into a slow rotating prop is no indication of what would happen at 4000+ rpm if ? the prop would hang together @ that rpm ? which I doubt but show the results of a plastic prop going full speed and what happens to the bloke then !!!!

stupid idea

Gaz

ps never hit a marine creature in decades of boating (jelly fish excluded lol)

[Baithoven]

Big shout out to Doobsy. Thanks for the props. Anybody that didn't have the time to be nice in their reply and tried to get funny with it. Thanks. You can catch me around the Fortitude Valley area of Brisbane, Queensland. If you go to the Royal George at the top of the Valley Mall, The Fortitude Valley Mall, request some Bob Marley, I'll probably show up.

[rayke1938]

I thought that most of the posts expressed constructive criticism.

The inventors clip left a lot of questions unanswered and I thought that a lot of the questions asked were fair comment.

If anyone is genuinely interested in protecting people and marine cr4eatures there is already the prop guard. http://www.propguardmarine.com/how.html.

But all this does is protect objects from injury from contact with the prop blade but still no protection from high speed impact from the skeg and the propguard itself.

Who is Bob Marley?

Afraid you wont see me around the valley too many strange people there.

Cheers

Ray

[Baithoven]

You are probably right, rayke1938. Where do you normally hang out?

[rayke1938]

North pine dam.

Cheers

Ray

[Baithoven]

North Pine Dam ey. What do they catch out there? Also Bob Marley is possibly one of the greatest musicians of the modern age next to Elvis and the Beatles. Check him out sometime.

[benno573]

This whole thread confuses me greatly. What were we talking about again?

A plastic prop may be good in theory, however, one touch on even a sandy bottom and you're off to buy a new one, let alone a slightly rubbly or rocky bottom. I don't think it will make a big difference if you run over a turtle/dugong, the hull/skeg will still be as damaging as always.

It does sound a lot like you have some vested interest in this product...

And Ray I don't believe for a second that you don't freguent the valley...

[Bagless]

Hands up who actually read the article, including Baithoven ? http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2736928.htm

It's actually very interesting and definitely shows promise as a design that could improve marine safety.

Some crucial points of interest.

It is 'not'made from plastic, that would be stupid, it is made from metal.

It works by having a blunt leading edge to the prop. Admittedly if you stuck your arm in it at 4000rpm it would 'likely' hurt but it wouldn’t slice your arm to pieces.

Apparently performance loss is negligible and better than the use of a prop guard.

So basically it improves safety by reducing the flesh tearing capability of the prop, it will help less in high speed “running over things incidents†but will make a bigger difference in the Darwin award reversing into someone or accidentally starting the motor when people are next to the prop.

Read below if you can be bothered :whistle: .

"The Safety Propeller looks and works like a normal propeller. It is made of the same material, and works equally effectively in terms of speed. However, a crucial alteration in the design of the blades allows a person to literally put their arm into the blades without sustaining any injuries. The propeller keeps moving as normal, but people and marine life will be unharmed.

The invention is a near-standard propeller design with no moving parts. The propeller does not stop turning when it comes in contact with people or marine animals due to the redesign of the leading edge of the propeller blades.

The Safety Propeller has a round or blunt striking surface, unlike a standard blade design, which has a thin edge which sharpens itself as the propeller is used. The round design has a tendency to flatten over time with use, making it even less dangerous when coming in contact with people or marine animals. This design cannot cut or sever limbs or other parts of people or marine life.

The simple redesign of the leading edge of the propeller blades can be manufactured easily from a slightly modified standard propeller mould, and is cost effective. The design is suitable across the full range of propeller design from 2 HP boats to a container ship.

The invention also helps to reduce another life-threatening problem, that of cavitation. Cavitation results from the formation of vapour bubbles around the propeller, which can cause the motor to stall, and potentially lead to a boat capsizing. On normal propellers cavitation can lead to total loss of power or thrust to the vessel. This loss of thrust is a common cause of boats capsizing on bar crossings and at sea with many lives lost and loss of boats.

The Safety Propeller has slots in the face of the blade. This is also an additional part of the invention’s patent. The slot design helps the propeller to release excessive water pressure from the face of the blade, allowing this pressure to pass through the gaps. The Safety Propeller was tested for loss of speed and was shown to have a negligible effect on the speed of the boat, a huge advantage compared to propeller guards.

P.S. I have no financial interest in having read the article and shared it with you.. :silly:

Oh and Baithoven is not my friend and that has nothing to do with Bob Marley or the Valley.. :dry:

But thanks for sharing an interesting article

[Baithoven]

Hey Bagless. Thanks for reading and sharing. And no, I have no vested interest in the product. I'm jut a bit of an environmentalist I guess and I saw this product when it was the Inventors program on tv. It struck me as interesting and I was just wondering why I hadn't heard any more about it.

[Bagless]

Have to agree, it seems like a very promising idea, but often as not a product like this would require a massive amount of testing before it's deemed fit for public consumption. The concept is sound but I expect the design would have some hidden flaws that would need ironing out. I don't think it would be as safe as a prop guard, and it may do strange things after it's been eroded. Also might cause greater engine wear.

Either way hope something good comes from it.