The M-500 is selected by many operators for new boat construction, repowers, and upgrading of propellers. The excellent design and increased blade area provides superior and higher performance without increasing propeller diameter, which may be impossible to due to clearance or tip speed consideration.

The M-500 is the top choice on installations where heavy vee-struts, dead wood, or other hull appendages are agitating the water flow to the propeller. In addition, the M-500 is the choice where vibration caused by resonance is a problem. The blade design reduces vibration caused by the propeller, achieving smoother and quiet cruising.

Available in NiBrAl (Nickel, Bronze, Aluminum) & Manganese Bronze.

0.86 E.A.R.
Diameter range: 22" - 44"
Pitch range: 0.75-1.3 dia/pitch ratio

Buy Michigan Wheel Inboard Propellers

The Dyna-Quad design is as popular as the three blade Dyna-Jet, but generally suggested for vessels larger than 40' requiring greater blade area due to the added weight and thrust requirements. The four blade gives extreme smoothness, superb manueverability, plus the speed and "dig" of a three blade. This is also an excellent choice for the performance minded commercial boat operators.

0.69 E.A.R.
Diameter range: 17" - 46"
Pitch range: 0.7-1.1 dia/pitch ratio

The Dyna-Quad starts at $565.00, and is one of the best props out there. 

Buy Michigan Wheel Dyna-Quads On-line and save

The Hung Shen EP-4B is a 4 blade propeller of exceptional quality. This Hung Shen propeller is designed for optimal efficiency. This type of propeller has high damage resistance due to the thicker leading edge. They are widely used by pilot boats, general pleasure crafts, police launchers, patrol boats, and similar vessels.

In addition, the Hung Shen EP-4B provides relatively low vibration lowers due to the 4 blade, and is highly suitable for high performance pleasure crafts.

The Hung Shen EP-4B starts at $502.00, and is a great propeller. 

Buy Hung Shen Propellers Now

Incredible and award-winning, exclusive Broadband Sounder digital technologies is now inside all HDS sonar models for the best Lowrance fishfinding ever! As the vital link between the transducer and your HDS display, Broadband is proven to find more fish with greater sensitivity, higher definition and more display clarity with superior target separation in all cover, in thermoclines and in all water conditions.

Less Noise, More Targets

With Lowrance Broadband digital signal processing software, noise goes way down and sensitivity goes way up. The result: Ultimate target discrimination with incredible high-definition separation of those distinctive Lowrance “fish arch” targets from structure and other fish!

Crystal-Clear Clarity

With advanced digital filtering, Broadband vastly improves at-a-glance display clarity, sharpens bottom images and paints a much cleaner picture of targets that others will miss or show poorly.

Greater Shallow-Water Coverage

To cover even more water, Broadband automatically adds 83 kHz operation to a Lowrance 200 kHz single-frequency transducer. At 83 kHz, you get full 120-degrees of wide-angle coverage with greatly enhanced definition of fish arch targets.

Incredible Deep-Water Performance

Broadband sounding is serious electronics when the hunt is on for fish in any deep water weather condition. Even at higher boat speeds, Broadband keeps a bottom lock at depth, with exceptional targeting of fish arches on the bottom, around wrecks and other seabed structure. And when used with a high-power transducer, strong bottom locks and water column detail reach down thousands of feet!

Expandability at No Extra Cost

For added value, HDS Broadband-equipped models can turn an HDS GPS Chartplotter (or GlobalMap® chartplotter with yellow ethernet connector) into a powerful combination fishfinder/chartplotter with complete sonar graph control when networked by Lowrance Ethernetworks.

Fantastic New High-Definition Insight Charting ¹

Only Lowrance offers a stunning new world of cartography options that go to greater depths, and heights, in dimensional GPS navigation reference and guidance.

A Charting Revolution in Detail and Resolution

Insight delivers unprecedented inland mapping and coastal charting detail with lightning-fast screen display updates. Amazing contour shading lends life-like perspectives to bottom structure as well as topography. HDS Insight mapping choices include:
 
NEW Lake Insight™ U.S. inland mapping (for HDS-5) includes nearly 5,000 freshwater lake maps with life-like perspective of bottom structure and topography. Coverage includes the Great Lakes and more than 500 Fishing Hot Spots® Lakes – a $400 value!
NEW Nautic Insight™ (for HDS-5) offers a superior like-like view of coastal bottom structure with detailed coastal and offshore depth contours, plus nav aids, for the entire U.S. coastline.
Insight USA™ (for HDS-7, -8 and -10 models) combines inland and coastal coverage ares of Lake Insight™ and Nautic Insight™.

Lake Insight Amistad Reservoir, TX	Lake Insight Lake Michigan, MI	Nautic Insight Puget Sound, WA	Nautic Insight Nantucket Sound, MA

Expanded Basemap Marine Detail¹

HDS models with Enhanced U.S. Basemap offer the same geographic coverage area as Insight, with over 100,000 bodies of water and nearly 5,000 enhanced U.S. lakes with high detail lake shorelines and contours.

HDS Charting Options Go All-Platinum*

Your trusted favorites in Lowrance 2D mapping choices, like Fishing Hot Spots® PRO and LakeMaster® ProMaps are fully functional with HDS. Lowrance HDS expands your world of high-detail, high-definition 3D charting options with total compatibility for all 2009 (and earlier) Navionics® chartcards.

Platinum+ and Platinum* – Revealing 3D views of bottom structure, and incredibly detailed satellite imagery, for the ultimate enhancement to navigation and fishing.
HotMaps Platinum* – Fantastically detailed 3D lake surveys with fishing points of interest give marked advantages for the serious angler and tournament competitor.
Exclusive TurboView™ Advantage – This exclusive HDS built-in graphics engine delivers seamless zooms and 2D-3D chart displays, real-time 3D map nav data overlay, striking depth views in 2D and 3D, plus high-speed panning/zooming with detailed aerial views for all Platinum chartcards, and seamless zoom for Navionics® Gold.
Plays Favorites – HDS is also fully compatible with your library of Navionics® Gold, Silver, Classic and HotMaps chartcards.

Source:  http://www.lowrance.com

Buy Lowrance High Def Plotters/Fishfinders at Deep Blue Yacht Supply

Not to be confused with the Miami Boat Show, The Yacht and Brokerage Boat Show in Miami Beach is a multi-million dollar presentation of yachts including the world's most extraordinary and uniquely designed yachts and superyachts from the world's foremost custom boat builders. See docks lined with the newest from Azimut, Bertram, Christensen, Fairline, Ferretti, Hargrave, Hatteras, Marquis, Moonen, Ocean Alexander, Riviera, Rodriguez, San Marino, Sessa, Sunseeker, Viking, Westport and many more.  The in-water-only display presentation covers more than 1.2 million square feet of space over a mile-long strip of Indian Creek Waterway, featuring over 500 new and pre-owned vessels valued at more than a billion dollars. The Yacht & Brokerage Show is in the heart of beautiful Miami Beach on Indian Creek Waterway at Collins Avenue (S.R. A1A) – from 41st to 51st Streets. Admission is free. See this website for lists of boats, directions, parking information and more to assist you in finding the yacht of your dreams.

SCHEDULE

Thurs. Feb 12, 10am - 7pm
Fri. Feb 13, 10am - 7pm
Sat. Feb 14, 10am - 7pm
Sun. Feb 15, 10am - 7pm
Mon. Feb 16, 10am - 6pm

ADMISSION

The Yacht and Brokerage Show on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach is FREE boat show to the public.

The Show offers free shuttle bus service to-from Miami Boat Show’s Convention Center and Collins Avenue and from Collins Avenue to to-from the Sea Isle Marina site.

Discount Inboard Propellers for Yachts of all sizes

Packing Box Maintenance

There are several different types of packing boxes, including the dripless because they are lubricated by water from the cooling system. Most other boxes are very similar. They form a sleeve or a chamber around the shaft that contain, as we call “packing”.  Which water can’t flow through when it’s compressed; however, the packing allows the shaft to spin.  The packing is compressed around the shaft by tightening the packing nut to the point at which it drips only occasionally and remains barely warm when in progress. This is the importance to checking the packing box whenever taking the boat out.  Because when the packing is gone or disappears, allowing more than 12 drips per minute to penetrate the bilge while in progress, or allowing any water at all to enter when standing still, then you need to follow the next step.  Try tightening the packing nut and it should solve the problem, but if it does not reduce the flow, then it causes the packing box to become more than warm to the touch. And that means it’s time to renew the packing. 

How to Renew Packing Box:

1.  First have to back off the locking nut. Water will flow into the boat when the packing nut is loosened, so be prepared or do this job when the boat is hauled. Position yourself so you can reach the packing box with two wrenches.  Crescent slip-joint pliers with jaws to fit will be nice to have too. (Sometimes you may have to resort to a hammer and punch.)  Each wrench handles should be moved toward each other to loosen, away from one another to be tightened. When the lock nut is loose, remove the packing nut.

2.  Get rid of the old packing material with a pick of some kind. The best picks look like a corkscrew and have a flexible shaft, but you can make your own pick.  Packing boxes have the packing inside the hollow core of the threaded sleeve. But be careful, sometimes you will find it in the packing nut instead of the sleeve. It doesn’t matter what kind, just make sure you take out all the old packing. Also make sure that there is no sand or grit left behind because that could score the shaft.

3. Cut pieces of packing material to the proper length to go around the shaft in a full circle. Typically, you can determine this length by using a fabric tape measure or a string.  Be sure not to wrap the packing material too tight around the shaft because your rings won’t seal.

4.  Wrap the rings of packing material around the shaft between the sleeve and the nut. The points at which they come together should be staggered, with layers.  The three layers should be at four, eight and twelve o’clock, and with four layers at three, six, nine and twelve o’clock. Now push the packing nut over the rings so they enter the nut.  The packing material must then be pressed into the nut tightly with a small screwdriver. (Screwdriver blade needs to be blunted so it will not dig into the packing)

5. When the packing is tightly seated, tighten the packing nut and then loosen it to see if the packing still looks consistent. Tighten it again with a wrench, but don’t apply too much pressure. Run the boat in gear and monitor the drip. Now tighten the nut until the drip decreases to fewer than 10 a minute. The following day, run the boat again and check the drip.  If it’s in the three to six range, tighten the lock nut hard against the packing nut, using the wrenches as described in step 1.

Don’t forget that you need to check the warmth of the packing box whenever you take your boat out. Also you need to check the “packing” and make sure that it’s still there and has not dissolved.

Good luck!!!

This picture shows the shaft, packing box, packing nut, the homemade pick and the packing.

What you need to know about your Propeller

Ok so props seem to be a simple part of your boat. They spin around and you go! Too bad that’s not the extent of them. Unfortunately, there is a lot more to props than what meets the eye. You need to make sure that you have the best prop for your boat because it will improve handling, maximize speed and efficiency, and put your power plant under minimum stress. If you are running the wrong prop, more than likely you are burning more fuel while going slower, and possibly even taking years off the longevity of your motor.

Now here is everyone’s theory… “the manufacturers put the best prop on your motor when you bought your boat.”  Don't count on it! Most manufacturers/dealers usually go with the prop that's best for the most diverse applications, because they never know if that 250-hp mill will be hung on the transom of an offshore center console, pontoon boat, or a bass boat. Funny thing is, some manufacturers don’t even supply a prop, so the dealership has to make the decision. Most likely if you are running with the original screw, chances are you are a prime candidate for a prop exchange.

Here are some prop basics for you to know before choosing your next prop.

DIAMETER is the size of your prop, expressed in inches. Diameter of propellers is measured by radius times two, with propellers you can’t take a measurement across the entire propeller, just take a measurement from the center of the propeller to the outside of one blade tip and double it.

PITCH is a hypothetical measurement that describes how far the prop will move forward through the water with one full rotation. .   It can be measured, but only by a pitchometer, basically it is a measurement of drop from one point of the blade to another.  The pitch of propeller means that for one revolution, the boat should advance the amount of pitch in inches, but remember you have to calculate out slip.

CUP is the curvature at the trailing edge of the blades. Adding cup to a prop usually increases its bite on the water, reducing slippage.

BLADE AREA is the surface area of each blade, expressed in square inches, multiplied by the number of blades. The blade area can be looked at from a bird’s eye view.  If you set the propeller on the ground and draw a circle around the propeller, the blade area is the amount of the circle that the propeller covers.  Average blade area for a common three-blade prop ranges from t 50 to 70 percent. If a prop does not have sufficient blade area, propulsion is lost.

When it’s time to shop for props, you will usually see them branded by pitch and diameter, expressed in inches.  Increasing pitch by an inch typically results in a drop of about 200 to 250 rpm at full throttle. A cupped prop of the similar pitch and diameter will also drag down rpm compared to a prop with no cup.

Now how many blades should you go with? The majority of common props on boats under 35 feet have three blades, which offers the best compromise between balance, efficiency, blade area, and vibration. Four-blade props are prevalent on boats that frequently encounter ventilation issues, such as tunnel hulls and powercats. They get an enhanced bite on the water when three-bladers might slip too much. The additional blade can also improve hole shot and decrease vibration. Top end, is typically cut by a couple of miles per hour, as that additional blade also adds drag. Props with less than three blades are nearly all for applications such as sailboat auxiliary motors and electric trolling motors.  As a rule, five or more blades are on large vessels or special applications.

The material a prop is made of also affects performance. Aluminum props are not nearly as expensive as the stainless steel props, but they usually flex more and are a little slower at top-end by a mile-per-hour or two. The advantage to aluminum is that if you hit an object at high speed, the softer metal bends more easily. Whack something hard with a stainless prop, and typically the first thing to give away is part of the drive train

The most efficient technique to determine if you need a prop exchange is to look at maximum throttle rpm, and make sure it is in the middle of the manufacturer's suggested range. If you have an outboard rated to turn 5000 to 5500 rpm and it turns 4900 or 5600 rpm, you have a problem.

So let’s see how to fix your problem:

How do I find the proper pitch for an RPM range?

Each engine is geared to operate within a specific range specified by the manufacturer. Taking your current propeller pitch, and the RPM's that are being generated, you can calculate which pitch to move to by the following equation:

(Current RPM / Desired RPM) x Current Pitch = New Pitch to achieve desired RPM.

Example: If you have a 21 pitch propeller, and are turning 4900 RPM, and want to go to 5350 RPM, then

(4900 / 5350) x 21 = 19.25, which is the new pitch. 

If your engine over-revs from ventilating (cavitations), going from a three- to a four-blade prop frequently solves the problem. If you want to increase both top-end and cruising speed instantly, swapping an aluminum prop for stainless steel will do the trick. To decrease vibration, go from a three- to a four-blade prop.

Another cause to contemplate changing a correctly sized prop is if you run a dual-use boat. If the kids want to go water skiing from your center console (which is propped for finest cruising speed, but as an end result slow to get on plane), you might want to exchange for a prop that provides a better hole shot when you plan to spend the day water skiing.

Our point of this information is that any time you purchase a new boat, plan on trying some different props to find the one that best fits your boating needs.