Spare Prop -- Where to Keep It?

[FlyMeAway]

Our new-to-us R-31CB came with a spare prop, which we're happy to have. Right now it is taking up a *lot* of space (in its cardboard/foam packaging) in one of our lazarettes.

Where do people with a spare prop store theirs? Space is short aboard, and so my inclination is to take it off the boat and keep it in my garage, given that our cruising is mostly south of Nanaimo (I might consider moving it back to the boat if I were cruising to Alaska). Replacing the prop requires a haulout, and it seems like getting the prop to the boat would be fairly straightforward. But maybe I'm missing something.

What are peoples' opinion on this?

 

[fishheadbarandgrill]

My spare prop is stored under the v-berth.... at the bottom. Out of the box but protected.

 

[Wee Venture]

Ours is in exactly the same place, under the forward part of the v-berth, along with my other spare parts including a spare anchor and rode. I want to have the prop immediately available if needed. Correct me if I’m wrong but I have assumed a diver can replace the prop.

John

 

[Red Raven]

Same here. Under v-berth, spare prop and spare anchor. It’s perfect because that storage is not great for items we use very often.

Curt

 

[az9133bm]

The only thing we can add here is we've discovered that 14" snare drum bags are the best spare prop protective covers available.

 

[fishheadbarandgrill]

Props are regularly replaced with boats in the water when hauling isn’t practical.

 

[FlyMeAway]

Props are regularly replaced with boats in the water when hauling isn’t practical.

This is good to know.

Trying to figure out whether it is worth keeping aboard at all, though, when cruising locally.

I guess a related question is how many people even own a spare prop? Spare prop on board --> Spare prop on shore --> no spare prop. But if lots of people have no spare prop, seems keeping it on board is overkill?

 

[S. Todd]

38 years boating and I have not yet dinged a prop requiring attention. Some of that is a result of closely following charts and staying in deep water, and some may just be dumb luck, for when I messed up doing the former, or navigating very shallow water. That said, if I was traveling more than 60 miles from my truck and trailer and I would often carry a spare prop. Otherwise, I would leave it in the truck which was typically hundreds of miles from home. When we owned a Mercruiser Duoprop, we did not own a spare set of props because of the cost, in excess of $1,000. I have not yet ordered a spare prop for our new R29. Thinking I might hold out for a few more years and get a Sharrow when they are more available and have a track record.

 

[Red Raven]

I responded to the original question about where we keep our spare prop. Regarding the decision to carry one at all in our case there were several reasons. First, Ranger Tugs eliminated our boat model and sold the remaining prop inventory at a very good price. Second, we were planning a trip up the Inside Passage, and third, we had the space under the v-berth and as such it didn’t make much sense not to keep it on the boat.

If I were boating only in the local waters of the Salish Sea and didn’t already have the spare prop purchased at discount I would not likely have one on the boat. Fairly easy to get one shipped to local locations or have the boat towed.

Curt

 

[scross]

I have a spare prop for the Suzuki 2.5 hp outboard on the dinghy. Does that count?
Store it same place as everyone else - forward center locker under the v-berth cushions.
Spare prop for the boat is too expensive, too heavy and we are out of storage places for something that big!

 

[Wee Venture]

Like Curt, we also got our spare prop when we were planning our trip to Alaska, and when we were able to get it at a discount because the factory was clearing out excess inventory. For those two reasons we couldn’t pass it up. It is wrapped in a towel and doesn’t take up that much space under the v-berth. If we did all of our cruising south of Nanaimo I would question the investment to have one onboard. But we enjoy cruising further north in more remote areas and I like to be as self sufficient as reasonably possible.

We experienced first hand the logistical difficulties of having even a small part shipped from Garmin to us in Alaska. After many back and forth emails we finally got it after two weeks. But we were still mobile during that time. If that had been the prop, we would have lost two weeks of cruising. From my perspective, the choice would be between having a spare prop onboard or not having one at all. I don’t see much advantage to owning a spare prop if you don’t keep it with you.

John

 

[FlyMeAway]

From my perspective, the choice would be between having a spare prop onboard or not having one at all. I don’t see much advantage to owning a spare prop if you don’t keep it with you.

Yes. I think for me, if I were buying the boat new (and given our current cruising range), I probably would not have invested in a spare prop at time of purchase. We just happened to buy a boat with a spare prop included. I guess for us the value of the spare prop is that if we do have a prop issue, we don't have to buy another one (or wait on shipping).

But listening to others stories, and learning that it isn't complicated to replace the prop in the water, has me thinking. Even south of Nanaimo it could be a pain to get the prop from my garage up to, say, Sydney or even Friday Harbor.