Propeller Basics

The topic of propellers is such an interesting discussion and there are so many factors involved that the article on "Propeller Basics" has now been expanded and split into sections.

Part One discusses a brief history of propellers, describes the basic dimensions of their design, and presents a technique for assessing the performance of a propeller at various shaft speeds. This portion first appeared March 30, 2001.

Part Two discusses various materials used to fabricate propellers. It also analyzes in more detail the fundamental working of the blade design with respect to "slip." An approximation for predicting the speed potential of various hull, weight, and engine combinations is also presented. This portion first appeared in May 26, 2001.

Performance Predictions are presented in this separate article. Most classic Whaler hulls are represented in this table. This section first appeared February 3, 2002.

Part Three tries to analyze the physics behind "bow-lifting" and "stern-lifting" propellers. This section first appeared March 6, 2002.

Propeller Calculator allows the calculation of any one of the five inter-related variables of propeller performance This section first appeared June 9, 2002.


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Copyright © 1999, 2000 by James W. Hebert. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited!

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Author: James W. Hebert
This article first appeared March 29, 2001.