About North Coast Prop Tech

About us 

The revolutionary Prop Scan technology takes the guess work out of the equation and enables North Coast Prop Tech to get it right the first time. 

Choosing the right prop service is crucial to the performance of your vessel. Here's just a few reasons why you will want to choose North Coast Prop Tech for your propeller repairs and tuning:

Established since 2003

Member of the National Marine Propeller Association

Certified Inboard Propeller Technician

Certified by Propeller Dynamics

Repair, correct, and tune propellers better than or equal to ISO standards

Sell new and used propellers

Sell and repair all inboard underwater gear, i.e. struts, rudders shafts bearings, etc.

Dealer for PYI Dripless Shaft Sealing System

Hear what our customers are saying about us on our testimonial page.

Questions on your prop? Call us at 419 433 9550

1) Sea Trial

It starts with a good sea trial. The data from this sea trial along with boat specifications and propulsion efficiencies is crucial to successfully tuning your propellers for optimum performance.

2) FREE Propeller Inspection and Prop Scan Computer Analysis

Your propeller is inspected and scanned using the Prop Scan measuring instrument. The “as arrived” computerized report will show the true state of your propeller. The hydrodynamic features of your propeller, good or bad, will be evident and the accuracy will be compared to ISO 484/2 international standards. All this done for you at no charge.

3) Identify Deficiencies (problem areas)

By combining the sea trial data and scan report results, our technicians are able to identify deficiencies and areas for improvement.

4) Solution

The initial inspection data, sea trial conditions, and performance to specifications are assessed and different options for correction and repair are considered. 

A plan is then formulated to address and correct the deficiencies found. It becomes the road map to improvement and repair.

5) Validate

Before any work begins, we validate our plan usingThe  Prop Scan EPD (Enhanced Propeller Designs) software to verify the expected outcome of the plan. This along with our experience with other similar situations helps us to validate the direction we’re headed.

6) Repair and Correction

Our technicians follow the plan making the necessary corrections and inspect the quality of each tuning step using the Prop Scan measuring instrument.

Once completed a quality certificate showing compliance to ISO 484/2 and Prop Scan EPS Class Standards is generated for you.

7) Confirmation

A final sea trial paying particular attention to the WOT rpms, speed, and smoothness will confirm that we got it right (the first time).


Common Propeller Problems:

• Impact Damage

• Propeller Induced Vibration

• Overloaded Engine (often evident as smoke in the exhaust)

• Over Turning Engine

• Propeller Cavitation

• Singing Propeller

• Poor Fuel Economy

• Engines Not Synchronized

• Reversing Problems

 

Impact Damage:

This is the most obvious.  You’ve hit something and your performance has suddenly deteriorated.  Depending on the severity of the damage, repairs can usually be made.

 

Propeller Induced Vibration:

Now this is something you don't see but can certainly feel.  Propeller induced vibration can be caused by a variety of things; inaccuracies in pitch, camber, blade shape, spacing , tracking , rake, cup height , and weight distribution.  A Prop Scan of your propeller will reveal if any of these things are the cause.  Of course, once identified, they can be corrected resulting in a smoother, more efficient, and often faster propeller. 

 

Overloaded Engine:

If you are the proud owner of a beautiful diesel yacht but you’re a little embarrassed about the black smoke emerging from its transom, you needn’t be any longer.  This is usually a sure sign of overloading your engine and we have the solutions.  The best solution may be to reduce the pitch of the propeller.  A comparison of your wide open throttle (WOT) RPMs vs. what’s recommended for the engine will tell us exactly how much.  After a pitch change, your now correctly loaded engine will last longer and use less fuel.

 

Over Turning Engine:

When your engine revs higher than its recommended WOT rpm, you’re not capturing all the available horsepower.  A correction in pitch will help you improve speed and efficiency.

 

Propeller Cavitation:

Cavitation is caused by water vaporizing due to pressure reduction on the propeller blades.  This can be caused by mechanical damage such as a bent or impacted blade, wrongly matched power to propeller type, or incorrect propeller design.  This distortion of the water flow pattern over the propeller can significantly reduce power and efficiency and cause erosion of the rotating propeller blades.  Modifications can be made to reduce the level of cavitation which results in improved efficiency and extended propeller life.

 

Singing Propeller:

Some propellers produce a high pitched noise at certain points between idle speed and full rpms.  If this point lays spot in the middle of your cruising rpm it will be intolerable. Prop Scan technicians have the solution.

 

Poor Fuel Economy:

Does your boat consume more fuel than you believe it should?  This often happens with low classed (inaccurate) propellers.  On average, an ISO Class 1 propeller uses between 5-10% less fuel than a Class III propeller.

 

Engines Not Synchronized:

Many twin screw vessels have a hard time synchronizing their engines.  This is because the port and starboard engines are not loaded equally.  This is usually caused by pitch, camber, or section shape differences between the two propellers.  We can analyze your situation to get both engines working well together.

 

Reversing Problems:

Section shape on the suction side of the propeller can influence the ability to get strong reverse thrust.  Cup height can also affect reversing.  Prop Scan technicians can sort this out and provide a solution.