Veem Propellers

[Nimrod]

Hope this may be of interest to some of you.

We ordered computer spec'd custom propellers back in June to install on our 1983 46' Hatteras Convertible with 8V92s. We finally received the new 4-bladed Veem Propellers towards the end of August. Put them on and had a chance to run the boat and fish with them this past weekend. WOW!

HUGE difference. The smoothness and lack of ANY vibration alone was worth it. Since we had our 3-blades all Prop Scaned years ago vibration has been minimal but with the Veems it is absolutely nonexistent. Smooth as silk and no noise. The boat and motors sound completely different. Like the engines are not laboring as much.

As for performance, we got our cake and are eating it too. Improved by 2.0-2.5 knots at cruise and 2.5-3.0 knots at WOT. Fuel economy at cruise improved 15%! The boat comes out of the hole and on plane much quicker and with less smoke. At around 1400 Rs the bow just fell down. She also seems to track better in reverse.

As for fishing with them, after only 1 trip I can't really say for sure but I can tell you that all season I have been suspect of the starboard engine spooking the fish due to some mechanical issues and a lack of bites on that side. Well, on the first trip with the new wheels the first bite was a white one on the left flat - took care of that problem. It was a fairly slow day but of the 5 bites 3 were on the flats or short riggers. The prop wash does seem to be a bit cleaner also.

These wheels were perfect right out of the box having been tuned to exacting ISO 484/2 Class S pitch tolerances. A neighbor on the dock just put a new pair of Veems on his 50’ Viking and was also amazed at the smoothness and performance. Although he was not sure if he had picked up speed or fuel economy (??) he also said the smoothness was worth it. He bought them because he was experiencing cavitation burn.

So bottom line - we LOVE them and will be buying a second set as spares. Anyone interested in a few sets of 3-bladed wheels for 2.5" shafts?????

[Capt. Brian Daley]

How much was this set looking for blades for bertram 42ft thanks

[Nimrod]

Our 26 x 30.5 x 2.5" 4-blade Veems list at $3,705.00 each. You should be able to get a discount off of list (especially during boat show season) of 10%-20%+.

My neighbor with the 50' Viking said he paid about $10K for his pair of Veems (not sure on the size) which seemed like a lot. Maybe he was talking list.

I cannot remember how much Michagan/Federals were going to cost but I am sure it was less....but maybe not by much after a discount.

I ordered my Veems through Steve King at Black Dog Propellers in Stevensville, MD 888-558-0921 www.blackdogprops.com. Steve has done a lot of work for us over the years and does a great job. I believe he is also doing most (if not all) of Vikings props. He strongly recommended these wheels to us and he was right. If you give him or your prop outfit some information on the boat, performance, and goals, they can run it in the computer with Veem and tell you what to get. They were dead on with ours.

So far we feel it was money well spent for everything we gained including wear & tear on the drive train from vibration and overworking.

http://www.veem.com.au/props_pleasure_craft_sports.php

[Capt. Brian Daley]

thanks for the info Paul