Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

onlybillhere wrote: ↑

Wed May 20, 2020 6:08 am

So they originally offered the ss version at $9k and now it's at $2k?? They must have been selling a TON of these props to make the cost go down that much

I thought the same thing, but....
The initial offering was custom built to order and CNC machined.
The $2000 one is investment cast and limited range of model availability.
They're trying to get funds up for mass production.

I'd try one at a grand but $2k is still too prohibitive seeing as how even if it somehow saved me 20% in fuel, I burn less than 200 gallons a season and right now ethanol free 90 octane is $2.59 so a tank of gas a year just isn't worth it. Maybe if a war breaks out in the middle east it would make a case for it....

They just added 14.5 and 15 inch sizes, 15-23 pitch. What I keep coming back to is that they only have ONE set of real world data for the recreational boater comparing to two standard props....one of which was within 1mph top speed. Another thing in the data showed that at some engine speeds, the Sharrow prop was running the boat faster by a few mph BUT it had identical fuel usage to the other props.

This despite their FAQ......
Q: I would like to test the Sharrow Propeller™ on my boat and send you performance data. Can you send me a propeller?
A: Thank you for your interest in the SHARROW PROPELLER™ and also for offering your boat as a test vessel. We currently have a pool of boats and operators that we use to verify our designs and are not accepting any new applicants to that program at this time.

I have no doubt they've spent a ton of money and time on this but no way is there enough right now to justify a 400-500% premium over a good prop. I really doubt that it would have much on a pontoon. Maybe a tritoon, but still probably very little if anything.

If they are going to be successful smaller recreational boats are not where the money will be. It will be on the larger commercial ocean going vessels.

Yes, there will be some recreational boaters that want the "best" (aka the most expensive) prop, but those will be few. I'm a gadget/tech guy and I buy lot's of stuff just because, but I could care less about fuel usage and as much as I'd enjoy a little more speed, I'm going to probably pass on this idea.

Just announced that they have entered a partnership with Yamaha. They'll be using Yamaha's manufacturing facility and dealer network. Maybe after a few years it'll push the price down to maybe double that of a stainless prop.
https://mailchi.mp/sharrowengineering.c ... 22d00a0987

And I've been looking around and finally found someone with one:
https://keywestboatsforum.com/sharrow-m ... 542ab02ed2

Steiner wrote: ↑

Wed May 20, 2020 6:21 am

onlybillhere wrote: ↑

Wed May 20, 2020 6:08 am

So they originally offered the ss version at $9k and now it's at $2k?? They must have been selling a TON of these props to make the cost go down that much

I thought the same thing, but....
The initial offering was custom built to order and CNC machined.
The $2000 one is investment cast and limited range of model availability.
They're trying to get funds up for mass production.

I'd try one at a grand but $2k is still too prohibitive seeing as how even if it somehow saved me 20% in fuel, I burn less than 200 gallons a season and right now ethanol free 90 octane is $2.59 so a tank of gas a year just isn't worth it. Maybe if a war breaks out in the middle east it would make a case for it....

Damn, the good ol' days......

Well, they finally have some test data on some tritoons.
25' with a 350 and a 26' with a 300.
Still $5k.
Nope.

Nice speed gains at midrange. No top end gain. Max 30% fuel savings but you couldn't get that unless 100% of your time is spent at the most efficient RPM so figure average fuel savings might be 20%, possibly less possibly more.

https://boattest.com/article/sharrow-pr ... ercury-350
https://boattest.com/article/sharrow-pr ... -23-32-mph

A bit esoteric from my simplistic perspective. But then, my old party boat and I are not their target demographic

So they have another test on a tritoon. 26' G3 with Yamaha 300. Funny enough, Yamaha has performance bulletins for the same boat and motor. I wonder why Sharrow's base numbers are so far off Yamaha's???

https://sharrowmarine.com/blogs/perform ... -elite-326

https://yamahaoutboards.com/outboards/3 ... -17-21_pnt

https://yamahaoutboards.com/outboards/3 ... -07-13_pnt