Cutless Bearings

Fowl Habit

Cadet
Joined
Nov 4, 2004
Messages
8
Re: Cutless Bearings

Your right, i did mis-understand you. That makes a bit more since! I've only got 35 hours on this thing this far, but this is what i've found in regards to the rest of your post. Trust me, i experiment like a mofo. I've run the 2 blade mud prop you see in the pics on my site. That thing will throw you up on plane within 10 feet and rev to 5,000 RPM. It gets 4-5 mpg cruising at 3,000 - 3,500 rpm at pretty much the rpm minus 2 digits. 3,000 is 30 mph. When you feel your self in skinny water, a quick feather of the throttle will lift you up and send you over almost anything. When this prop was new it only turned 4,300 and hit a top speed of 58.6 mph (pre sand bar). A while back I bought a couple used Mercury racing Chopper props and sent them out for new hubs to fit my drive. Last weekend was my first outing with these props. I went with 22x14.5 and it is way too much prop. I did some calculating and it would need a 1.5:1 drive to have a chance at spinning the wheel right. When I tried to run it WOT, it will get to 3,000 and stummble. It does run 53 mph at 2,800, but that's a bit too much load on my motor, etc. I got somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 mpg or less. Didn't have it on long enough to really get a mileage out of it. I was thinking very much along the lines you were and it just didn't make since other than to be able to throw it in low to auger through clay which is something i do not have here. Which at that point it supposedly works great for that but does tend to shear drive lines from what i've been told. From everything i've been tought, the prop needs to be able to spin at the operating range to get fuel economy and longevity. When I do get these Chopper and cleaver props figured out, i'm hoping for a cruise of 45 @ 3,000 and top speed somewhere in the 70's with very little hanging down below the boat. No, i do not have a slick bottom.<br /><br />Tom, I took a look at peek and it sounds more like a high temp polymer than a sand resitant self lubricating material. At this point, i wish i could just use ball bearings with grease like the rest of the drive line.<br /><br />Keith, The Orkot sounds very much like the vesconite. The only difference i see between the two materials is the Vesconite says no water swelling and the Orkot say very low water swelling. Orkot seems to be much more readily avalable in the config I need.<br /><br />I'll get on the phone with these guy's today to see what they have to say. Definatley what i was looking for, Thanks guy's!
 

ddaigle

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 9, 2004
Messages
332
Re: Cutless Bearings

Thanks for the info, I was going to run a cutlass bearing but I think Im going to try and go all bearing. Ive researched some of the mud motors and they run sealed bronze bushings with grease, maybe you could modify yours to this. Dont know if it would handle the power but it might and its very simple. I have polymer on mine and its nice on the sand bars and rocks and oyster shells but a bit interesting on turns and high speed runs. Kind of like driving on ice.
 

Fowl Habit

Cadet
Joined
Nov 4, 2004
Messages
8
Re: Cutless Bearings

How heavy is your boat and can you push it across sand in an inch or two of water by hand? With my boat right now, It is 1800# and is stuck like no tomorrow till the water gets over your ankles on sand, I mean like a suction cup. Two men can't even budge it. Do you have keels on the boat or is it totaly flat bottom?<br /><br />My situation is so unique that most people in the area run jet pumps even when the water has another 2-4 feet of water. The only problem is, where ducks live it is silty, hydrilla and coon tail grass sticking up out of the water, or in shallow silty sand bottom ponds where the only way to get rid of a boat to hunt is ramming into tulies in a couple feet of mud. Do i beat this thing up, hell ya! But that's what I bought it to do and it does a great job of it.
 

ddaigle

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 9, 2004
Messages
332
Re: Cutless Bearings

Mine isnt very heavy right now, maybe 800 pounds, because it just has a 60 hp outboard on it. But I have the same situation, a jet wont work here, too much grass and mud. My bottom is totally flat with 3/8 inch polymer plastic bolted to it. It seems to slide much better than plain aluminum and really protects the hull. Like I mentioned earlier it has no keel or ribs so it can get interesting when trying to turn or at high speed in the wind. Dont know about pushing it over sand, I usually try not to stop too shallow in sand because of my motor situation right now.
 
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