Customer Reviews

Propeller Handbook : The Complete Reference for Choosing, Installing, and Understanding Boat Propellers

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an extremely readable book for a technical subject tome. It is one of the better organized technical treatises I have seen. Whether you just want to select a propeller for your boat or want to design boats and propellers the book has something for you; though the casually curious may find themselves skipping a lot of engineering content. Tells you how to proceed in propeller selection in a parsimonious, no nonsense manner. And not simply how to do it, but the theory and reasons behind what to do are included as well. A complete index and list of suppliers makes this book a good reference tool.

Dave has done an excellent job of clearly covering a very complex subject. He gives you quick practical ways of estimating as well as more detailed methods for determining propeller requirements and performance. This book will benefit anyone dealing with propellers. This includes boat owners, repair yards and design offices. I am a professional engineer, practicing in naval architecture and marine engineering. As a result I have read a lot of material on this subject. This is the best reference on propellers that I have seen to date.

The author has boiled out all the complicated Bessel functions and the reader is left with the bottom line for basic propeller selection. If you are serious boater interested in propellers this is the book for you...you don't need to PhD in Naval Arch to understand this. Very straight forward approach. If you have prop related or powering questions, buy this. For 13 bucks you are going to spend more on gas your next outing due to your poor prop.
I would have given it 5 stars if the pictures were in color and more recent.

It is for the technically minded. Don't buy a propeller without reading it first. And after you've read it, you will probably buy a new propeller, because you will likely to find out that the old one is not right.

I love the mathmatical models in this book. It really helps a reader of average (myself) intellegence to project how a propeller will work in different situations. I made some spread sheets to work out the models and that really helped.

It seemed to focus on the marine boating field, so I wouldn't expect too much if your interest is strictly in speed boats.

This is a very practical book in terms of its simple way of guiding the reader through both, the conceptual understanding of propellers and the corresponding calculations.
This book fulfilled all my expectations

I first learned about this book while attending a CAT Marine Power Analyst class, I was an engine technician with a CAT dealer at the time. It was newly published and very expensive, so I found a copy in the FairFax VA library and made arrangements to borrow it through interlibrary loan. After reading most of it, I plunked down the money to buy my own, it is that good.

If you are interested in learning about hull performance and power requirements, how to properly size an engine to meet those requirements, and how to select a prop to mate the engine and hull together, then this book is for you. I have spend many hours studying it and applying its contents to boat modifications I have been considering. Are you interested in sizing an engine or electric motor to drive a boat? This book will tell you what you need to know to do it right so you will be pleased with the boat's performance when you are done. Got a boat that is performing poorly? Maybe it has the right engine and the wrong prop, or the right prop and the wrong engine. This book will tell you how to find out. It is a great resource for understanding boat hull performance and how to match engine performance to the hull.

This is a well-written, extremely nice discussion for laymen of what's known about marine propellers. The book is short on surfacing props, where most of what's known is from seat of the pants testing by racers. The few equations presented are empirical equations based on scaling of one sort or another. I.e., there is no good theory of any sort of prop, low speed submerged props included. The role of circulation in producing high thrust/drag rations is explained, props are understood (we can say since Prandtl, ca. 1916) as rotating hydrofoils. What surprises me is that the upper curve in fig. 5-4 agrees with my experience setting up fast boats with surfacing props. I'm surprised because there's no known reason why it should work. I recommend the book to anyone who's interested in marine propellers!

There are a few errors. E.g., cavitation is not a vacuum, in cavitation the local water pressure has fallen below vapor pressure, so the water 'boils' locally, forms bubbles (the assumption of incompressible flow fails). A bubble, of course, provides no thrust. Cavitation cannot occur with an airplane propeller, air is analogous to water vapor but in normal flow is treated as incompressible. In that case the assumption of incompressibility fails when supersonic speeds are reached.

i managed a quick look through the book before my son snaffled it.
the book appears very adequate for my and my son's needs. i just hope my son returns it soon.

This is a well written, easy to understand book that will inform you of most everything you ever wanted to know about propellers!