Leaf Springs

[JimS123]

The Chesapeake Bay is an active commercial fishery, a national heritage site and the primary wintering grounds for water fowl on the East Coast.

Unless you like eating a little grease along with your oysters, crabs, shrimp and fish perhaps you should.

Antiquated practice anyhow. Have not greased a prop in years. If you feel the need, suggest any number of the food safe greases on the market.

Certainly no Greenie, but I’ve seen first hand the impact of human activity on the Bay over the past 50 years and it’s not pretty.

The manuals for all my engines say to pull the prop annually, check for fish line and grease the splines, etc, etc.

When I do that I usually see some grease left and I only add a finger tip full of new grease.

Do you mean to say that my 3 grams of marine grease is harmful to the environment?

 

[dingbat]

Do you mean to say that my 3 grams of marine grease is harmful to the environment.

There are almost 1/2 million (420,000) boats registered in MD and Va. alone.

If each boat left just 3 grams of grease a year in the water, your looking at 1,260,000 grams or 1.41 Tons of grease introduced annually from boat trailers alone.

Now combine that with the hydrocarbon laced runoff from a watershed that spans more than 64,000 square miles, encompassing parts of six states, with more than 18 million inhabitants.

Don't know about you, but I prefer my crabs steamed (with Old Bay) and my shellfish (oysters and clams) raw with a side helping of cocktail sauce. No grease and oil please.......

 

[JimS123]

There are almost 1/2 million (420,000) boats registered in MD and Va. alone.

If each boat left just 3 grams of grease a year in the water, your looking at 1,260,000 grams or 1.41 Tons of grease introduced annually from boat trailers alone.

Now combine that with the hydrocarbon laced runoff from a watershed that spans more than 64,000 square miles, encompassing parts of six states, with more than 18 million inhabitants.

Don't know about you, but I prefer my crabs steamed (with Old Bay) and my shellfish (oysters and clams) raw with a side helping of cocktail sauce. No grease and oil please.......

I put 3 grams on my shaft, which is then covered by the prop. I didn't mean that I willfully discard 3 grams in the water.

 

[Lou C]

Well...
there used to be an excellent anti fouling paint for aluminum (TBT) that was outlawed about 15 years ago...except...for government use....those alu Coast Guard boats can use it....the rest of us, have to deal with Trilux II on the outdrive which is fair but not great. So we don't all have the same rules...
Also this issue is more of an issue if you are a trailer boater, if you boat stays on a mooring like mine your trailer goes in and out once in the spring and once in the fall, unless something on the boat breaks and it has to be pulled out, or a storm comes. So the number of trailers going in and out weekly, is probably a good deal lower than the actual number of registered boats. Just look at how crowded municipal and private marinas are. Any marinas with slips all have a waiting list here.

 

[JimS123]

The thread morphed into a discussion of not greasing one's propeller shaft. Not like its something you can't or should not do.

 

[Lou C]

best grease:
Evinrude Triple Guard
stays on the whole season!

 

[bruceb58]

best grease:
Evinrude Triple Guard
stays on the whole season!

What is the base material of that grease?

I always used Stalube since it is an aluminum complex grease so its more water resistant than a lithium base..

 

[Lou C]

You know Bruce I've been trying to find that out but never could find a PDS listing what the base composition is. I do know that the Evinrude wheel bearing grease (different product) uses an aluminum complex base.
I've been using the Lucas Marine grease in trailer wheel bearings and the I/O gimble bearings, it has a calcium sulfonate base. From doing a bit of reading, I think the calcium sulfonate has better water resistance than the more common lithium complex base greases, but aluminum complex may be better.
At any rate when I put that Evinrude grease on the prop shaft, it is still there, still dark blue at the end of a full season in salt water here in Long Island. The Triple guard stuff is not for wheel bearings but good for other applications where water resistance is needed. I've been using it for 20 years.

 

[flashback]

I love Bondo grease!

 

[dingbat]

You know Bruce I've been trying to find that out but never could find a PDS listing what the base composition is.

Belray is noted on the MSDS for Triple Guard

https://www.belray.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BR-Waterproof-Grease-PDS-23Nov2021.pdf