Mind you a public debate might add some interest.
Here's the 1st reply in favour of the 4 bladed 13" Bargepusher.
I've moved this discussion to it's own location so we don't hijack the flywheel number question.3 or 4 blades have not yet got a satisfactory answer. Not to me anyway. A public debate i look forward to. To my untrained eye, if it doesn't look right it probably isn't right, hence the reason why i asked whether or not the 3 bladed prop was actually designed to be used on 102 plus in the first place. And to my eye they just don't look right at all. I've seen quite a few bronze versions of this 3 bladed prop fitted onto inboard powered dinghies before now and always thought that an aluminium version of the same prop could be considered as a "cheap fix" in a time of need. 3 blades instead of the normal 4 might have a slight increase in overall usability when fitted to a plus gearbox, and possibly a few extra revs, but even so they just don't look right to me. Surface area i can understand for pushing big heavy loads as these engines are certainly not about going fast or being stealthy! No sir. They're anything but stealthy . The smog trail and noise would soon give you away
From experience of using my own AHC and THC i can tell you first hand they're not a fast or powerful motor to use. They're often noisy, very noisy in fact compared to the conventional sized 102's, they're also a darn sight heavier than their counterparts.Not to mention SLOW! That's not why i like them. I like them because not many other people like them or prefer to use the more recognisable motors of the same era. Some it's true have probably had a gearbox swap by now anyway, just like this one,which is a shame to me as i like to see the rest of the motor to be true to what the serial number tells you what it should be.
Torque tubes, particularly at the point just underneath the 2 studs/nuts that hold the lower unit on. From what i've seen so far, the vast majority of early 102's including the SD range don't have what i term as a "steering lock". A funny looking square or oblong bit of metal that protrudes downwards away from the flange. With one of these later mounting lugs in place its easy to see the purpose of this protrusion. It acts like a steering lock giving approx. 45 degrees port/starboard of steering capability. Older motors don't have this unless lots of other bits have been replaced along the way. This 102 has a later mounting lug made from ally and black plastic which just adds to the confusion. As this has a later transom mounting anyway, the other parts that go with it are probably of the same or similar age as the "additions". This one though does look a bit "odd" at the top of its shaft. Is it part of the original finish or is there another "addition". (perhaps to cover up a previous "bodge")
Now Chas., as far as tube length goes, did we ever get to the bottom of how long an SDP should be? From memory, Rene's poll a while ago was inconclusive. And what about the gearboxes on those as well? If you're saying there is only 1 tube length for a genuine ww2 motor then that would make them long shaft. Is this correct? Everybody should be able to use a tape measure though, shouldn't they?
I saw that so called "wartime barge pusher" not that long ago and at the time i thought jeez what a hunk of junk! I've seen other better ones for sale if you want to call them "wartime barge pushers" of sorts, although they were mostly made from spare parts and a lot cheaper to buy in the first place. Still, each to their own i suppose.
If Hugo would like to send me a copy of the 46 seagull paperwork concerning the HSD i'd be more than happy to take a look at it.
and yes, i know i haven't sent you the previous register yet! I'm getting there slowly. I've got a lot on my plate at the moment besides seagull stuff.