2006 Sterndrive Given New Life by Sharrow Prop

Regular readers of BoatTEST will be familiar with our series of articles on Sharrow Marine prop user experiences. Heretofore, this case history has been limited to outboard engines.  However, with Case History #7 these revolutionary new props prove themselves to be just as effective on sterndive boats.

The owner of a 2006 21-ft Crownline 210 LS bowrider, powered by a single 2006 300-hp Mercury sterndrive was disappointed in the boat’s performance. After more than 15 years of service, a new boat or at least a new engine may have seemed the most obvious option.

However, this boat owner had read the testimonials and watched the test videos, so he decided to try something different and take a gamble, investing in a Sharrow prop rather than a new boat or engine.

And apparently, that gamble paid off. After installing a Sharrow prop on his 300hp Mercury sterndrive, the Crownline owner had many positive comments. He wished to stay anonymous, so we are respecting his privacy in this report.

Here's what the owner said —

“It was like I got a new boat with about 50 percent more power, handling more precisely, ease of reaching plane at a lower speed, then comfortable cruising at higher speeds and similar RPMs.  It delivered everything predicted in the Sharrow test videos that I watched before I purchased it.  Great performance on a stern drive.”

In fact, the benefits to this everyman’s sterndrive boat seemed to make even more of a difference than to some higher-end boats.

“Handling was improved immensely, it felt like a different boat,” the boatowner said. “Planing speed was reduced from the mid-20 mph range to 20 mph, and it was so much quicker to plane,” he added.

But that wasn’t all: “Pulling skiers was much improved with noticeably quicker hole shot. Comfortable cruising speeds were in the 35-mph range at around 3500 rpm, up from around 25 to 27mph before. The boat runs smoother, quieter, and there is no slip feel on tight turns.”

Many of the boosts he reported for this smaller, older craft echoed or even surpassed the benefits experienced in newer and larger boats with outboard power: “Docking was significantly easier as low-speed maneuverability is amazing,” the boatowner explained. And as for fuel efficiency: “Without careful documentation, it was evident that fuel consumption was down at least 25 percent,” although he acknowledged that this was “hard to accurately confirm on a boat used both for cruising and skiing.”

“Sharrow performance exceeded my expectation and made it feel like we had a new boat,” the boat owner concluded.

All in all, investing in a Sharrow prop has given a 2006 boat a new lease on life, ready to provide many more hours of cruising and skiing for one happy boat owner.