The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) and local boat insurance provider, Jack Martin/Avon-Dixon, encourage the public to join them in wearing a lifejacket to work on Friday, May 18. The State initiative kicks off National Safe Boating Week, May 19 to 23, by raising awareness on the importance of these life saving devices.

Joined by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and other leaders in a ceremony at Sandy Point State Park, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Wednesday designated four water trails as new historic connecting components of the existing Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is aware of and constantly monitoring the appearance of an increased number of Asian tiger prawns, a non-native species, in Louisiana waters. LDWF officials are asking local shrimp harvesters to report catches of tiger prawns to the Department.

Military families across the United States are now eligible to receive more than 2,000 free rods and reels thanks to a national program for those interested in engaging in the sport of fishing. The Rods and Reels Program is made possible by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation's (RBFF) Take Me Fishing™ campaign, the Sierra Club Water Sentinels, the National Military Fish & Wildlife Association (NMFWA) and Zebco.

For the first time in state history, California Department of Fish and Game staff have used a boat to move approximately 100,000 young Chinook (called smolts) down the Sacramento River to San Francisco Bay. Upon arrival, the smolts were released in the Bay, where they will grow to adulthood before returning upriver to spawn.

Since the 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series schedule was announced last summer, professional anglers have been kept in the dark about the seventh stop on the circuit - the Mystery Lake Elite June 28-July 1. The secret will be revealed Thursday, May 24, a month prior to the start of official practice for the event.

WILDLIFE

Admit it, until something goes wrong, most of us don't give our propellers much though. We check out the rest of our boat's drive systems on a regular basis, but barring our actually creating a problem, we don't think about our props very often.

We don't realize the prop's where the whole propulsion thing consummates and enables to move through the water, but we seem to just take the prop for granted.

Investment casting starts with a wax replica of the final propeller. Here, one of PPI's saltwater units is prepped before beginning the process of being encased in a mold. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo. Here's why they call it lost-wax. Molten steel is poured into the ceramic mold, melting the wax and enabling the steel to take the form of the finished propeller. But the process is far from over. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo. Drag finishing when shot at a low shutter speed actually gives the illusion of the propeller moving through the water. It's actually being dragged through finishing material that smooths the steel surfaces. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo. The final step...cleaning up and boxing the propellers for shipment. Yes, that's a bottle of window cleaner. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo.

Today, I'm wrapping up a three-day visit with Yamaha's Marine Division, checking out new boats and engines. Yesterday, I toured Yamaha's Precision Propeller Industries, Inc. (PPI) located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It wasn't a life-changing experience, but I left with a new appreciation for the propeller at the end of any boat's propulsion system.

PPI is an investment casting facility that began a business relationship as Yamaha's primary independent source for stainless steel propellers. Eventually that relationship grew to the point that it made sense for Yamaha to acquire PPI. Today, PPI's 94 staffers produce 40,000 units per year in 67,000 square feet of manufacturing space on a 4.4 acre campus. Over the next three years, PPI plans to expand to a capacity of 80,000 annual units, including the Turbo and Stiletto brands which are sold in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Russia, and, yes, Japan.

As you can imagine, they're serious about their props. Today, I'm holding the propeller in a higher esteem as well. Having seen the processes, I'm actually surprised they don't cost more than they do.

Touring PPI, I was allowed to shoot the majority of the processes of creating a propeller from steel billet to boxing for shipment. And it's quite a display of manufacturing skills.

Investment, or lost-wax, casting is a multi-step process that begins with the creation of an exact replica of the propeller cast in wax. That wax replica is then encased in multiple coats of raw material that when dried and prepared is the mold from which the stainless steel propeller is formed.


At that point, molten steel is poured into the mold, melting the plastic and forming the rough propeller. From there, it's a series of processes that result in the end result: a stainless steel propeller that is the successful blend of modern manufacturing and a blend of old-world craftsmanship.

The old world craftsmanship is most evident when nearly-completed props are taken through a series of "grinds" where blades are balanced and subtle angles are conformed into the props using leather center hammers and muscle on fitting devices that look more than a little like anvils. The propellers are, after all, steel. Mixed into all that fine fitting is the process of quality-checking using computer based parameters and gauges that PPI asked that I not photograph. Without offering details (which I wouldn't understand anyway), it's an impressive process to make certain leading and trailing edges of each of the three blades are exact, balances are "just right" and hub assembly in square and plumb. If you've ever had a prop get out of balance, you understand why that's so important.

Today, I'm on the water putting some real-time testing of the shiny Yamaha props on boats from G3, Alumacraft, Polar Kraft, Bennington, Sanpan, Stingray, Veranda and Nautic Star.

There's an interesting trend on these boats - and I think they're reflecting the desire of today's consumer: they're lighter, more fuel-efficient, and capable of serving a variety of different recreational functions. It's a blend of boats that would enable the hard-core angler, casual family boater or recreational angler, hunter to have year-round fun.

As always, we'll keep you posted.

--Jim Shepherd

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