Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | A | African Review of Business and Technology

Propeller design powers bigger profits: marine diesel specialists work closely with propulsion engineers. Engine and propeller should be paired up precisely to improve fuel consumption; there have been many recent improvements in both diesel and propeller design.

Article Excerpt
A QUICK INTERNET search produced a list of more than 80 manufacturers of marine diesel engines, of every size and suited to the working day-boat right up to a five-figure freighter. Many have representatives in major ports like Apapa and Durban. Most will be willing to advise about how to get more useful work out of your own propulsion unit, without trying too obviously to sell you a new diesel. In Africa and elsewhere the marine fitting industry is more pleasant than most to do business with.

At best no more than 70 per cent of the power delivered to the shaft will be convertible into motion for your vessel; a more typical yield for a busy working boat in Africa today is just 50. Faced with a problem the suppliers/agents will concentrate first on how to get more power out of the engine itself, by checking the air and fuel supply systems, the condition of the injectors, the suitability of the exhaust and--if fitted--the electronics of the engine management...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!