PROP GUARD
How to install protection for your engine’s propeller blades.
Adventure Marine’s Propeller Line Guard is an electro-polished stainless-steel prop guard that prevents dredge lines, fishing lines, downrigger wires, pot warp or mooring buoy lines from tangling in your propeller. It also provides prop protection from debris strikes and rocky bottoms. Integral pressure-relief ports prevent cavitation and enhance performance.
The Propeller Line Guard comes in nine sizes for propellers ranging from 9 to 17 inches in diameter, and outboard motors from 8 to 200 hp. Prices range from $221 for a 9-inch guard and increase to $299.99 for the largest model, a 17-inch guard.
Installation is straightforward, and it took me about one hour using the included stainless-steel hardware. Here’s how I installed mine.
MEASURE Measure from the bottom of the anti-ventilation plate to the bottom of the skeg. For the 150 hp Evinrude E-Tec powering our beloved 1974 Stamas, that distance was 16.5 inches, so Greg Epp at Adventure Marine recommended a 17-inch guard.
CUT Depending on your application, it might be necessary to cut off the bridge guard that maintains the structural integrity of the guard during shipping and stabilizes the cutout that is left for the outboard’s sacrificial zinc anode.
ATTACH Attach the two lower mounting brackets to the guard. These will be mounted to both sides of the skeg using ¼-inch stainless-steel bolts with locknuts.
TEST THE FIT Using clamps, test-fit the guard to the anti-ventilation plate, ensuring that both sides of the guard are equidistant from the rear of the anti-ventilation plate and centered over the propeller. Using the pre-drilled holes as guides, mark the location to drill the holes.
DRILL Remove the guard and the propeller. Cover the raw-water intake with painter’s tape to prevent swarf (shavings) from inadvertently entering the motor. Drill four 17∕64inch holes through the anti-ventilation plate.
FIT TO PLATE Fit the Line Guard to the bottom of the anti-ventilation plate. If necessary, trim the front of the guard to ensure that it fits far enough forward to center around the prop. Hand-tighten the four ¼-inch bolts facing up.
FIT TO SKEG Position the bottom mounting brackets to the skeg; align the guard so that it is centered around the propeller. Carefully mark and drill the two 17∕64inch mounting holes. Insert and carefully tighten the two ¼-inch bolts.