Page 85: of Marine News Magazine (November 2019)

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CAD/CAM SOFTWARE

TrueProp Software, they used man- ual methods to assess and repair their propellers. “We cleaned the prop a bit, assessed whether it was repairable with manual gauges, and beat the propeller with rawhide or brass hammers to get it to lay on a pitch block,” says Dorothy.

“Then we beat it to the block with heat if necessary. We would weld the missing parts and grind it back to the appropriate thickness and shape, ? nish them, check and recheck, balance and ship. But we would never really know if it was 100% correct, how could we?”

Today, Cool Breeze can offer ac- curate repair to the highest standards dictions, propeller sizing, and propeller design. TrueProp available in the industry. “We can show our customers what

Software LLC was founded in 2017 as a sister-company was wrong with their prop, and then show them how it has and is the only independent and widely compatible soft- been corrected. We are now having larger propellers shipped ware available for propeller inspection and repair. With over to us from all over the United States to repair.” 600 customers world-wide, HydroComp Inc and TrueProp

Before Cool Breeze used the new TrueProp Software,

Software are working on propelling the propeller industry boatowners in the region frequently had to send their pro- forward through next-generation solutions and tools.

pellers to Florida to be repaired, which could take up to a month. Then there was the added expense of transpor-

TrueProp in Action tation. Instead of relying on distant propeller shops with

The Prop Specialists, operating for twenty-six years in older inspection devices, Cool Breeze decided to bring the

Osage Beach, Missouri, is the only certi? ed propeller repair complete scan and repair process in-house. The arrival of shop in the Lake of the Ozarks. Their service range, how- the new technology at the lake has changed everything. “We ever, extends all over the United States and several other have the ability to prove that the work was done right,” says countries. George and Dorothy Peter are the owners. Origi-

Dorothy. “Customers have complete con? dence in us. Big nally a marine mechanic, he also developed an af? nity for props that used to go to Florida now come to us.

propellers. As his knowledge base grew, so too did the local “You can’t lie to TrueProp, and TrueProp doesn’t lie to demand for propeller repairs, especially since many of the you.” Since the acquisition of the new PropPress 360 and lake’s mechanics and marinas were not tooled or equipped Linden DDS system with TrueProp Software, the everyday to work on propellers. When a propeller business went up business routine at Cool Breeze may be increasingly busy, for sale in 1992, George jumped at the opportunity.

but it is easier to manage. It is catalogued chaos, held to-

Since the acquisition, George had to stop working on gether in part by numbers and reports, technology and pre- boats altogether due to the demand for propeller repair cision. There is no more need for guesswork, since TrueProp for Cool Breeze – The Prop Specialists. In order to cope always gives them true results. www.truepropsoftware.com with that demand, Cool Breeze acquired a new propel- ler scanning device and the PropPress 360, a Digital Data

Senior Project Engineer, Adam Kaplan, is the lead

Scanner and a hydraulic propeller bending machine from developer of PropExpert and PropCad, HydroComp’s

Linden Propellers, which together with the new TrueProp propeller sizing and propeller design for tools. He has been with HydroComp for over a decade and is a

Software led them to achieve more precise measurements.

frequent speaker at conferences. He holds a Master’s of Science in

The Peters are fervent supporters of the combined tech-

Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire nology. “TrueProp, partnered with the Linden DDS and and is the regional membership chair of the Society of Naval the PropPress 360, is the most accurate system on the

Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) for New England.

market,” says George. Before Cool Breeze incorporated 85 www.marinelink.com MN