Where's Marty? Repairing propellers at Millers Island Propellers

Hi Everyone!

I have written this before but it never hurts to circle back to my personal "Where's Marty?" mission. 

Part of that mission is to get you to look twice at something. (That would be something you may have never seen but heard about.)

Another part is to meet some of the GREAT "characters" that live in the area, and there are many. 

And finally showcase a local business that is at the top of their game, that you may never have heard of, but makes all of us proud every day. 

And all above was the case today. 

Meet Millers Island Propeller. 

The Chesapeake Bay defines Maryland. It just does. 

Nearly 100 percent of every pleasure boat you see, sail or motor, has a propeller. 

The "work boats" that give us our seafood have "props." 

Industrial boats like dredges, tugs, container ships…the BIG STUFF, have propellers. 

Military ships have propellers. It is a simple concept really. 

And engine turns a shaft that has a prop attached to it. 

That is the forward motion of the boat. A rudder sits directly behind the propeller. 

The position of the rudder determines which direction the boat will go. 

Seen out of water, as below, it is  simple. (The prop and rudder, not looking like brass, is because of protective "bottom paint.")

Now if water, in this case the Colorado River, can carve out the Grand Canyon imagine what water can do to a propeller spinning thousands of times a minute over a period of time. 

Hint, it's BAD. 

It can bend them, corrode them, and not taken care of it is…fatal. 

And a prop that is not tuned, as in slicing through the water perfectly, just kills your gas mileage. 

Now add into the prop wear hitting submerged sticks, or bigger objects, (yes it happens), and you have damage. And this is where Millers Island Propeller, located in Sparrows Point come in.

For 51 years, they have been the go to place for boatyards, mariners, and shipping companies. 

Big or small they can fix or clean up. 

They can, with their foundry equipment manufacture propellers. MIP employees over 20 full-time employees. 

Millers Island Propeller is known across the Bay, and the Mid-Atlantic. 

I dare say they have a GREAT rep along the Eastern Seaboard for those in the know. 

For 51 years they have been making a good name and keeping Baltimore a big player in the maritime industry. And we just wanted to highlight this local gem. And today  was just cool.

You may not be a boater, but you have sure as heck seen boats. And it takes a lot to keep them going. 

Keep in mind what lay below the waterline the next time you see a boat, sail or motor, and realize what is under the craft.  

Thanks Millers Island Propeller for hosting us this morning. And thanks for all you do landside too.

Marty B!