Why are Bruntons Varifiold folding sailboat propellers a market leader? Well the answer there is so very simple yet often overlooked – value.
Value in the design, at the time of sale and more importantly after service value. The company behind Bruntons Propellers has been designing and manufacturing propellers and solving problems for over 200 years. They are not a CNC manufacturing shop who uses other designs and provides a sailboat product, they are ‘soup to nuts’ for the sailboat propeller. Bruntons Propeller cover the whole process from hydrodynamic analysis, lofting, patterns, CNC fabrication, testing, and support. The factory and production facilities are based in the UK and re-tool between aerospace and marine jobs as supply dictates. This means that the quality of casting, fabrication and finish on the propellers is second to non, and one of the best in the marine propeller industry. The design staff at the factory are all qualified Naval Architects specializing in propulsion and use in-house codes they wrote to calculate propeller characteristics for each boat, not a sales team using a generic software program from 20 years ago. It is this knowledge that is able to offer optimized sailboat propellers from 12” diameter to 46” (at the last check). In the smaller boats there is a lot of competition as most companies can get a set of lines, program CNC and make a propeller. As the boat size increases the companies drop by the wayside, unable to calculate flow patterns and structural loading well enough, if at all. This is why once a sailboat reaches a waterline length of 100 feet or more, Bruntons Propellers is the only folding propeller option used on the race boats. Bruntons Propellers can even customer design and deliver your propeller in Titanium if you needed to save 35% in weight.
But it is more than that, owning a Bruntons Propeller is about a relationship, between the boat, the boat owner and us. King Propulsion and Bruntons Propellers are there 24/7 for parts and service. If the unexpected happens such as striking something while sailing causing propeller damage, we jump into action; if the re-power you performed is giving bad propeller vibrations – we can help with guidance support and a voice for you. The technical support is often an overlooked aspect of through life ownership of a propeller. In fact we don’t see ourselves as dealers shifting inventory off the shelf but providing customized solutions for sailboat owners giving quiet trouble free propellers that last a long time and work in harmony with your boat. If something goes wrong, we have a 30 day money back guarantee and a 1 year warranty on the propeller, clear, transparent, no quibble.
It is a daunting prospect buying a propeller. The propellers are hidden from sight and perceived mystical as to how they work; for that we can help. We have a series of videos, technical articles, blog posts and testimonials to share with you before you buy the propeller to see if is the right choice for you. Done right the propeller will add value to your boat and immeasurable value to your onboard life with quiet, efficient low-drag sailing.
We do respect there are numerous options on the market place, some good, some not so good and we encourage all our customers to approach other vendors and ask lots of informed questions, we feel that confident that our sailboat propeller platform is that good you will consider us for your next purchase. Bruntons Varifold has been around a long time as has the Autoprop and we have well over 10,000 propellers successfully in service and adored around the world. If you are away from home you can be sure that there is a Bruntons dealer with the parts you need in the country you visit.
So in terms of Value I know we are the best. But it depends upon the market. If someone is looking for price point and the cheapest option to spin behind their boat, we are not that option and I would encourage them to look elsewhere, but if they are looking for a beautifully engineered and flawlessly designed propeller at a competitive price point with a true sailing pedigree and vast customer base then Bruntons Propellers might just be a good fit for you.
