PRODUCTS>CRP

Steerprop Dual-End CRP
- on the Search of the Ultimate Fuel Saving Device

Background

Ericsson's contra-rotating propeller

The concept of having two propellers behind each other rotating in different directions is very old. Already in 1824(!) a Mr. Perkins in England had put forward the idea, but it took until 1836 before John Ericsson had produced an actual construction.

PetitSmith's propeller

Although Colonel John Stevens built and experimented with a single and a twin screw steam driven vessel in America, his ideas were not accepted and the credit for the actual invention of the screw propeller, belong to either or both Francis Petit Smith and John Ericsson. In 1836 Smith and Ericsson patented the screw propeller. Ericsson's design was single, twin, as well as a contra-rotating wheel!

Although the high efficiency obtained with contra-rotating propellers was known for a long time, material technology combined with the need for long concentric shafts running in different directions made it both technically and economically unfeasible. However, in the mid 1980's contra-rotating propellers were successfully combined with the short propeller shaft of azimuth thrusters.

Steerprop key personnel were part of this development designing and engineering those first modern contra-rotating propeller devices. Thus they have significantly contributed to both the developing process, as well as the hydrodynamics and propeller design of modern CRP-technolgy.

Taking the next step of development Steerprop now presents the dual-end CRP azimuth thruster.

• General
• The Dual-End CRP
• Key Features
• Advantages