Have long thought about this:
*Is the screw action of the prop biting into the still water in front of it pulling the boat forward?
*Is it creating faster moving water behind it as a forward thrusting action thru the slower moving water outside the cone?
*Is it both?
Seems like there could be arguments/beliefs in all three.
For those who believe its the thrust cone of faster water behind the prop, consider this:
If you are boring a screw into a wall for instance, the threads "bite" into the wall in a pulling fashion. If you are using a hex head screw and a ratchet wrench you dont need to apply any pressure to "push" it in once it is started as you would a phillips head to keep it in the grooves, just the energy of a turning motion. In this case the screw is not being pushed at all. It is boring into the matter in front of it pulling it, same as a prop would bore into the water in front of it. So in this case it is a pulling action.
A boat prop on the other hand is obviously also pushing a much faster moving cone of water behind it......but only because the water is being pulled in from the front by the prop................or not.................hmmm?
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