1:5 to 1.. or 1 to 1:5 .. You make the call.....

[PipeDreamsMarine]

Two members of this site where having a conversation, they were talking about inboard boats. Speed versus horsepower always plays a part in any inboard boat. During this back and forth banter, an in past was struck upon. Here is the issue. With a 1:1 gear the prop spins at the same speed as the motor, so if the engine is turning 2500rpm the prop is spinning close to that same rpm, thus the 1:1 ratio. Both parties agree upon that fact. Now if you have a 1:5 to 1 ratio…I say that for every 1:5 turns of your motor the prop will make one turn, thus increasing the torque of the motor because of the gained advantage of the 1:5 ratio. So you can turn a prop with more pitch/dia and increase your speed, because a slower turning prop is more efficient then one spinning faster. . Now the other person claims it is the other way around that for every 1 turn of the motor your prop turns 1:5 times. This makes the prop spin faster and makes the boat go faster. This is done by turning a bigger wheel, faster in their eyes. So we decided to ask the masses on their thoughts about this matter. Please note that the names have been with held to protect their pride and the loser will not be known to the masses so that public humiliation will be kept to a minimum.