The prop Keith Whittle fitted to his son Sam’s UIM F2 Moore hull in Kaunas worked immediately.
It had been lent to him by two-time UIM F2 European Champion Edgaras Riabko during a testing session in 2022 between races in Eastern Europe. After the test, the marine engineer based in Hayling Island parted with his money and purchased the mysterious item.
We all wondered what this propeller was and was told it was a “Romas” – Google came back without any results. With the help of Matas Kvizikevičius, the story can now be told.
Born in Alytus, 1935
Romualdas Kundrotas was born on February 24, 1935 in Alytus. Known across the sport simply as Romas, he is 91 years old and is regarded within Lithuania as the last racing propeller maker in the country.
His story began not with propellers but with boats. As a young man he built an S250 class racing boat for juniors. The propeller became his real subject: blade shape, lift, balance, efficiency and the ability to read what a driver felt on the water.
Over the years Romas collected technical information from across Europe, carried professional propeller measuring equipment and built his own bank of data. Those who know him say the method has never been only about instruments. He listens to a driver, studies how the boat behaves, then makes the small corrections that can change a race weekend. Those corrections sometimes still mean a hammer in his hands.
The championship record
Poringė team, Alytus — titles using Kundrotas propellers
Lithuanian champions 1988, 1990, 1991 and 1996
Soviet Union Cup 1988 and 1989
The Poringė team’s Lithuanian titles and Soviet Union Cup wins came in the first phase of his career. After Lithuanian independence, the sport rebuilt, and Romas built with it. By the time F2 and F4 were pulling Lithuanian drivers into European competition, his propellers were going with them.
From S550 to world podiums
His longest working relationship has been with Edgaras Riabko. Romas has made propellers for him from S550 through F4 and into F2, the run of a career that took Riabko from club racing to European titles and World Championship podiums.
Riabko won the F5 European championship in 2011, the UIM F2 European Championship in 2018 and 2019, and has finished as runner-up in the UIM F2 World Championship. His propellers have also been used by Paulius Stainys and other leading Lithuanian drivers.
Riabko on the man behind his results:
Romas has made propellers for me since my S550 days, then in F4 and later in F2. With his propellers, I climbed onto the highest podiums internationally. He is one of those people whose work is often hidden, but without that work, a lot of results would not have been possible.
Work, not words
At races, Romas watches, listens and observes. He does not need to say much. Those who know him well put it simply: work, not words.
Riabko has one story that gets the character across better than most. Travelling to a race, the team could not find a knife. Romas looked around, picked up one of his propellers and used it to cut sausage.
Lifetime merit award
This year the Lithuanian Motorboat Federation recognised Kundrotas with its annual lifetime merit award, a distinction given to one person each year.
For Lithuania, the recognition carries a wider meaning. Romas is a link between generations: from the older racing era, through the rebuilding of Lithuanian powerboat sport, to today’s UIM F2 and F4 drivers carrying the national flag in international competition.
He is working less with each passing year. When he finally puts down his tools, Lithuania may no longer have anyone left who can make racing propellers at this level.
Behind every champion there is often someone who never appears in the photograph: someone who understands metal, water, speed and feel, and who can translate a driver’s feedback into a few careful changes on a blade.
In Lithuania, that person is Romas Kundrotas.
A craftsman from Alytus.
The last of his kind.
With thanks to Matas Kvizikevičius for helping to put this article together.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
