An experimental assessment has been made of the drag reducing efficiency of the outer-layer vertical blades, which were first devised by Hutchins. The drag reduction efficiency of the blades was reported to reach as much as 30%. However, the drag reduction efficiency was quantified only in terms of the reduction in the local skin-friction coefficient. In the present study, a series of drag force measurements in towing tank has been performed toward the assessments of the total drag reduction efficiency of the outer-layer vertical blades. A maximum 9.6% of reduction of total drag was achieved. The scale of blade geometry is found to be weakly correlated with outer variable of boundary layer. In addition, detailed flow field measurements have been performed using 2-D time resolved PIV with a view to enabling the identification of drag reduction mechanism.