prop selection

[sam]

Who has changed from the standard three blade prop to a folding or adjustable pitch type? Brand recommendation?

Sam

LONGHAWK, B43 Hull #9

[stephen grainger]

I changed to a flexofold 3 blade folding 3 months ago and love it. It has changed the feel of the boat dramatically and added almost a knot of boat speed under sail. Less rounding up  and much more controllable when overpowered. Under motor I suspect better then old 3 blade ,fixed 8.5 knots at 2800 revs. Probably loses a bit in reverse in terms of stopping power but minimal and less pull sideways. Beautiful simple design and an easy to fit work of art.

Love it.

Well worth the cost . Around 2500 australian dollars

 

Stephen

Migaloo

[Bruce Bogdanoff]

I have the Kiwi 3 bladed feathering prop. I has added about .75 knts in hull speed and the boat moves comparatively faster in the lighter breezes of the Chesapeake Bay. I do need to increase the RPM to maintain the same sped under power with this prop. I may increase the pitch of the prop slightly to see if the motoring speed increases. After investigation, this prop was the most reasonable in price. I did by two extra blades with the prop since they are made out of high impact plastic.

[Mark and Karen]

Changed our minds from the Kiwi prop and decided to go for the Flexofold 3 blade. Cono Sur is out of the water at the moment and the new prop is being fitted this week ready for the start of the season. Looking forward to the modification as it should take an hour of the journey from Whitehaven to Belfast

[foster]

Hello,

I wish you all a good (sailing) year.

 

Reactivating this thread searching for information on feathering propellers.

 

I like the concept of autopitch adaptation. To my knowledge AUTOPROP from Bruntons or Ecowind from Maxprop are the two; Has anyone some feed back on these two models on B40/43.

 

The standard Radice 3 blade fixed propeller is 18' does anyone know the pitch ?

 

Has anyone have a 19' ?

 

Thanks.

 

Denis

[Aquamarine]

Has anyone also installed a shaft shark or the like? I was thinking since installing a folding propeller to also install a rope cutter...

 

Stew

Aquamarine

[Lane D.]

Look at SPURS.  Excellent quality.  Installed it on our 2000 Hunter 460 (46').  Unsure if it ever cut a line on a lobster pot, etc.  During 12 yr. only once did we come to a stop while powering, presumably a lobster pot.  Eventually we got loose without diving.  Unsure, but we think the SPURS cut the line.

[GaryG]

I've got an Autoprop on my B40. The dealer was very impressed with the efficiency. Good speed, low vibration, very low drag, and no propwalk in reverse.  I've heard some complaints about the flex-o-fold blades not opening up. Since each blade on the 3 blade autoprop is separately geared, centrifugal force will always open them, and there is no pitch to set--it is automatic.

You should see a marked performance when you get rid of the barn door fixed prop

I also added a line cutter forward of the prop.

[Lane D.]

Strongly recommend a Maxprop classic 3-blade feathering prop.  15 yrs experience supports it.  3 yrs on a 1998 Hunter 376 (37') and 12 years on a 2000 Hunter 460 (46').  The boats point higher into the wind under and sails faster v. a 3-blade fixed prop. 

Tidal current is 5+ knots in our area (The Race in Long Is. Sound).  Torque is excellent.  Repeatedly we outpaced others in the exact same vessel, who must have a different prop on their boat.  Never have we been passed by the same model when powering into the current.

Prop walk in reverse?  Absoultely- but it is all good.  Both Hunters are shoal draft, which is more prone to walk than a full keel.  Reverse is strong and well-controlled because Maxprop's blades flip 180 degrees in reverse and, thus, has equal thrust as going forward.  It's a big piece of mind near the dock.

Maxprop never let us down.  It is well contructed, requires only annual greasing and, importantly, runs and runs and runs every time we need it.  Our next boat will have a Maxprop.