So, after my trip to Maine last week I now have 30 hours under engine with the prop. First impression was wow, what a lot of thrust. The boat accelerates well and stops fast. It is great to have the thrust to kick the stern around quickly in tight corners and push the bow up into the wind. It has made the boat more responsive and controllable. I did not alter the pitch setting. It is a fast propeller. In flat water, I am now cruising at 6.5 knots at 1700rpm; with the fixed prop, we were doing 6 knots at 2000rpm. At 2500rpm we achieve over 8 knots – I never saw more than 6.8knots with the old propeller. With 15 knot head wind and seas, performance is not affected very much – we still do 6 knots at 1700rpm. So now we never cruise at more than 17-1800rpm, as I am happy to motor at 6-6.5 knots and have the extra power in reserve. There is less vibration.
I have not yet done any fuel consumption calculations, as we were away from marinas and topped up the tank with a jerrycan. With the 2 blade fixed propeller, we were using a about a gallon per hour at 6 knots. I look forward to seeing what we achieve with the new prop.
Sailing performance is excellent. The prop feathers instantly and there is no need to lock the transmission off, though I still do so out of habit.
So, in short, I am most impressed with the EWOL performance. In mid-October we start our journey from Boston to Florida and I am very happy this propeller will be on the boat.
P.N. USA
