I used a V…. two blade fixed propeller for about five years. Never had any problems with it. However I didn’t like the fact that when sailing I had to have the drive in gear and have heard stories about when sailing fast it can actually turn the engine over backwards and suck in water (never happened to me though). I tried a few times to leave the gear in neutral, as some have recommended, but the engine would shake quite a lot and I didn’t feel comfortable with that. It was explained to me that this shaking was a symptom of the large amount of drag that the fixed propeller actually has (which seems more than I would have thought).
Also I wanted to reduce drag when sailing (it is fun to go fast when conditions are right).
I did a huge amount of research about feathering vs. folding propellers and since my boat handles like a dream both in forward and reverse, I wanted to keep or maybe improve these characteristics. I decided that the feathering prop was the only way.
I started to research and compare all of the feathering propellers I could find and was at the boat show in Dusseldorf three years in a row two of which I spent a good bit of time looking and inspecting « hands on » the various manufacturers at the shows.
I made my final decision based on what in my mind was the best engineered propeller, also the most expensive, but this is often the case but not always.
Any way I mounted the new Ewol propeller this last June and although I think I would like to teak it a bit (an extremely nice feature with the Ewol) as I am getting quite easily and quickly to the high end of the maximum rpm. Without tweaking it I have a much better top speed, I have the same cruising speed as the V…. prop. at 2000 rpms. Reverse is better with the Ewol, I think because it is three blades instead of the V…. two. The sailing experience is very noticeable and a really makes me smile. Especially in light air. The boat just seems more « slippery » to me. Of course it is difficult to document with hard evidence, but I believe I am getting a good 1 to 1.5 knots in winds up to 20 knots.
Next summer I will tweak it a bit and report back.
Also I paid extra to get the prop polished (thinking that I would just keep it clean with a 3m pad). This was against the recommendation of Ewol. It was a mistake, so this winter I will rough it up a bit and use the paint they recommend.
Zai
Original Text
I used a V…. two blade fixed propeller for about five years. Never had any problems with it. However I didn’t like the fact that when sailing I had to have the drive in gear and have heard stories about when sailing fast it can actually turn the engine over backwards and suck in water (never happened to me though). I tried a few times to leave the gear in neutral, as some have recommended, but the engine would shake quite a lot and I didn’t feel comfortable with that. It was explained to me that this shaking was a symptom of the large amount of drag that the fixed propeller actually has (which seems more than I would have thought).
Also I wanted to reduce drag when sailing (it is fun to go fast when conditions are right).
I did a huge amount of research about feathering vs. folding propellers and since my boat handles like a dream both in forward and reverse, I wanted to keep or maybe improve these characteristics. I decided that the feathering prop was the only way.
I started to research and compare all of the feathering propellers I could find and was at the boat show in Dusseldorf three years in a row two of which I spent a good bit of time looking and inspecting « hands on » the various manufacturers at the shows.
I made my final decision based on what in my mind was the best engineered propeller, also the most expensive, but this is often the case but not always.
Any way I mounted the new Ewol propeller this last June and although I think I would like to teak it a bit (an extremely nice feature with the Ewol) as I am getting quite easily and quickly to the high end of the maximum rpm. Without tweaking it I have a much better top speed, I have the same cruising speed as the V…. prop. at 2000 rpms. Reverse is better with the Ewol, I think because it is three blades instead of the V…. two. The sailing experience is very noticeable and a really makes me smile. Especially in light air. The boat just seems more « slippery » to me. Of course it is difficult to document with hard evidence, but I believe I am getting a good 1 to 1.5 knots in winds up to 20 knots.
Next summer I will tweak it a bit and report back.
Also I paid extra to get the prop polished (thinking that I would just keep it clean with a 3m pad). This was against the recommendation of Ewol. It was a mistake, so this winter I will rough it up a bit and use the paint they recommend.