There are a lot of better options available these days than a fixed 3 blade prop. There are geared props and othe types of folding props that give nearly or exactly the same power in reverse as a fixed prop but they are expen$ive!
From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Jean-Francois J Rivard via CnC-List Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2014 12:08 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Stus-List Folding prop Hi Skip, I just put-on an old school Martec folder and I love it. Combined with a clean bottom (But old sails) and a few tweaks the boat just flies. I was out in 15-22 true wind breeze last week and detroyed my old 7.0 knots record with a whopping 8.3 (GPS Calibrated) knots sailing close hauled.. On the way home cruisin' on an easy beam / broad reach we were still cookin' along 7.0 to 8.2 knots all the way.. In less exciting winds this saturday,, We were making 6.0+ knots on 8.0 knots of true wind,, Long story short since I am into sailing.. I love it. Even if you are not racing.. Isn't it nice the know the boat has an edge on speed and efficiency? As for actual motoring,, The acceleration is pretty mild both in forward and reverse. There's also a fair amount of prop walk in reverse. Once under way it will make about 6.8 knots at cruising RPM's (2,850) on my 27 hp Yanmar. So it's pretty efficient. It also causes more vibrations than the fixed prop (I'm still working on that looking at prop / hull clearance and perhaps fine tuning the pitch). As for manually lining-up the prop to make sure the blade are horizontal, that's a 30 second job my son is glad to do or I can do myself easily. For family's usage on our lake / at our marina, the slow reverse acceleration / prop walk is a total non-issue. It just requires a little more advance planning and if you play your cards right the prop walk introduces an added dimension in your ability to control the stern / pivot the boat on it's own axis. I do however find that rippin' up and down the lake at "This can't be right" speeds blowing by bigger "Faster" boats is most satisfying.. To each his / her own, have fun sailing this summer. -Francois Rivard 1990 34+ "Take Five" Lake Lanier, Georgia
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