Hi Randy A number of years ago friends that we race against switched from a fixed 2 blade prop on an OMC saildrive installed in a C&C 25 to a folding propeller. The difference was dramatic. I agree the performance increase will be more than 6 sec/mile.
We recently purchased a new propeller for Persistence. The boat came to us with a 2 blade folding Martec propeller. This is not geared so that the closing or opening of one blade is independent of the other. In light winds this could often result in one blade hanging down in the open position. We had great forward thrust with this prop but when shifting from forward to reverse it took a very long time to stop the boat (think docking). We purchased a flex-o-fold 2 blade geared folding propeller. There are other brands of geared folding propellers as well but it is important to have the gearing. Flex-o-fold was very good to deal with and spec’d out the appropriate prop based on the information I gave them (current prop make, diameter, pitch and rotation as well as boat model and engine model). Once ordered the prop arrived from Denmark in just over three business days as advertised. There was a COD payment at the door of $242 CAD (thanks UPS) but that was for our provincial sales tax. Installation was very straight forward. Removal of the old prop a bit difficult (needed a puller and some heat). There is a link on the flex-o-fold site to a sailing magazine test of various folding and feathering props. It is a good comparison. I feel that our new prop will be very slightly faster than the Martec while sailing but a whole lot better for motoring – especially in reverse. Also supposed to have less vibration Mike Persistence Halifax From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of RANDY via CnC-List Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2016 4:51 PM To: cnc-list Cc: RANDY Subject: Re: Stus-List Propeller Thanks Gary. My RSA gives +6 for a fixed two-blade prop, and other guys in my club think a folding prop is worth even more than that. There's at least one RSA (NCPHRF I think) that gives +12. Thanks also for the info on the mast step. I'll go with three cross-members if I can, while still getting a pump into that sump and not covering up a keel bolt. Otherwise two non-rotting, non-deflecting cross-members made out of fiberglass board, and properly designed and installed, ought to be better than the original setup, and certainly better than my current two cross-members. Cheers, Randy
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