Boat going backwards...

[overboard]

Hi all, Just had a harrowing splash. After removing maxprop and pss dripless gland we installed new pss bellows on our Fuji45, then reinstalled all after cleaned and re-lubed. But when we splashed and then put the boat in forward she went backwards (and back was forward). We have owned the prop for 10 years but we were in a hurry. Could we have installed the prop improperly to cause the reversal? Can you get the blades 180 degs wrong? My guess is this is a really stupid question.

Thanks in advance,
Lauri

[brownr377]

Did you check the shift cable linkage for being correct?

Not that I did this on my boat accidentally.... makes driving a bit tricky

[overboard]

Yes. Looks like the prop is somehow not right (Haha it's left) Trying to keep my sense of humor as I count the dollar cost of this mistake... another haulout.

[mabowers]

Not the blades perhaps, but can the internal hub ring be misaligned to change the pitch of the blades that far ?

[overboard]

Yes, they can. Talked to maxprop and we probably did exactly that... misaligned the gear inside while pounding the shaft back in.

[SV Bacchus]

Yes, that happened with Bacchus and believe it or not we were one tooth off! That was enough to change it from a forward to backward pitch.

I don't know much about it but I believe there are two different places you could have mismatched the gears and made the mistake.

The folks at PYI in Washington State were good as gold and got me straightened out.

[sandy stone]

Funny you should bring this up - I made the exact same mistake a couple of months ago. Yep, another haulout. Misread one of the marks on the gears. Oh, well, we're all only human. I'll bet the look on my face when I shifted into forward and went backwards was priceless.

[overboard]

I was on the aft deck expecting the captain to pull forward when suddenly the quay was coming at me. The captain was clear minded enough to move the stick backwards to pull forward and get us out of immediate trouble, but jeez. Back in the sling...