Maxprop - Issues with Feathering

[carstenb]

So, last season I forked out the bucks and installed a Maxprop. I had issues with the feathering all season. When I stop the engine, I clearly hear the drive shaft turning (high pitched whine).

With my old folding prop, drop it into reverse and forget it. Can't do that with the Maxprop. If dropped into reverse, the prop goes into reverse mode with the blades spread.

I spoke with the Maxprop distributor several times last season. He suggested that perhaps the prop had been tightened too much. The blades should be loose enough to be feathered with a finger.

OK - haul out a couple weeks ago and I checked the prop. First I greased it then tested it. It feathered easily with just 1 finger and no effort at all.

BAck out on the water - same issue as last year. Manufacturer says to put drive in forward for 3 or more seconds, then neutral to feather the blades. This does not work. The distributor is (at the moment) not coming with helpful suggestions.

Anyone out there experienced the same problem? How did you solve this?

[Kalinka1]

Does your transmission lock in foreward or reverse? I just stopped the engine while in forward and that seems to do the trick. Put in a new motor this season and launch today or tomorrow and we'll see how it works with the new setup. Might be emailng you for help

[cal40john]

If mine doesn't automatically feather I put the tranny into reverse for a second and it feathers and the shaft stops turning.

I don't know if the prop works at all with the blades backwards, but according to the manual it is possible to put them on the wrong way. If so it seems to me that the blades would open up every time you would want them to feather.

page 4 figure 7:
http://www.pyiinc.com/images/pdf/max...structions.pdf

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Kalinka1

Does your transmission lock in foreward or reverse? I just stopped the engine while in forward and that seems to do the trick. Put in a new motor this season and launch today or tomorrow and we'll see how it works with the new setup. Might be emailng you for help

If I put the tranny in reverse, it really locks up (blades spread). This makes it very difficult to get back into neutral (violence is called for).

I haven't tried the stopping the engine while in forward. I'll try that this weekend.

One thing you need to be very careful about when mounting the prop. Make sure your woodrufff kep doesn't have a really tight fit at the top. If it is too tight at the top, this can distort the prop housing a few nano millimeters and cause it to bind.

Re: mounting the blades backwards - I double (and triple) checked this both last year by diving and this year while on the hard. It is mounted correctly.


Othewise, I have to say I'm very happy with the prop. It cured my excessive propwalk and now I can rev hard to set the anchor. I also can reverse without any problems. My old 3 blade Volvo had so much propwalk that it was difficult to get going in reverse - it just turned the boat in circles.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by carstenb

So, last season I forked out the bucks and installed a Maxprop. I had issues with the feathering all season. When I stop the engine, I clearly hear the drive shaft turning (high pitched whine).

With my old folding prop, drop it into reverse and forget it. Can't do that with the Maxprop. If dropped into reverse, the prop goes into reverse mode with the blades spread.

I spoke with the Maxprop distributor several times last season. He suggested that perhaps the prop had been tightened too much. The blades should be loose enough to be feathered with a finger.

OK - haul out a couple weeks ago and I checked the prop. First I greased it then tested it. It feathered easily with just 1 finger and no effort at all.

BAck out on the water - same issue as last year. Manufacturer says to put drive in forward for 3 or more seconds, then neutral to feather the blades. This does not work. The distributor is (at the moment) not coming with helpful suggestions.

Anyone out there experienced the same problem? How did you solve this?

RTFM!
With the engine in forward gear at 2-3kt, kill the engine, then you can put the transmission into neutral to test the shaft has stopped rotating. It doesn't say this, but it works at faster speeds too. Don't use reverse for feathering. I can't believe the bad advice you've had.

[sparrowhawk1]

I've always put my max prop in Reverse before killing the engine the blades may reverse but then the forward motion of the boat should make them feather

[Paul L]

I stop the engine and then put the transmission into reverse. It works fine eveytime with my Maxprop on this boat and on the last one. Putting it into reverse when the engine is not running does not set the blades to their reverse position. It just sits them to their neutral position, i.e. low drag. A Maxprop is a pretty simple device.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by poiu

RTFM!
Don't use reverse for feathering. I can't believe the bad advice you've had.

From the manual

. The best way to
feather the propeller is:
• Power at 2 to 3 knots in forward.
• Kill the engine while still engaged in forward.
• When the engine has stopped, if the shaft is still spinning engage the
transmission in reverse to stop the freewheeling.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by cal40john

From the manual

. The best way to
feather the propeller is:
• Power at 2 to 3 knots in forward.
• Kill the engine while still engaged in forward.
• When the engine has stopped, if the shaft is still spinning engage the
transmission in reverse to stop the freewheeling.

Calm down, calm down. Nothing so important to get so angry about!

Read what I said: Don't use reverse for feathering. That's all. If you want to use reverse afterwards that is a different thing.

Now you have brought the subject up I think the advice in the manual you are quoting is not good and a bit misleading. The prop doesn't always feather and I have had to repeat the feathering process occasionally. If the shaft is rotating because the prop has not feathered then putting it in reverse will just hold the prop unfeathered and slowing the boat. (Just as it would if you put it in forward gear). The prop should turn only very slowly if at all once it is feathered and that is a sign you are feathered correctly. If that movement troubles you then stick it reverse once you are sure you are feathered. I leave mine in neutral. Doing that I have an alert if the prop were to unfeather, perhaps by wave motion. It has not happened yet.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by poiu

Calm down, calm down. Nothing so important to get so angry about!

Read what I said: Don't use reverse for feathering. That's all. If you want to use reverse afterwards that is a different thing.

Now you have brought the subject up I think the advice in the manual you are quoting is not good and a bit misleading. The prop doesn't always feather and I have had to repeat the feathering process occasionally. If the shaft is rotating because the prop has not feathered then putting it in reverse will just hold the prop unfeathered and slowing the boat. (Just as it would if you put it in forward gear). The prop should turn only very slowly if at all once it is feathered and that is a sign you are feathered correctly. If that movement troubles you then stick it reverse once you are sure you are feathered. I leave mine in neutral. Doing that I have an alert if the prop were to unfeather, perhaps by wave motion. It has not happened yet.

Putting the tranny in reverse with the engine stopped stops the shaft from rotating. Now that the shaft isn't rotating the blades rotate to follow the slip stream and feather. That's why the shaft doesn't start rotating again when you take it out of reverse.

For the OP if there is no binding and the blades aren't on backwards, I have no ideas. Maybe time to find a local Max prop expert and spend some cash.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by sparrowhawk1

I've always put my max prop in Reverse before killing the engine the blades may reverse but then the forward motion of the boat should make them feather

That won't work. They will be stuck unfeathered. Put it in neutral afterwards if you don't believe me. You should be able to stop the shaft by gripping it if it is feathered.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by poiu

That won't work. They will be stuck unfeathered. Put it in neutral afterwards if you don't believe me. You should be able to stop the shaft by gripping it if it is feathered.

I always immediately put the tranny back into neutral. I've said this in both my posts.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by cal40john

If mine doesn't automatically feather I put the tranny into reverse for a second and it feathers and the shaft stops turning.

I don't know if the prop works at all with the blades backwards, but according to the manual it is possible to put them on the wrong way. If so it seems to me that the blades would open up every time you would want them to feather.

page 4 figure 7:
http://www.pyiinc.com/images/pdf/max...structions.pdf

Yep, pretty much standard procedure for a max prop.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by cal40john

Putting the tranny in reverse with the engine stopped stops the shaft from rotating. Now that the shaft isn't rotating the blades rotate to follow the slip stream and feather. That's why the shaft doesn't start rotating again when you take it out of reverse...

The process of feathering isn't like that. The prop feathers in the last few engine revolutions as the engine slows to a standstill when going forwards not after stopping the shaft by putting it in reverse as you describe. Once the engine is stopped, the shaft is also stopped. If you go into neutral it may start rotating again due to hydrodynamic imbalance or its inertia. That is the scenario the manual is referring to when it says you can put it in reverse if the shaft is spinning. (And why I said it was misleading-probably a bad translation from the Italian). As I mentioned in my previous post, you can just as well put the transmission in forward gear to stop that movement.

[sparrowhawk1]

Caljohn40. That was addressed to me. Its worked for me I do put it in neutral to check sometimes. it turns slowly sometimes when sailing fast. When its in Reverse and spinning is stopped there's much more force on it to put it into feather mode. Edit. I should add the reason I put it into reverse first before stopping the engine is because when I killed the engine when it was in forward or neutral sometimes the prop would spin. Especially at slow speeds