Most reliable feathering propeller

[dakno]

Yada Yada Yada, Max Prop is great for forward speed, feathering, and awesome in reverse. Also PYI is very helpful, hands on. But, you will have to lube every 12-18 months which can be done in the water by a semi skilled diver. Pitch changes are rarely necessary but I think needs to be done out of the water even though PYI says otherwise...to many moving parts. Extra performance and extra maintaince. Did I say awesome in reverse...yep

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by dakno

But, you will have to lube every 12-18 months which can be done in the water by a semi skilled diver.

Max Props need lubrication every two years, according to the owner's manual. Most probably don't get lubricated that often and suffer no ill effects. If your prop needs lubrication in 12-18 months, it's because you didn't do it properly and/or used an inferior grease.

Originally Posted by dakno

Pitch changes are rarely necessary but I think needs to be done out of the water even though PYI says otherwise...

Well, considering I have done it underwater three or four dozen times at a minimum, I'd have to say you don't know what you are talking about.

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by Diesel Bill

My current boat came to me with Luk feathering reversible props.... I don't hear much about this brand. Any body got any info on them?

I posted earlier about the Luke. For info see here: Automatic Feathering Propellers, P. E. Luke. Full Service Boatyard, Boothbay, Maine.

Greg

[Duchie]

Self feathering Props
I have two ofthem on my 48FT cat ,made in Sydney by JBC Engineering .
They are Hydralines ,had them on for 7 years now 25 thousand miles ,work perfectly in forward or reverse , easily adjusted ,for different pitch requirements ,
Just keep them clean , and Bobs your Uncle .Actually the firms owners name is George
and he's a top guy, exstremely helpfull .

Cheers Duchie

[mjgill1]

We have a Flexofold prop and have been very pleased with its performance and reliability. A friend of mine with the same boat has a Maxprop. The Maxprop has much more stopping power than a fixed prop or our Flexofold, but ours outperforms the Max in forward and has greatly reduced prop walk in reverse. The stopping power of the Flexofold is better than a fixed prop. As with all things boat, it's always a compromise. I would say both are great options. Here's a link to the comparison test that I used to make my final decision. https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/gear...ler-test-29807

[lazydove]

four bladed Variprop - German masterpiece of engineering and manufacturing. I have used two for years - never a had problem.

[lazydove]

Four bladed Variprop - a master piece of German engineering and manufacturing. Have used two for years - never had a problem

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I believe Autoprops to be reliable. Many years ago apparently a few spit blades, but that was long ago with a completely different design.
However as with anything you do have to maintain them.

I've been using Autoprops for more than 20 years and on two boats.


I do not believe they are the "most reliable feathering prop". I don't believe the last generation are subject to thrown blades, but they still have bearings which do get brinelled if you motor long distances at a constant speed, and they need to be greased and adjusted and need to be overhauled fairly often.



They are a bit of a faff, and not cheap to either buy or keep up, but they have the massive advantage of variable PITCH, which makes them uniquely good for motorsailing. Also will pitch up under any kind of circumstances where it is possible and keep the engine better loaded, which is surely good for its health as well as for fuel economy.


Whether all that is worth it or not, everyone will have to decide for himself. A better quality option is the Hundested, which is manually, rather than automatically variable. But the smallest size Hundested is for a 150 horsepower motor, bigger than what most of us have. Also the cost is something like 10x that of the Autoprop.

[Eisemann]

Paul E. Luke. E. Boothbay, Maine. Self Feathering Props. Outstanding quality.They have been making and servicing this prop since 1960.

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by Eisemann

Paul E. Luke. E. Boothbay, Maine. Self Feathering Props. Outstanding quality.They have been making and servicing this prop since 1960.

1960 is the year that Luke acquired the rights to manufacture the Hyde feathering prop. The design is about a century old. If you search a bit you will find ads in 1925 Motor Boating magazine for this prop; Herreshoff specified the Hyde feathering prop for the initial construction of Ticonderoga in 1935. This one has stood the test of time. Of course newer designs do have extra features, but few are nearly as efficient as the cupped blades on the Luke or as simple and robust.

Greg

[a64pilot]

Dock,
I believe your bearings got brinelled due to them being loose.
As you know the Autoprop has both caged roller bearings and outside of that ball bearings. If the caged roller bearings aren’t preloaded enough then there is some wobble, that force is taken by the ball bearings, which it’s my belief should never really see any loading.

Only real purpose I can see for the ball bearings is to provide a stable distance between the two parts for the seal to ride on, if the clearance changes much, it would be hard to maintain a seal.

But ball bearings are very, very susceptible to brinelling, that has been known forever and any decent mechanic knows it, they should never be chosen for static loads. Needle or roller bearings should be used then.
I motor almost always at 1800 RPM and have done so for three days and nights when I had to reposition the boat when my Son was in the Hospital, there was no time to wait for sailing weather. Anyway mine aren’t rough, I believe when you rebuilt yours, you didn’t preload the roller bearing enough.
If they deformed from constant speed motoring, then nearly everyone’s would be rough.

The thing that I like about them is that a normal overhaul replaces every wear item, there are no gears etc that don’t get replaced.
That should make an Autoprop have a nearly infinite life.
I’ve heard of many other feathering props that the internals were worn to the point of it not being economically feasible to overhaul.

[Jim Cate]

The thing that I like about them is that a normal overhaul replaces every wear item, there are no gears etc that don’t get replaced.
That should make an Autoprop have a nearly infinite life.

Yeah,just like Grampa's hammer...

Jim

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Yeah,just like Grampa's hammer...

Jim

You laugh, but somewhere I have my Wife’s Grandfathers hammer.
30 years ago I repaired the handle with fiberglass.
I never met the guy he was dead long before I met the Wife, but he was an interesting guy apparently.

The Autoprop isn’t for everyone, for one it’s Hello expensive, and heavy as an anvil. I don’t know about other feathering props, maybe they are all heavy, but this weight I think may accelerate Cutless bearing wear, that is just a guess, but I bet it does.
Plus when punching into heavy wind and waves, I feel it “downshifts” actually depitches a little early and a fixed prop punches though waves better.
Of course maybe that is just mine, apparently the Autoprop can be tuned at the factory, but I’ve never had mine done so.
It’s forte is motorsailing, and the complete elimination of prop walk, if that is what you want.

[Jim Cate]

You laugh, but somewhere I have my Wife’s Grandfathers hammer.
30 years ago I repaired the handle with fiberglass.
I never met the guy he was dead long before I met the Wife, but he was an interesting guy apparently.

Hey, nothing serious in that post! I was simply alluding to the fact that if one replaces all the wearing parts routinely, then just about any mechanical device will last forever.

DH had indeed mentioned doing this for his AP... I was mentally comparing this with the 4000+ hours we had on our Auto Stream feathering prop with no perceptible wear and no parts replacement needed.

And I bet your GF in law was an interesting chap!

Jim

[contrail]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Exactly the point i was addressing in my post above. To me, rebuild after only 1271 hours is not good reliability or service.

Other opinions may differ!

Jim

I agree with Jim and add the caveat that if your sailing is not seasonal, in other words, if your boat lives in the water, year around, you either need to find a diver willing to install a Max in the water.....very doable, but not that easy, many won't.....or pay for a lot of lay days when hauled out.