Pros and Cons of feathering props

[rbk]

Friends had their feathering prop fail this last summer coming out of a rock strewn anchorage of course and straight into a full on gale, which ultimately required a coast guard tow into harbor and retrieval of the tender. Fairly new to them boat and the zincs had not been maintained which resulted in complete failure of the prop (Max I think) They thought they had lost their transmission actually. This is in the cooler waters of the PNW so checking and replacing requires a diver or haul out unless you’re brave or cold blooded. Warm waters where you can dive and inspect regularly would IMO be ideal for a feathering prop or where long passages are done regularly. Us being on the PNW we decided to go with a Campbell Sailor fixed three blade for the amount of motoring required in our area with the benefits of a true sailing prop. Much less drag very little prop walk (still undecided if this is a great thing) lots of stopping power and forward thrust and low maintenance. The smaller diameter required means fast speeds at lower rpm’s and easier on the engine not having to throw the old large 3 blade. Price is just a bit more than a regular Michigan and even better when you figure in the exchange rate (made in Canada) I’m sure this had been hashed out many times before but you can’t have a feathering prop thread without mentioning the CS fixed prop lol