ZF dock and go problem?

[Jenst]

Hello I'm new here so you might have heard this one before. We just taken possession of a used Jeanneau so 50 ds with the zf 360 dock and go system. It works well and is surprising after years with a normal set up (bow thruster and propellor).
However when we are sailing under sail only the propellor turns and I guess half the engine as well. It is quite noisy (almost as if the engine is on) and the hole ship vibrates. The system was just serviced. Is there some setting we haven't discovered or is this normal (can't be) ?

[Celestialsailor]

Welcome to the forum. I know on my Hallberg Rassy 35, I use to put it in reverse while sailing.

[tkeithlu]

This is a real problem. The propeller has become an impeller, and it is eating its way into your sailing performance. You do want to stop the rotation. The common tool is a shaft lock. It prevents the shaft turning if putting it in gear is not enough to overcome the impeller effect. There are various designs; here is one:

SHAFT LOK INC.

How many blades on your prop? Ideally, minimize the exposure of blades to the flow of water by hiding one blade behind the keel. That minimizes drag. You can mark the propeller shaft inside your boat to get the shaft in the right position.

You would not be the first if you simply grabbed the shaft with a ViseGrip, but then, you also would not be the first to permanently score your shaft.

[DougR]

You aren’t the first to find that a saildrive prop free spinning under sail introduces noise and vibration throughout the boat, and locking the prop by putting the drive in reverse is less than satisfactory from a sailing performance standpoint.

Probably the most satisfactory results will be obtained by installing a folding or feathering prop on the saildrive.

[John_Trusty]

I'm with DougR - the simple, elegant solution is a feathering prop. Lower drag (think a full knot in lighter airs) and no rotation. May I recommend MaxProp as a high-quality solution?

[Jenst]

Thanks - we had a Flexofold installed solved that problem.
A new issue: the dock and go suddenly cuts out. The system when engaged takes over complete control and you only have to manipulate the joystick. However when it cuts out there is no way of putting the engine into gear/reverse. The engine keeps running at idle and the gas handle does not give any response. I have succesfully shut down the engine and cut the current to the system, and then restarted, and the system is back up, but during manouvers its unsafe and unreliable.
any suggestions on how to solve this ? I think its a wonderful system when it works, but when it suddenly cuts out I wish for my old fashioned cable controlled system.

[tkeithlu]

Let's hear it for simplicity. First you become dependent on the fancy technology, and then it fails.

OK, that's electrical. It could be bunches of places, but since it appears that the "brain" is working but not controlling the engine or the drive, I'd look first at all the connections between the contoller and the props. If all those connections are good and the problem is still there, it's time for tech help from the company.