More power with prop change?

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1

Posted by Jason Wikman (jasonwikman@…>)

I am thinking about replacing my prop on my 1984 freedom 32 since I
have it out of the water at the moment. Has anyone done this? Can I
get more propulsion under power with a different one (3 blade maybe) I
don’t need a feather prop I don’t think. Any help would be appreciated.



thanks
jason

2

Posted by Herman and Gail Schiller (hschiller2@…>)

Unfortunately, Jason, there’s no free lunch. Yes, a properly sized
and pitched fixed 3-blader will give you better thrust, and will help
you buck wind and waves, But, it will also generate more drag and
will affect your sailing speed. The compromise would be to spend
money on a three-blade feathering prop. I found my compromise for my
Mull 28 by going to a used PYI 2-blade feathering prop which had more
blade area than the fixed pitch 2-blade prop the boat came with. I
got noticeably better under-power performance with no negative effect
under sail (which is what having a sail boat is all about).
Herm

At 06:12 PM 12/9/2007, you wrote:

I am thinking about replacing my prop on my 1984 freedom 32 since I
have it out of the water at the moment. Has anyone done this? Can I
get more propulsion under power with a different one (3 blade maybe) I
don’t need a feather prop I don’t think. Any help would be appreciated.

thanks
jason

3

Posted by rick_simonds (rick_simonds@…>)

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “Jason Wikman”
<jasonwikman@…> wrote:

I am thinking about replacing my prop on my 1984 freedom 32 since I
have it out of the water at the moment. Has anyone done this? Can
I
get more propulsion under power with a different one (3 blade
maybe) I
don’t need a feather prop I don’t think. Any help would be
appreciated.



Basically nothing will give you more speed, displacement boats only
go so fast, but a 3-blade prop will give you more “punch” ; more
power to go into a headwind or a choppy sea. It also gives better
reverse for maneuvering and stopping at the dock.

It is at the expense of quite a bit of additional drag under sail,
though. It’s noticable. I bet under many circumstances I lose 1/2 a
knot, pehaps more, with my big bladed, solid 3-blade prop.

I also have a (Cruising Designs) feathering 3 blade for my Hoyt 32
that, despite it’s glitches, I dearly love. It has very little drag
and stops the boat on a dime in reverse. Mine is succeptable to
jamming with even small amounts of marine growth on it so I put it on
in the spring and take it off in the late fall when the water starts
getting too cold to go under there and scrub it. I replace it with
the solid 3 blade for the winter and the feathering prop goes home
and gets carefully cleaned and painted. I still have the original 2
blade, though I haven’t used it for several years. (It sounds like
I’m a nut about this stuff, I’m not, over the years I just happened
across these props for a good price. Several times a year I dive the
boat and scrub the bottom anyway and changing the prop only takes an
extra 10 minutes twice a year.) I’d love to get a really great
feathering prop but it’s not in the budget.

Despite the above, my $0.02: “KISS” and “If it ain’t broke,…” If
I had to pick one and leave it alone I would put on the original 2
blade prop. It is the best all-around compromise.

Rick
Tallahassee

4

Posted by fred (fredmolden@…>)



Hi Jason, I changed out my F35 two blade
folding for a 3 blade feathering. The three blade is a Kiwi Prop and half
the price of other feathering props. It has a limitation however that it
cannot be used on greater than 5ohp. I agree that the three will not give
you more speed unless the current prop is not correctly sized. It does
give more power to push at lowed rpm and thru a chop or wind. It has also
a lot less vibration as the blades are Zitel, a machine able plastic and there
is much less weight being swung about. So far, one season, I have not experienced
any growth fouling issues. I did however put Prop Speed on this spring
and did not have much growth at all. Also you can stop in about a boat
length from full speed.

rom: FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Herman and Gail Schiller
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007
6:52 PM
To:
FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [FreedomOwnersGroup]
More power with prop change?




Unfortunately, Jason, there’s no free lunch. Yes, a
properly sized
and pitched fixed 3-blader will give you better thrust, and will help
you buck wind and waves, But, it will also generate more drag and
will affect your sailing speed. The compromise would be to spend
money on a three-blade feathering prop. I found my compromise for my
Mull 28 by going to a used PYI 2-blade feathering prop which had more
blade area than the fixed pitch 2-blade prop the boat came with. I
got noticeably better under-power performance with no negative effect
under sail (which is what having a sail boat is all about).
Herm

At 06:12 PM 12/9/2007, you wrote:

I am thinking about replacing my prop on my 1984 freedom 32 since I
have it out of the water at the moment. Has anyone done this? Can I
get more propulsion under power with a different one (3 blade maybe) I
don’t need a feather prop I don’t think. Any help would be appreciated.

thanks
jason


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