Posted by Fargo Rousseau (fargo_r@…>)
Hi Fred…and Faith: We made a mistake NOT greasing our KIWI prop on our trip south. The muddy waters along much of the Intracoastal Waterway are a bit of a hazzard for the KIWI and after a couple of thousands of miles the prop resisted going into reverse…and I am sure it was not feathering properly. Greasing could certainly be done with the boat in the water…but we did not even give it a try. If I were doing the trip again, I would first practice the proceedure on land, lining up tools and going through the motions. The small screws that cover the grease ports on each blade require take some extra care…or you could let them go…and replace with new ones. Re: Adjusting the pitch…that could be done very easily in the water. The allen screws are easy to see and get a key into. As shipped from the factory, the prop was set so that the max available calm water RPM was less than 3300.
After the adjustment of about a half turn on each blade, 3600 RPM…maybe a bit more …was possible. We moved our conservative cruise from 2550 to a sweet spot just above 2800. Blades can easily be adjusted to fine tune for changing boat load and motoring conditions. Fargo willie doyle <williedoylemom@…> wrote: Our '96 F35, bought in Feb., has a Kiwi and, as the helmsperson I am very pleased with it. Boy does it stop on a dime if needs be. FaithFred
Molden <fredmolden@comcast.net> wrote: Hi Fargo, Thanks for the quick response. Did you adjust and lubricate the prop under water? Did you use SCUBA gear? Did you need to lubricate during the trip or just at annual haul out? ----- Original Message ----- From: Fargo Rousseau To: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2006 8:56 AM Subject: Re: [freedomyachts2003] F 35 Good Morning, Fred:Your past and future travels match ours…so our experiences may be useful for you. We replace the stock 2 blade fixed prop (14x14) with a Kiwi 3 blade just before leaving on our four thousand mile round trip south from Connecticut. I was looking for best possible normal motoring fuel efficiency, good thrust against wind and sea, plus low sailing drag…all at the lowest possible cost (including installation). Hoped for easy pitch adjustment and simple service. We would probably have to repeat the trip with three or four different props to say which one was the best overall prop, but we loved almost everything about the Kiwi…almost but not everything. Here is what we learned on our Freedom 30 with the stock, original Yanmar 2GM20F with a 2.62:1 gearbox and a 16 inch Kiwi.1. Normal motoring effiency
was excellent. We averaged about 14 statue miles per gallon in the Waterway under a mix of condions. (typically 2650 rpm and 5.3 knots…a bit slow, yes…but we felt terrible about using fuel to move a sailboat and were trying to minimize fuel use…and still make 60 to 70 statue miles a day…Note: Waterway markers are in Statue miles…so don’t give me bad markes for thinking I am still driving my car with the help of Rand Macnally). 2. We always felt confident that we could motor against a headsea and headwind and often did. Against a 12 to 15 knot wind in open water, speed sagged only about 1 to 1.5 knots from normal cruise. We could turn unwind into 25 knots or more to reef or furl with confidence and power.3.We always loved the sailing performance of the boat and felt that the Kiwi was doing a good job for us…but never really raced her against other F30s to prove she was faster because of the prop.4. We could back
anywhere we wanted to…after I learned to get up a little way before expecting controllability. 5. Fine tuning the pitch is extremely simple, although a little bit makes a big big difference. 6. Plastic blades hold antifouling paint amazingly well (Petit VIVID). 7. John, at the factory, is an outstanding fellow…always honest, helpful, promp, knowledgeable (I think he designed the blade). You will have a supportive friend there for life if you buy this prop.Also learned:1. Kiwi prop sings an initially disturbing song in the 1700 to 2200 rpm range (which we would never have used anyway). The tuneful harmonic dies in the normal and most efficient prop rpm around 1000 to 1100, 2600 to 2850 engine rpm.2. The Kiwi doesn’t like branches. Leading edge, which is very sharp, dents and deforms from striking floating debris. After our trip I sanded out everthing and the prop
performed well after my “repair” (as directed by the factory). Would question choice of this prop if living in an area with a lot of floating debris.3. Long distance motoring in muddy conditions increases the need to lubricate thte blade shaft. I did not understand why our prop blades where getting stiff on their shafts when I arrived in Florida. I thought it wascause by fouling at the hub. But it turns out that fine dirt particles get packed up inside the shaft area of the blade…and “tighten up” the clearance between the plastic blade and the metal shaft that supports the blade and acts as the pivot. A grease hole is provided on each blade to push this contamination out…but I did not lube the blades often enough. However, prop removal and blade removal is very easy to do (very different from most other feathering props). When cleaned, everything returned to normal, as new performance after thousands of miles of motoring.
4. Keep the hub (big ball) often with scrubber pad so that swinging blades down hang up on barnacles. Keep blades painted with a good, hardish bottom paint and don’t scrub it off…just wipe…at least that was our experience with VIVID.Nuff said… Hope this helps.Good sailing…and motoring,Fargo…now on land…for a while…but looking (larger Freedom calling???)Fred Molden <fredmolden@comcast.net> wrote: Hi Fargo, I sail mostly the Northern Chesapeake which is often motoring in July and August. We did do 6 weeks up to Nantucket and back this past summer but even the NJ to Block Island leg offshore was mostly
motor sailing. Two years ago we did the ICW to St Augustine which we are thinking of doing again next fall, hence the new prop. I currently have a Flex O Fold 2 blade which is OK but does not perform that well into heavy head seas. I am hoping to get a higher cruise speed at lower RPM and have more thrust available for heavy weather on the nose. Did you do the Dismal Swamp on your last trip? Any problems with dredging along the way? ----- Original Message ----- From: Fargo Rousseau To: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 09, 2006 3:39 PM Subject: Re: [freedomyachts2003] F 35 Hi Fred:We completed a roundtrip from Connecticut to Palm Beach in our Freedom 30 with a Kiwi Prop. Happy to fill you in on our experiences and observations. Let me know where you motor and how much you sit still.FargoFred Molden <fredmolden@comcast.net> wrote: I am thinking of changing out my folding Flex O Fold 2 blade prop with the Kiwi 3 blade feathering. Has anyone had experience with the Kiwi prop?I am also considering trying the new Prop Speed paint for anti fouling, anyone with experience with this? Need a quick answer? Get one in minutes from people
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