feathering prop - sticking?

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alteredoutlook

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I have a 2 bladed MaxProp feathering propellor. I have just serviced it - injecting lots of grease through the grease nipples until it leaks out through all the joins. Turning it by hand - its all pretty smooth.

When I throttle back to neutral I regularly (not always!) get huge vibration(!) feed back.
Is this a common feature of feathering props or a sticking fault of mine or is it a problem with the cutlass bearing?

Any advice/ideas would be greatly appreciated. e.g. Should I have completely dismantled the prop and cleaned it rather than just re-filling with grease?
(nb. I might have to wait until the autumn when I will haul her out to effect any repairs)

Thanks
 
alteredoutlook said:
I have a 2 bladed MaxProp feathering propellor. I have just serviced it - injecting lots of grease through the grease nipples until it leaks out through all the joins. Turning it by hand - its all pretty smooth.

When I throttle back to neutral I regularly (not always!) get huge vibration(!) feed back.
Is this a common feature of feathering props or a sticking fault of mine or is it a problem with the cutlass bearing?

Any advice/ideas would be greatly appreciated. e.g. Should I have completely dismantled the prop and cleaned it rather than just re-filling with grease?
(nb. I might have to wait until the autumn when I will haul her out to effect any repairs)

Thanks
Click to expand...

sounds like its going into astern drive
what grease do you use
i have the same prop
 
alteredoutlook said:
I have a 2 bladed MaxProp feathering propellor. I have just serviced it - injecting lots of grease through the grease nipples until it leaks out through all the joins. Turning it by hand - its all pretty smooth.

When I throttle back to neutral I regularly (not always!) get huge vibration(!) feed back.
Is this a common feature of feathering props or a sticking fault of mine or is it a problem with the cutlass bearing?

Any advice/ideas would be greatly appreciated. e.g. Should I have completely dismantled the prop and cleaned it rather than just re-filling with grease?
(nb. I might have to wait until the autumn when I will haul her out to effect any repairs)

Thanks
Click to expand...

We had the same problem and it was actually the tickover on the engine was low. Raised that slightly and no more vibration.
 
If the gearbox is in neutral how does it matter what RPM the engine is doing? There is only the tenuous connection of vibration and gearbox drag between the engine and the prop.
Maybe the engine vibration affects the prop, which then magnifies it?
Don't you need to stop the shaft to be sure the prop will feather?
What happens if you select astern momentarily before neutral?
 
lw395 said:
If the gearbox is in neutral how does it matter what RPM the engine is doing? There is only the tenuous connection of vibration and gearbox drag between the engine and the prop.
Maybe the engine vibration affects the prop, which then magnifies it?
Don't you need to stop the shaft to be sure the prop will feather?
What happens if you select astern momentarily before neutral?
Click to expand...

On our boat the engine would tickover fine in neutral, however when you had been in forward gear and shifted into neutral prior to going into reverse the RPM would drop very low and the whole boat would shudder as the engine nearly stalled and picked up again. A slight tweak on the idle speed I think to about 750RPM (It is a D2-55 Volvo) and no more shuddering or vibration. The noise and vibration was so bad that I genuinely thought I had a major issue!
 
braehouse said:
On our boat the engine would tickover fine in neutral, however when you had been in forward gear and shifted into neutral prior to going into reverse the RPM would drop very low and the whole boat would shudder as the engine nearly stalled and picked up again. A slight tweak on the idle speed I think to about 750RPM (It is a D2-55 Volvo) and no more shuddering or vibration. The noise and vibration was so bad that I genuinely thought I had a major issue!
Click to expand...

I'm not totally clear what is going on, but I guess a feathered prop is going to be hard to turn as the blades are flat on to the water. So it could stall the engine if the pitching mechanism sticks?
 
At each hall out I just pump my 2 blade maxi prop with lots of greece. It has been about 5 years since I dismantled it and that was to Remove the prop and replace the shaft seal rather than a problem with the prop itself.
Not sure the cause of your problem are you sure it's related to prop and not the gearbox or engine mounts?
Are there any vibration problems sailing ?
 
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