folding/feathering props

[jon]

I plan to fit a folding or feathering prop to my new build heavy displacement long deep keel gaff cutter,I have looked at Autoprop,Maxprop and Gori and so far like the Gori most ,but does any one have practical experience of these or others?

 

[brianhumber]

Bought a 3 blade Gorgi 6 years ago. Superb engineering still had grease inside the cone after 4 years when I took it off to change Cutlass bearing. Prop comes with all the C spanners and Allen keys so dismantling after 4 years took just 30 mins.
Expensive but well worth the money. The dual pitch blades knock 1,000 revs off the revs at cruising speed so its much quieter. To sum up I would fit Gori everytime over the others I have previously tried such as Autoprop and Radice
Hope this helps.
ps the 'kick' from the blades improved the manovering in tight corners as well as my prop is far away from the rudders.

 

[chippie]

Re: Brian Humber

Brian, what are the advantages of the Gorgi over the Autoprop? I liked the fact that the Autoprop always 'presented' the blades the same way to the water whether going astern or forward. A brief summary or comparison would be appreciated. Thankyou.

 

[gunnarsilins]

I recently went for...

....Maxprop. So far it seems to be a good choice. I rejected the folding props because I doubted their thrust in reverse. My yacht (Moody 42 ketch) is heavy (12 tons) with lots of windage so when manouvering safe in tight corners good power in reverse is most important.
Autoprop was the only real alternative to Maxprop when I made the decision. But after a lot of research, especially in various internet forums I found out that Autoprop had bigger share of disappointed users. There were comments of the blades not turning freely especially when the yach was left moored for a while in heavy growth areas. There where also a few complaining them beeing vulnerable for mechanical impact, jammed mechanism when hitting objects in water. The Maxprop seems to be more sturdy.
Autoprop has the advantage of adjusting its pitch automatically, which of course at least in theory is a benefit. But having a powerful engine with plenty of power to spare the main gain would be marginally better fuel economy - which is rather academic on a sailing cruiser. A few litres more or less of fuel during a season is something I don´t bother with.
I have only tried the Maxprop for a month so it´s too early for a detailed judgement. But the impression so far is noticeable better thrust in reverse compared with the fixed 3-blade I had before. I have this far not tried out how much the lesser drag will affect the performance under sail. The weather in Stockholm the last weeks has been less than inviting for sailing.......

 

[Miker]

Re: I recently went for...

I went for a 2 blade Autoprop this Spring. The advise I found was more in favour of an Autoprop than a Maxiprop. I suppose it depends where you look.
No complaints so far. It performs as advertised and stops the boat quickly if required.
The only problem I had was when the boat lost propulsion in reverse but that was caused by a large plastic sheet wrapped around one blade. I now check reverse in clear water just before docking. It made me think about my practice of docking perhaps a bit too fast.

 

[ditchcrawler]

I fitted a Max-Prop 2 yrs ago to my Hunter Ranger 265.Apart from sailing improvement the power in reverse is amazing.The first time I docked in my pontoon berth instead of stopping I went out astern.