Folding propellor lock or not to lock

sailaboutvic said:
Yes it is an autoprop .
I tryed your way Norman but it still won't lock in Rev and if I push it forward once stop , it a problem to get it out of gear when I go to start the engine
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Don't worry about getting it out of gear before starting the engine.

With mine, after I stop the engine in astern, and then push the lever forward, (sometimes back and forward until it locks) it definitely locks the shaft from turning. When I start the engine again, the lever frees, and I just make sure that it is in neutral. Works for me every time.

Very occasionally, maybe once in two years, the gearbox releases, and the prop starts to turn. The effect on the rudder is terrible. In fact the first time it happened, in fresh conditions, I couldn't understand what was happening. Now if it happened, I would know, but the only way for me to lock the prop is to first start the engine, and then stop it in astern. A nuisance if sailing off the anchor.
 
Daydream believer said:
Just a long shot but:-
Does the problem happen when the boat is moving, or not moving through the water?
Can one assume that you have greased the blades regularly & that they are free to rotate. Are they free of weed?
They should flop down on their own when the hub is horizontal.
If not, you may have a sticking set of blades that are staying set & are applying pressure to the shaft. Making it difficult to release the gear.
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It's a saildrive , new propeller just a few months old , and yes thought the water ,I can't time any prop would turn while the boat was moored or not moving
 
Slight Fred drift, but very relevant for me

3 years ago I bought a boat with a yanmar 3JH3E with shaft drive and a kiwi folding prop.

I have been locking in reverse when sailing

It started to jam in gear and was hard to release (as in the situation described by OP), and it was also stuttering as it came out of gear when runners nag the engine. I chatted to my marine engineer.

He unearthed a release from yanmar saying do not lock in gear as it screws up the clutch, and he thinks mine might be showing wear due to be locked in for sailing over a number of years.

So ....if I don't lock it, the shaft spins, which I had always understood wears the gearbox, and presumably the fins on the prop don't feather and I get drag (and rather waste the benefit of an expensive prop)

If I do continue to lock it I seem set to damage clutch and possibly gearbox.

Bit of a conundrum for me ...any yanmar owners throw any light on their experiences?
 
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Bathdave: I presume you mean Kiwi feathering prop?

Have you tried putting the box in gear just long enough to feather it, then returning the box to neutral? Works on our feathering Maxprop: once feathered, the water flow keeps it feathered.

Failing that, or any other helpful suggestions, perhaps you need a shaft brake?
 
macd said:
Bathdave: I presume you mean Kiwi feathering prop?

Have you tried putting the box in gear just long enough to feather it, then returning the box to neutral? Works on our feathering Maxprop: once feathered, the water flow keeps it feathered.

Failing that, or any other helpful suggestions, perhaps you need a shaft brake?
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Thanks - yes I meant feathering

I will try that
 
Bathdave said:
Bit of a conundrum for me ...any yanmar owners throw any light on their experiences?
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Yanmar 4JH2BE with the Kanzaki gearbox and feathering prop. I lock it in reverse when sailing and do so before stopping the engine. I luff up to engage astern if it is windy and the boat has started to accelerate too much with the main up.

I start the engine with it still in gear. I always try to check if any of the crew have kicked either of the throttles so that it doesn't rev up until I've had the chance to put it in neutral.

Rumour has it that Yanmar used to recommend leaving it in gear when sailing and starting it in gear but their customers had difficulty understanding those instructions.
 
pvb said:
But I don't think it would cause any excess wear or damage, otherwise Volvo Penta wouldn't recommend putting a fixed prop into reverse when sailing.
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From the 2004 version of the MD2010/20/30/40 Operators Manual.
Volvo Prop.JPG
 

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JohnGC said:
Sorry, should have said. This was from the manual supplied with my boat which has a 120s saildrive. All of the configurations covered by my manual are for saildrives.

John
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Now that's interesting , I have an 120e with a folding prop , in astern mine still goes round , so I have to put mine in forward to stop it . Don't ask me why it still turn in Rev
 
sailaboutvic said:
Now that's interesting , I have an 120e with a folding prop , in astern mine still goes round , so I have to put mine in forward to stop it . Don't ask me why it still turn in Rev
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I've just fitted folding props to my saildrives Vic, but I'm assuming that once the engine is stopped the forward motion of the boat will fold back the props and they will stop turning. I don't understand why your prop still turns once the blades are folded back and are not presenting their cross-section across the water flow? :confused:

Richard
 
RichardS said:
I've just fitted folding props to my saildrives Vic, but I'm assuming that once the engine is stopped the forward motion of the boat will fold back the props and they will stop turning. I don't understand why your prop still turns once the blades are folded back and are not presenting their cross-section across the water flow? :confused:

Richard
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Because it's a Brunton's prop.
 
Seems to be some mixed messages here between folding and feathering props. Everything I have read in Volvo literature refers to folders because they don't make a feathering prop themselves. I would follow Volvo advice for a folder and the manufacturers advice for a feathering one.
 
stuartwineberg said:
Seems to be some mixed messages here between folding and feathering props. Everything I have read in Volvo literature refers to folders because they don't make a feathering prop themselves. I would follow Volvo advice for a folder and the manufacturers advice for a feathering one.
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Brumton's says , put it astern gear , when I explained my problem , they said put it on forward Gear .
Richard .
I too don't know why it still goes round in Rev gear , but for sure it does , I can hear the gears as we sailing , it has been suggested the cluch maybe the problem , but then why would it work on forward gear? . Clutch is the same
 
sailaboutvic said:
I too don't know why it still goes round in Rev gear , but for sure it does , I can hear the gears as we sailing , it has been suggested the cluch maybe the problem , but then why would it work on forward gear? . Clutch is the same
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I had a similar issue with my feathering prop - it had worsened but seems to have got better since I changed the ATF in the gearbox. Generally I luff up and get the speed down to 3 knots or less before engaging astern and reverse engages ok. In conditions where the boat accelerated quickly once the main was up I'm not sure reverse was actually always engaging before I turned the engine off - more revs solved the problem but I always winced at the sound when reverse engaged with the boat doing 6, 7 or 8 knots and the engine doing 1,500 rpm. Probably handy for clearing the barnacles off the prop though.
 
sailaboutvic said:
Brumton's says , put it astern gear , when I explained my problem , they said put it on forward Gear .
Richard .
I too don't know why it still goes round in Rev gear , but for sure it does , I can hear the gears as we sailing , it has been suggested the cluch maybe the problem , but then why would it work on forward gear? . Clutch is the same
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If the gearbox goes around with engine stopped and Astern selected, then it sounds like the type of box where a shaft brake is a good idea?
 
lw395 said:
If the gearbox goes around with engine stopped and Astern selected, then it sounds like the type of box where a shaft brake is a good idea?
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But as Vic says forward gear locks it. I have found with my Yanmar box that reverse usually stops the Autoprop from rotating if I select the gear immediately the engine stops. If I forget and engage gear after a period of sailing I find that the prop will rotate in astern but lock in forward.

Mine is a shaft drive where a brake would work but Vic's is a stern drive.
 
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