How much does a feathering prop cost?

Kelpie

Kelpie

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I'm looking at a new boat which might benefit from a feathering prop. She has a 40hp engine, but I don't know the exact prop size on her at the moment.
None of the prop manufacturers appear to put prices on their websites.
So very roughly what sort of cost are we talking- sub £1k? Or a lot more than that?
Thanks
 
Unfortunately, I know the answer for a 14x10 3-bladed Featherstream - it should arrive tomorrow - but it is much too embarrassing to post on an open forum. It started off expensive but reasonable and then there was VAT, carriage, a couple of extra anodes - I hope it is worth it!
 
Drop the manufactures an email asking for a quote. I am quite sure they want to sell one to you. Very happy with the service I had from Bruntons at the Southampton Boat Show.
 
awol said:
Unfortunately, I know the answer for a 14x10 3-bladed Featherstream - it should arrive tomorrow - but it is much too embarrassing to post on an open forum. It started off expensive but reasonable and then there was VAT, carriage, a couple of extra anodes - I hope it is worth it!
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VAT, I always scratch my head and ask why when people quote their prices net of VAT when they are clearly selling into the end user market.
 
16" 3 blade Flexofold (folder) this time last year with winter discount (10%) £1,902 plus delivery, 17" two blade Flexofold £1080, thee blade Volvo £1,526, three blade Varifold £1,675 inc MOA discount. Of course I bought the dearest but I now think the VP which I had before is perhaps a better prop, but I was put off by the short life of the ring anodes. By now prices will be up and you will need a much bigger prop.
Length of time in the water is an issue particularly if the boat has a saildrive, most of the above have anodes but some are very small indeed.
You were asking about feathering rather than folding, for comparison, Darglows price for an equivalent feathering prop was £1,705. I prefer folders up here as I think they are less likely to pick up debris when sailing.
 
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Do you want to motor sail at the most efficient revs, if not why not get a good folding prop, In my mind its difficult to justify the considerable extra cost of a feathering prop against a good folding prop.
 
I have a feathering prop & it tends to collect weed when sailing. I suspect that a folder should shed weed better.
Apart from motor sailing (for which it is superb) it is not particularly good.
Claims about maneuverability in port are false- worse than a fixed blade-, as are fuel saving etc
I am not impressed with motoring in chop either. Prop wash is no better than my fixed one
I would certainly take the folding solution next time because I cannot imagine that it would be any worse.
Changing from the aluminium prop to a bronze one now costs a fortune in anodes- 2 per season instead of 1 per 3 seasons
 
Daydream believer said:
I have a feathering prop & it tends to collect weed when sailing. I suspect that a folder should shed weed better.
Apart from motor sailing (for which it is superb) it is not particularly good.
Claims about maneuverability in port are false- worse than a fixed blade-, as are fuel saving etc
I am not impressed with motoring in chop either. Prop wash is no better than my fixed one
I would certainly take the folding solution next time because I cannot imagine that it would be any worse.
Changing from the aluminium prop to a bronze one now costs a fortune in anodes- 2 per season instead of 1 per 3 seasons
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Mine , the 2 blade version, has no anodes, the prop is well over 20 yrs old & still in pretty good condition.
Boat handling is excellent, in any lock its Port side too, as it kicks to Port astern
 
I bought a second hand Kiwi of e-bay 3 years ago for £400. Massive improvement on the old two blader both in sailing and motoring performance.
 
I have a the three blade Volvo folding prop and it has given good service for about 15 years now, and cleans up pretty much like new. However, the comments about anodes are correct, it goes through two sets a year.
 
We lost a blade after a snafu where we ended up on a neighbor's chain when leaving a dock (long story but we should have gunned out of the berth instead of just pulling up on the windless. Lesson learned). We now carry 3 spares. They're easy enough to swap out. For pricing, the whole prop was 845 inclusive of VAT in 2014 and the replacement blades were 50 quid each in 2017.
 
Three years ago now. Darglow Featherstream 18x11 three blade for 40hp engine with saildrive.

Prop:- £1,720
Ambassador Stripper:- £610

Prop anode still unchanged and going strong. Leg anodes one per season at £41 each (modified to suit stripper by Ambassador).
Prop performance and Darglow service excellent.
 
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