Kiwi prop or alternatives

jimi

jimi

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Are Kiwi props a good option or is there better options available at a reasonable price for feathering/folding props?
 
Fitted a Flexofold three blade folder over winter. More expenside than Kiwi but made of metal.
So far cannot speak highly enough of this prop. Much better sailing performance and motors / moors well
Did 82 mile trip Hull to Scarborough last weekend and it worked great.
There are lots of Kiwi Prop fans amongst the Legend Owners Association who have had these fitted for some time.
Yer pays yer money and tales yer choice !
 
jimi said:
Are Kiwi props a good option or is there better options available at a reasonable price for feathering/folding props?
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Kiwi works great for our heavy long keeler. Lost half a knot at cruising RPM but gained a knot sailing. Important factor was ability to change a blade for about £50.00 without sending the prop back to an agent. Much improved backing and stopping.
 
2 years ago I dinked my non metal kiwi near Falmouth. Had I had a spare blade to hand, it would have been a simple swim under to take off a blade and fit a new one. Instead, it was a lift out, big hammers, pullers, swearing and a bill. I now carry a spare blade and it is EASY to replace 1, 2 or all 3 blades if needs be, very easily, very quickly. Not an insubstantial consideration !!
 
Another vote for Flexofold. You need to look to see how poorly Kiwi performed in the YM tests a couple of years ago.
 
Another consideration, depending on your usage, is the maintenance requirement of whatever you fit. I read on here the other day that the Kiwi needs a good greasing annually, as does the Autoprop I have.
 
Swapped my Kiwi prop this winter for a 3 bladed Flexofold. It's not cheap but worth every penny. Darglow are a company that is second to none to deal with and their service is excellent. The prop has put about 0.8 of a knot onto my forward speed and the engine sounds so much more smooth. The Kiwi is well known for its astern performance but since I spend about 99.5% of my time going forwards it's not a problem.
 
Kiwis

A big plus is that you can experiment your sailing/motoring performance with minimum capital. Like I have mine for sale in the For sale section. The reason for going back to my fixed two bladed one is that the time penalty I was getting when racing was greater than the benefit I was enjoying - at least this was my perception for my First 38.
 
Well, I'm afraid that I'm going to be the flex-o-fold dissenter.

Our boat was fitted with a two-blade flex-o-fold when we bought her three years ago. Whilst the prop works very well when sailing and quite well when motoring in flat water, the performance drops off as it gets rougher. Where we get worried is when we're going from forward to reverse. It usually works eventually, but often with some cavitation first (lots of noise, but with no 'bite'), but from time to time we get no braking effect at all. As we usualy sail two up, this can necessitate some nifty footwork on the pontoon.

We've only just gone back into the water (three weeks ago), and the prop was free to open and close - no friction or sticking. It was also lightly greased. We've tried lots of strategies - high revs, low revs, combinations, but the unpredictability makes our berthing interesting. We also always check that it'll open in reverse long before we get near our berth, and this is usually (9/10 time) successful. Anyone with similar flex-o-fold issues?
 
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I've had a Kiwi for 6 years. During this time I've logged 4915 miles in 1178 hours, 553 of which were motoring.

The Kiwi has given no trouble at all so far, with no visible wear on the blades where they press against the rollers. I grease it annually and make sure after the anti-fouling is dry that the rollers are completely freed off.

(copied from a post I put on Buttlescutt a few days ago)
 
RobbieW said:
Does that include folders as well as featherers ?
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After much consideration, I recently ordered a flexofold 2 blade. From the maintenance instructions, it requires no grease, just keep it clean.

Not fitted it yet, but very impressed with the engineering and finish. I looked at a few similar props (2 blade / folding) at the boat show and it seemed to be the best quality and certainly looks the part - only time will tell with performance! (will find out in a couple of weeks when we crane in).

The choice was a bit more limited for us - Kiwiprops are only suitable for engines above 14 HP, and we only have a yanmar 1gm10.

R
 
jimi said:
Are Kiwi props a good option or is there better options available at a reasonable price for feathering/folding props?
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http://www.gori-propeller.com/

front.jpg


All the rage down here (kiwiland). Has a handy over-drive feature for motor-sailing or motoring in flat water.
 
jimi said:
Are Kiwi props a good option or is there better options available at a reasonable price for feathering/folding props?
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Have a look at Darglow Featherstream.
Similar to MaxProp at nowhere near the same price.

Fitted one two years ago, and very impressed with it. Superior fuel economy (approx 3ltr/hr @ cruising speed) and gained over 0.5kts when sailing.
 
rotrax said:
They all require at least annual greasing. It is not unknown for some of the more expensive all metal ones to lose a blade-then its back to the agent. With the Kiwi you punch a pin out, fit a new blade and punch a new pin in. You can grease it before launch as well.
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My Brunton Autoprop, now 21 years old requires neither annual greasing and never a new blade.
I would suggest you do not make wild assertions on a subject of which your grasp is obviously flimsy.
Apart from misleading posters, you are leaving ybw.com open to legal action.
 
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