Kiwi propellers - your (objective) comments please

[cmedsailor]

Could people that have installed Kiwi feathering propellers comment about them please?
I would like to hear their opinions on things such as improvement (if any) in motoring/sailing performance, reliability, vibration causes (if any – very important), simplicity / complexity etc, etc. Probably it would be helpful to mention boat model and engine hp.
Please don’t do a comparison with other feathering or folding propellers (there are a lot already anyway). Of course better propellers than Kiwi exist, but I would like to focus on them.
Thank you.

 

[TiggerToo]

We installed one on Tigger three "seasons" ago. I have been a fan of these ever since. They are really simple to maintain and very cost effective. I reckon we get a good Kn or so extra speed and very quiet under sail (no awkward humming). Much better power with the engine and excellent manouvering in tight spaces.

There have been problems reported with gears blocking, and some attirbuted this to the Kiwi; my belief is that this is not due to the propeller, but to the gear box (it is an intermittent problem, and the engine has well over 2500hrs on its clock). We will know for sure when the gerabox is stripped down and cones replaced this winter. I have also heard of another boat where the Kiwi blades did not "flip" properly in reverse, but the owners admitted not to have fllowed the appropriate yearly lubrication routine. Not surprising, therefore.

A word about Vecta Marine who market the Kiwis in the UK. Alan Pollard at Vecta is a keen sailor who has been remarkably effective in all aspects of advice pre and post purchase. He is a delightful and very helpful person to deal with and inspires confidence. At the moment I have nothing but praise for the Kiwi. I have not had to change any of the blades yet, but if necessary it is really a very easy thing to do.

Boat: Dufour 35 Classic (1998 vintage)
Engine: Volvo Penta SD 2030 (29hp)

 

[alandee]

We installed a Kiwi prop on our Beneteau Oceanis 36 cc just over two years ago. The engine is a Volve 2040 ( 39hp). We then took her through the French Canal system to the SOF and then along the coast to Italy. The Kiwi was tested to its limits in the 251 locks we went through. There was no noticable difference to the performance when compared to the original prop. When sailing we have gained just over a knot and the vibration that we felt with the other prop has gone. I would say that motoring has not been compromised in any way. We hit all types of objects on our trip and only got two small nicks out of one of the blades. A new blade only costs £40 'ish anyway and is easy to replace. I have no hesitation in recommending the Kiwi Prop. I would also say that you should buy the grease gun kit at the same time and grease the blade nipples every season. Alan Pollard was very helpfull and explained everything in detail before I parted with any money. I must admit I was sceptical when I first saw the prop but it's one of those rare products that does exactly what it says on the tin!

 

[HoratioHB]

Two days after getting our new Jeanneau 42i (Yanmar 54) the prop hit something in the Tamar river. One blade was sheared off at the height of the fixing stub. Even so the boat motored at slow speed with little vibration as the blades are so light. We sent it to Vectra who immediately sent it to NZ who confirmed impact damage and assessed that had it been a metal prop the whole thing would probably have been written off and even bent the shaft . As it was, it cost me £50 to get a new blade and had I been able to dive on it, I could have fixed it myself in about 5 minutes. I now carry a spare blade and Murphys law says I'll never need it. But to be able to fix a prop in situ in a remote place has got to be good.

After one season in the Caribbean it was a tad stiff to twist into reverse but not seriously so and a quick lube fixed that. Performance is a million times better than the original fixed prop, under power and sailing, with no decernible reverse prop walk.

At half the price of any other - a fantastic deal and even at comparable prices I would still have one.

and no I am not on commision from the firm!!!

 

[Andy_H]

I had one fitted from new on my current boat (Maxi 1100, Volvo D1-30). The prop has performed well, although it takes a bit of getting used to in reverse where the coarse pitch means we don't get much more than 1000 RPM. The prop produces excellent thrust in reverse and stops very quickly when you need it, but somehow it just doesn't feel right when you want to apply a quick bit of reverse to slow down and don't get a reassuring blast of revs. I would agree with other comments that the prop must be greased anually and it's worth buying the greasing kit when you buy the Kiwi-prop.
One of the plus points is that our saildrive anode easily lasts a whole season whereas on my previous boat with a bronze prop, anode depletion was considerably faster.

 

[FullCircle]

Andy,
your reverse mech is jammed with little critters.
Dry out, work the mech back and forward, and pump grease into the 2 points on the body (as well as the blades) until it is coming out of every orifice and joint. Keep working it.
Put boat back in water, and repeat once a season.
I made the mistake of not putting enough grease in on my first season.

cmed:
Brilliant piece of kit, i also have a nick in one of my blades, and have faired it out with emery cloth to no vibration or detriment.
I can change all 3 blades in under 2 minutes.

 

[HoratioHB]

Andy - he's right - one of the advantages of the Kiwi is that you should get as much backwards as forwards out of it. After our first season it was getting stiff and needed lubricating and I intend to do it a bit more often in the future. Also look for where the reverse rollers run on the blade if they are starting to cut grooves its another indication that the hub is getting stiff.

 

[Andy_H]

Thanks for your comments guys. I have brough this up with the Maxi agent (SD Marine) and they assure me the lack of revs is quite normal. I get good thrust in reverse, just low revs. I assume from what you say that you get full revs both ahead and astern. The unit was serviced by Vecta last winter but has always performed this way.

 

[HoratioHB]

Sorry can't agree. You should get the same revs backwards as forwards. I regularly use almost full revs to set my anchor I'm sure if you ask Vectra directly they would agree.

 

[Sans Bateau]

As I am a (potential) future buyer of one of these, I would like to know of some of the problems, the negatives. And as the OP says, I'm not asking a comparison with other folders/feather's, just Kiwi.

For instance, have you fitted one and regretted it, why?

 

[thalassa]

I have done two seasons with a Kiwi, before returning it to the dealer, who has kindly taken it back after persistant problems with the reverse.
On the plus side, excellent for manoevring in the harbour. Very little vibration (but the sound is a bit odd) . Very easy to undo from the driveshaft. And of course, the extra 0,5 knot!
On the negative side, it tended to stall the Yan 2GM20F when reversing out of the box with a cold engine. I learned from earlier postings that this is a well known problem with this engine. In each of the two seasons, in the mid of August, the reverse started to jam intermittently. Accounted for some tricky situations in Dutch locks. Once, I had neither reverse nor forward for a while. Apparently, one blade was stuck in the wrong direction as well. Dried the boat on a sandbank, serviced the prop (easy enough). Again fine for three weeks. Returned it twice to the dealer, who put a new bearing in the reverse mechanism. No joy. I wouldn't recommend it if your usual cruising ground is muddy or ridden with silt, as was the probable cause in my case. On engine, the fuel consumption was up 15%-20% compared to the fixed two-blader (I had a different one before and after). Which is understandable: although it has three blades, the form is a technical compromise; but annoying if you have only a relatively small tank.

 

[nimbusgb]

I have a shiny new Kiwi prop in my garage waiting to be fitted to my boat next month. I'll report back first impressions after our October 2 week final sail of the season ( Med ). The boat will be lifted out after that so I'll get to look at the prop immediately after the sailing.

BTW 17 inch 23 degree pitch on a Perkins 4-108, a beny oceanis 390

 

[wizard]

I fitted mine in April 2007 ...

..............................................and bitterly regreted not fitting it sooner ||

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[georgeo]

I have one fitted on my RM 1050. On the delivery trip back from St Malo, noted needed high revs to achieve adequate boat speed with consequent high fuel consumption. Adjusted blades 1 degree (a 2 minute job) now 6.5 knots at 2000 rpm, 7.4 knots at 2200 rpm, 8 knots plus at full whack. Very good fuel economy and a delight for manoeuvering

 

[Sammy]

I fitted one and have no regrets at all, it was the only way to stop the cavitation I used to get with a two blade fixed prop. The Cutlass bearing is also lasting longer.

Must keep it lubricated and make sure the blades are free to rotate otherwise reverse can be a problem with the smaller engine.
Go for it.

 

[cookjwm]

I've got one on a 2005 dufour 34 and am very pleased. Alan Pollard, as has been said is a nice guy and very helpful. We hit a submerged object last year in Thames and had to replace all three blades no problem at all to get and to do the job.Also a lot cheaper than conventional blades! I think the lack of revs in reverse can be down to the prop needing a few seconds in neutral from forward before engaging from forward -it happened to me once when I was a bit quick on the lever!Otherwise v pleased
Incidentally I had an Autoprop on the last boat -brilliant but v expensive and fouled very badly.

 

[DaveS]

I fitted a Kiwi 3 years ago (Etap 30, VP2002 saildrive) and I've been very pleased with it. My previous prop was a 2 blade fixed, and I reckon that compared to that my speed under sail is around 3/4 kn faster. Of course one of the real advantages of variable pitch angle is that you can experiment. As supplied it was 20 deg, but last year I adjusted it to 18 and this year it's 17. I've speed / revs curves plotted for 20 and 18, but have yet to do this for 17 degrees. I'm trying to reach the point where full throttle gives full rated engine revs, so that full rated engine output is available if required. (Not possible with an over-course prop, though many seem to prefer this, presumably because of the lower "normal" engine speed.) A bonus is much lower manoevering speed at tick over. The fixed coarse pitch in reverse means that with full throttle I can only reach 1500 rpm, but I do not find this a problem. Applying tick over astern normally provides quite adequate braking for the speeds at which I try to approach anything solid!

As others report, my fuel consumption expressed in l/hr has increased slightly since fitting the Kiwi, but OTOH the reduced drag means I can keep sailing at times when previously I would have had to motor... I haven't yet attempted an analysis of overall fuel use divided by total mileage covered which might be interesting.

 

[anjou]

Yes we fitted the "Kiwi Prop" to our Sun Odyssey 35,this prop is very well made and looks good,the reverse performance for us was very good ,very instant.In light winds the prop behaved well,but as the boat speed increased to above 5knts the prop shaft always turned and sailing at 7knts and above the noise is very noticeable, with vibrations which you are aware of whilst standing on the cockpit floor, so yes I do regret fitting the "Kiwi Prop" but I have no regrets when it fell off after 150hrs use.

 

[Sanderling_]

The only disadvantage I have found since fitting is the distinct lack of prop walk. A feature that many forumites seem to moan about but I certainly miss the added manoueverability that prop walk provides.

Apart from that,it is great - no regrets.

 

[Sailfree]

To add a couple of points.

Many modern boats have a gearbox with instructions "do not engage gear while sailing". I investigated this after our Jeanneau locked into gear when I did engage astern to stop prop spinning and was informed that I would damage the gearbox. I hated the sound of a prop shaft spinning when sailing. Both a feathering prop and a folding prop enables you to lock the shaft and not damage the gearbox.

As another has said the forwards pitch is adjustable. It will be preset at their best estimate for your hull shape/engine combination but you can adjust it (tune it) at every lift out to optimise it exactly.

The astern pitch is fixed that has caught a few people out, I remember one complaining of the engine repeatedly stalling when engaging astern. I think this problem is more indicative of a lack of engine power at tickover.