TradewindSailor
Well-Known Member
I have just changed the pitch of both my Maxprops .... the "Classic" model ...... by snorkeling. It's a lot easier than I expected.
True ..... I own a Catana 40 and the sail drives are fairly easy to get at, and I anchored in 3m over clear golden sand in Hawaii .... so I didn't freeze to death /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
It took me 3 hrs on the first prop ... including cleaning, and being very careful not to drop anything, and about half that time on the second prop.
For anyone who's interested: I've set one prop to 24 deg pitch and I achieve 3500 max rpm on the Yanmah 3Ym30. The other is set to 26 deg and I get about 3200 max rpm. The best news is that I can get about 4kts at 2000rpm on one engine and 5kts ish when I use them both. This should greatly help my fuel consumption. (These figures were taken in calm water with a 15kt wind on the beam). Max speed is 6.5kts with one engine and 7.5-8kts using both (same conditions).
Another big bonus is that at this pitch the boat is extremely responsive at low speed and astern.
If anyone is pondering weather to buy the Classic or the VP model ...... I like the idea of changing the pitch without taking the prop apart ...... but in warm water there's no real handicap. If the water is chilly .... the less time you spend in the water the better.
I'm going start the passage to Seattle next week so I may not be able to respond to any comments until I arrive there.
Cheers
True ..... I own a Catana 40 and the sail drives are fairly easy to get at, and I anchored in 3m over clear golden sand in Hawaii .... so I didn't freeze to death /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
It took me 3 hrs on the first prop ... including cleaning, and being very careful not to drop anything, and about half that time on the second prop.
For anyone who's interested: I've set one prop to 24 deg pitch and I achieve 3500 max rpm on the Yanmah 3Ym30. The other is set to 26 deg and I get about 3200 max rpm. The best news is that I can get about 4kts at 2000rpm on one engine and 5kts ish when I use them both. This should greatly help my fuel consumption. (These figures were taken in calm water with a 15kt wind on the beam). Max speed is 6.5kts with one engine and 7.5-8kts using both (same conditions).
Another big bonus is that at this pitch the boat is extremely responsive at low speed and astern.
If anyone is pondering weather to buy the Classic or the VP model ...... I like the idea of changing the pitch without taking the prop apart ...... but in warm water there's no real handicap. If the water is chilly .... the less time you spend in the water the better.
I'm going start the passage to Seattle next week so I may not be able to respond to any comments until I arrive there.
Cheers