The age old question

[Bergman]

Should gear be in forward, astern or neutral when sailing.

My last boat had Yanmar engine and gearbox and was always left in astern.

The present boat has a Borg Warner hydraulic gearbox.

I have a vague memory of having read that you shouldn't put a hydraulic box in astern when sailing.

Can anyone confirm this, and if so, what gear should the box be in.

 

[MoodySabre]

It seems to vary dependent on type. Volvo 2000 series say leave in neutral and let it spin. I have read that hydraulics should not be in gear.

The answer is "refer to handbook"

 

[ChrisE]

With an Autoprop they recommend leaving the gear in forward to set the prop to feather, don't know if this is a universal truth....

 

[DaveS]

That's interesting. The Kiwi instructions advise putting it in neutral (which agrees with Volvo) and it feathers just fine (no noise, unlike fixed prop).

 

[Seagreen]

[ QUOTE ]
With an Autoprop they recommend leaving the gear in forward to set the prop to feather

[/ QUOTE ]

Doesn't the autoprop feather automatically? Leave mine in neutral (in case of fast MOB engine starts) and I don't see the shaft spinning. Maybe I should check this when next out?

 

[Vara]

What the prop makers say is unimportant, talk to makers of gear box or RTM.

 

[Noddy]

You might also be interested in how the prop effects sailing performance.

Research indicates that a stopped prop creates less drag than a freewheeling one.

Paul

 

[waterboy]

Oh Noddy. That's another can of worms you have just opened.

 

[chuzzlewit]

Reverse.

 

[Noddy]

OK Sorry! I can see it all opening out before me now. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Oh well. We live and learn!

 

[andy_wilson]

RTFM.

I'm sure the gearbox manufacturer has thought of this.

 

[Heckler]

3 years ago when i bought sonsy lass (vp2030) we were concerned by the noise from the whizzing prop shaft. I phoned Volvo Penta and the techie said that originally they advocated leaving it in reverse, the only prob that became apparent was that the gearbox would load up and be difficult to get into neutral, they then advised to flick the starter to unload the box and knock it into neutral. Then nervous owners complained about finding this difficult so VP then said OK leave it in neutral and let it whirr!!
so there you are, the official advice off VP for vp2030s and their ilk.
Stu