Which folding/feathering prop? ...

I have a Gori two bladed folder which works a treat until after three seasons the center bush got worn and then its a £400 fix.
Great power from it, forward and reverse.

The most popular ones we fit at the yard are the Feather stream and I think we've fitted around ten in the last 12 months.
 
Bru said:
Reverse pitch on the Featherstream is fixed and cannot be altered

You can't actually adjust the pitch ahead as such. It is set by a replaceable "pitch cassette". Darglow will supply a replacement cassette to the original owner of the prop free of charge if the pitch is wrong following sea trials. Subsequent owners who want to change the pitch have to purchase a replacement cassette for a tads over a hundred quid (go on, ask me how I know this! :/ )

Darglow are extremely helpful by the way. Extended exchange of emails with their technical chap vis both the pitch (which I'm convinced is too fine, he's not so sure. We'll see who's right when we get back in the water!) and the problems we had removing the prop.

Vis prop removal, not advertised on their website but Darglow will rent or sell you a puller suitable for removing the Featherstream (normal 3 legged pullers don't fit around the boss - go on, as me how I know that as well! :o ) although we succeeded, just, with a large borrowed hydraulic puller but only just
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You have just confirmed what I said - you can adjust the pitch, and in both directions. I did not say it was a variable pitch prop, that is being able to change pitch when in use. Not all props have user adjustable pitch (whether it be by settings on assembly or by the Featherstream method) and not all can have different pitch forward and reverse. There are variable pitch, or 2 geared props available, but inevitably they are very much more expensive.
 
Tranona said:
You have just confirmed what I said - you can adjust the pitch, and in both directions. I did not say it was a variable pitch prop, that is being able to change pitch when in use. Not all props have user adjustable pitch (whether it be by settings on assembly or by the Featherstream method) and not all can have different pitch forward and reverse. There are variable pitch, or 2 geared props available, but inevitably they are very much more expensive.
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Apologies, I think we're saying the same thing but reading it differently! :)

Just for clarity, you cannot change the pitch in reverse, it's set for life.

Where I think we were saying the same thing but not in the same way is pitch in ahead ... "Adjust" implies ( to my feeble brain) a user adjustment such as grub screws hence my using the term "change" in that the pitch can be changed by swapping out the shim (I'm assuming it is a shim) cassette. So my prop is getting a change in pitch (1" more) but I can't adjust it from there other than by shelling out for another shim cassette

(I have to say that the Featherstream blurb is a little disingenuous about pitch changes. It implies that the pitch is easily changed by the user without mentioning that it requires a part from the manufacturers and a special tool, supplied with the pitch cassette, to do it. It is also less than clear that the free pitch cassette swap is only available for a limited time after purchase)
 
Talking about prop walk, don't leave your prop fitted when in a yard as they tend to walk. Then again I'm based in Liverpool.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Hmm. Sounds as if I might save a few bob by buying second hand from a bloke in a Liverpool pub. Can they, erm, obtain to order, do you know?
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I'd heard the same said about anodes. They walk. For props? unless people are walking about with pulling tools, no chance!
 
sailaboutvic said:
Very interested in what being said , we looking at changing our prop to a Brunton or Daglow , ahs anyone got them fittered to a sail drive with a rope cutter and if so what mod did you have to do ?
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Vic, The Autoprop is easily self-fitted, however when I said they were expensive they are.
I bought mine for £832 in 1990 when they first came out. A 2-blade fixed prop cost £100 at that time. When I had to replace the blades year before last, those alone cost £990.
In terms of fuel saving you might just recover the cost over the life of the prop, but the major benefit has been, for me, the boost to light wind sailing in the Med.
 
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Propwalk is not, for me, the bugbear it appears to be for others. With the Brunton I still have it to use when berthing alongside or getting off a downwind berth, though not as much as with a fixed prop.

The Grandad of all variable pitch props was the Hundested. Many pre-war FVs dispensed with an FNR box and used one of these. Pitch change was by a handwheel, adjusting the rod down the centre of the hollow prop-shaft.
But those were the days of semi-diesels, with glow tubes, preheated with a blowtorch.

http://www.hundestedpropeller.dk/
 
Bru said:
Vis prop removal, not advertised on their website but Darglow will rent or sell you a puller suitable for removing the Featherstream (normal 3 legged pullers don't fit around the boss - go on, as me how I know that as well! :o ) although we succeeded, just, with a large borrowed hydraulic puller but only just
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Prop puller for the Featherstream is easy enough to make, 2 steel plates one with slot for the shaft and the other with a centre bolt against the end of the shaft both plates drilled to take 3 studs/bolts with nuts each end.
 
GrahamM376 said:
Prop puller for the Featherstream is easy enough to make, 2 steel plates one with slot for the shaft and the other with a centre bolt against the end of the shaft both plates drilled to take 3 studs/bolts with nuts each end.
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And watch the steel plate bend into a nice cup shape and the prop stay stubbornly put! :) Ask me how I know this :D

A home made puller will work if the prop isn't too stubborn but if all else fails you're gonna need the proper kit for the job
 
Bru said:
And watch the steel plate bend into a nice cup shape and the prop stay stubbornly put! :) Ask me how I know this :D

A home made puller will work if the prop isn't too stubborn but if all else fails you're gonna need the proper kit for the job
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Mine was very stubborn, that's why the puller was made from thick plate, IIRC 15mm, after all else had failed. Took a lot of torque and a good clout before it came loose.
 
GrahamM376 said:
Mine was very stubborn, that's why the puller was made from thick plate, IIRC 15mm, after all else had failed. Took a lot of torque and a good clout before it came loose.
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If I'd been able to lay my hands on something thicker than 1/2" it might have survived and done the job

Nice chap at Darglow was very adamant that I shouldn't go anywhere near the prop with a big hammer! Didn't dare tell him I already had :o Didn't help though :(

Given how much we had to wind up the hydraulic puller I suspect ours was beyond stubborn and into downright bloody minded territory!
 
Bru said:
Nice chap at Darglow was very adamant that I shouldn't go anywhere near the prop with a big hammer! Didn't dare tell him I already had :o Didn't help though :(
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If there's a flexible coupling then it's safe to shock the end of the shaft by hitting the bolt which goes through the puller to the end of the shaft. Not a good idea if it's metal to metal at the gearbox end though.
 
GrahamM376 said:
If there's a flexible coupling then it's safe to shock the end of the shaft by hitting the bolt which goes through the puller to the end of the shaft. Not a good idea if it's metal to metal at the gearbox end though.
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Which was the case on ours

What I really needed was heat but that's an even bigger no no than hammering!

I'll get to put it all back together eventually
 
Hi I know this an older thread...I also have a 1985, first 345...plan on changing original fixed blad prop to a 2 blad max prop. Was interested in finding out if you put this prop on, or it came with the boat?

Do you know what diameter max prop you have?

I plan on getting the 17" prop, 25mm shaft...I have the volvo 2003 diesel inboard.

If you changed this prop yourself, did you notice a significant change in performance or so so?

Any other info would be appreciated.
 
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