In or out of gear

Jul 27, 2015
53
catalina 30 SF bay
Is it best to sail with the universal 25 engine in or out of gear? I have a 2 blade non folding prop.
 
Jun 29, 2011
142
Catalina 30 Mk II Gibsons
Sail with the gearbox in reverse, I have 3 blade right hand prop, sailing out of gear will add wear.
 

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,770
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
After being told by a racing Captain that a third blade will cost a possible 1 knot/hr loss due to drag, I had the zinc diver align my 2 blade prop to be vertical with my keel.
I position the prop vertically with a "shaft alignment" mark and have NEVER seen it rotate even at 90% of hull speed on a 15° heel.

My transmission is always neutral when engine is down, for SAFETY reasons.

In modern cars, you can't start your engine when in gear! Guess Why?:yikes:
Jim...
 

mortyd

.
Dec 11, 2004
952
Catalina 30 easy living
when they were still around i had a talk with hurth transmissions who informed me that the only positive gear - the only one that won't let the prop spin the gearbox with the engine not running - is reverse.
 
Sep 25, 2008
1,096
CS 30 Toronto
The problem of letting the shaft turn is the engine is not pulling cooling water thru the transmission. Do that for a long time will overheat your transmission = big $$$
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,047
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
You know, this issue of TRANSMISSION POSITION comes up so often.

And the result I posted is for this particular skipper's engine/transmission.

Other transmissions require different solutions.

There is no one "right" answer.

Universals have Hurth transmissions, which I posted the link to the danged ACTUAL placard that comes with the transmissions.

Yanmars have different transmissions and Yanmar's own technical bulletins now say ONLY neutral.

Your boat, your transmission. :)

Please stop mixing apples & oranges, it doesn't help the OP at all.

And I've never heard of water being pulled through a transmission on the kind of engines/transmissions most of us have. They are serviced by ATF for Hurths and oil for Yanmars.

Water? Hardly...

Thanks.
 
Oct 5, 2010
322
Catalina 30 mkII St. Augustine
image-2043024263.jpg

If it's a Hurth or ZF neutral or reverse is fine according to the manual. Sailing engaged in forward is not.
 
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DaveJ

.
Apr 2, 2013
487
Catalina 310 Niagara-on-the-Lake
Just rebuilt my Hurth transmission, clutch plates were badly overheated. I am assuming that one of the previous owners probably sailed with the transmission in forward, easily done. I tried sailing with transmission in forward, just to see if the shaft rotated....and it did. Do as the manual says, sail with tranny in reverse.
 
Sep 22, 2013
24
Catalina 30 NOB Norfolk W5CDR
I have followed this and other threads on what gear should the transmission be in when not using the engine. I have no problem with placing the transmission in reverse when sailing. My question is does the engine turn over in forward or does the clutch assembly slip causing heat and damage. If the engine is not turning over but the prop is rotating in forward why is the clutch pack more robust in reverse and not rotate?
 
Mar 10, 2015
62
Catalina 30 Moss Landing, CA
I have always sailed in neutral with fixed props - both to reduce drag and to avoid a constant stress on the transmission in Rev. Think about the torque-stresses surfing down a big W coast roller at 10 knots with prop fixed in Rev. With a 3-blader you might even turn the engine over (?backward rotation).

This happened once offshore on our 37' F-P cat with twin Yanmar 16's, Hurth trannys, and 3-bladed 16" Max props feathered in Rev, when we hit a very confused sea left by a squall, at about 8 knots, and heard the rumbling sound down below of an engine turning over, apparently due to a prop thrown out of feathered position in the rough water. Quickly went head to wind, shifted into neutral, then back into Rev when we had a bit of way on.
 

mortyd

.
Dec 11, 2004
952
Catalina 30 easy living
maybe they were correct, and maybe not, but the hurth folk told me keeping the transmission in neutral still lets the plates grind and and polish each other. like buying a honda civic, why not? just use reverse.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,709
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
maybe they were correct, and maybe not, but the hurth folk told me keeping the transmission in neutral still lets the plates grind and and polish each other. like buying a honda civic, why not? just use reverse.
You mean like Carl Hurth..?? Carl Hurth sold the company to ZF and they still insist on neutral or reverse.




Neutral also creates less drag with a fixed prop and overcomes a potential safety issue if quick starting is necessary in an emergency. It also places less wear and tear on your starter motor for those times when you forget to take it out of reverse and start the motor..
 
Nov 6, 2006
10,093
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Most outboards have "dog" clutches and not cone clutches.. They can lock in either forward or reverse.. Leaving in neutral while sailing would let the prop spin and because it'd be essentially unloaded, would cause no significant wear.. but I'd tip it up out of the water to avoid the drag.
 
Jul 14, 2015
840
Catalina 30 Stillhouse Hollow Marina
Went sailing today. 1986 Universal 18 with Hurth Tranny. Pulled original manual and it said sail in Neutral only. So I did for 3 hours and tranny stayed cool.