feathering prop Oday 39

May 1, 2019
31
oday 39 39 Jacksonville fl
Was wondering if any on had a folding or feathering 3 blade on their oday 39. Looking at brands, performance and cost, also what size do you have if you have an oday39 or oday40. thanks
 
Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
While you are waiting for an Oday 39/40 forum response suggest contacting suppliers of folding and feathering props for a quote for the prop and labour from your diver (assuming you do not plan to do this yourself). This forum has a lot of experience and opinions on this subject as are many threads on the merits of these props. In my case, all my original props (both 2 blade folding and fixed) were replaced with a fixed 3 bladed prop due to cost effectiveness to increase motoring hull speed and low speed maneuverability in a marina, albeit my experience might be counter to others in this forum. You might also like to read the article in the link below entitled "Props: Folding Propellers vs Feathering Propellers".

 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
@henrykorous your question is a good one. And as @sail sfbay shares, it is not "unique" to your boat. It is a universal query we all face. How we solve it is more about the engine, transmission and the waters we sail then the boat manufacturer.

I sail in waters with varying winds and strong tidal currents. The ability to cruise is often time critical to transit in a time sensitive manner at a specific passage. Your waters in Florida do not have the same conditions. How you use your boat would be different than the way we cruise up here in the PacificNW.

What I am suggesting, evaluate the type of cruising conditions you face and purchase the prop the will best serve you.

A folding prop has great advantages over a fixed blade prop when sailing speed is prioritized.

In my case, and I would suspect for @sail sfbay in his waters, a good designed 3 blade prop will battle the strong ocean currents at a small sacrifice of sailing speed. I favored the Campbell Sailor prop built by WestbyNorth out of British Columbia. My friend is putting on an AutoProp to power his Catalina 36. Another sailor up here has a 2 bladed FlexFold because he wants minimal prop impact when he is sailing his boat in the local races.

Good luck and let us know your thoughts.
 
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Opus39

.
Apr 30, 2015
6
ODay 39 Cataumet, MA
Was wondering if any on had a folding or feathering 3 blade on their oday 39. Looking at brands, performance and cost, also what size do you have if you have an oday39 or oday40. thanks
I sail in the Buzzards Bay Area. I switched from a Campbell fixed prop to a 3 blade Flexofold about 8 years ago. Improved motoring all around. Increased efficiency in forward and definitely improved reverse maneuvers. I have a yam mar 4JH3. Prop requires grease every year for maximum performance.
 
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May 1, 2019
31
oday 39 39 Jacksonville fl
I sail in the Buzzards Bay Area. I switched from a Campbell fixed prop to a 3 blade Flexofold about 8 years ago. Improved motoring all around. Increased efficiency in forward and definitely improved reverse maneuvers. I have a yam mar 4JH3. Prop requires grease every year for maximum performance.
That sounds good, you have a different engine I have the universal m50, and I haven't looked at the difference, do you know the size and pitch for your prop? Also i cruise about 2000rpm is that where you run?
 

Opus39

.
Apr 30, 2015
6
ODay 39 Cataumet, MA
That sounds good, you have a different engine I have the universal m50, and I haven't looked at the difference, do you know the size and pitch for your prop? Also i cruise about 2000rpm is that where you run?
I dont have those details at my fingertips as the boat is on the hard and the specs are on the boat. But I provided Flexofold the old info re: Campbell prop, RH 19 and they set up the flexofold to the appropriate specs. This year I might tweak the pitch slightly to obtain a better bite but will have to explore that with Flexofold. Their customer service has been excellent. I had an M50 before with a three bladed fixed prop and didn't like the performance. However, it could have resulted from a tired engine that had to be kept at 2000 or below. Low Oil pressure was a constant issue so I decided to upgrade and very happy that I did.

With the flexofold, I run around 2500-2700 and burn less fuel than the M50 did.
 
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May 1, 2019
31
oday 39 39 Jacksonville fl
I dont have those details at my fingertips as the boat is on the hard and the specs are on the boat. But I provided Flexofold the old info re: Campbell prop, RH 19 and they set up the flexofold to the appropriate specs. This year I might tweak the pitch slightly to obtain a better bite but will have to explore that with Flexofold. Their customer service has been excellent. I had an M50 before with a three bladed fixed prop and didn't like the performance. However, it could have resulted from a tired engine that had to be kept at 2000 or below. Low Oil pressure was a constant issue so I decided to upgrade and very happy that I did.
I have gotten a couple quotes, so far. Looks like it will be around $2200. Another question since I am planning on getting the prop mainly for inproving sailing performance, they advertise about 1/2-1 knot improvements in sailing speeds, would you say that is what you have seen?
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Henry not sure of the specific speed numbers, but the owner's who have made the purchase report satisfaction with their choice.
 
May 17, 2004
5,028
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
I have gotten a couple quotes, so far. Looks like it will be around $2200. Another question since I am planning on getting the prop mainly for inproving sailing performance, they advertise about 1/2-1 knot improvements in sailing speeds, would you say that is what you have seen?
That’s pretty consistent with what I’ve seen going from a 3 bladed fixed OEM prop to a Flex-o-fold.
1612096269774.jpg

Blue dots are from close-hauled sailing over a season with the FOF. Orange are from the fixed. At low wind speeds the difference in averages is about a knot, converging as the wind builds. At higher speeds the fixed prop was causing lots of turbulence over the rudder, stalling it out. The FOF doesn’t do that, so the speed difference opens up again at the upper ranges.
 
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May 1, 2019
31
oday 39 39 Jacksonville fl
How is the reverse with the FoF? I've gotten qoutes for FoF, Draglow. Daglow sell the FoF and the Featherstream, the featherstream is actually cheaper and I cannot figure out why because the feathering props are usually more expensive. they are suggesting the feathersteam over the FoF. anyone have any experience with that prop?
 
May 17, 2004
5,028
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Reverse on the FOF is not quite as good as the fixed was, but still plenty of power in my experience. When coming in to the slip with the FOF I go to about 1200 RPMs to slow down, versus idle with the fixed. 1200 RPMs still leaves lots of headroom for more urgent stops.

Never really looked at the Featherstream myself. Yachting Monthly did a pretty comprehensive review of feathering and folding props including both FOF and Featherstream at Folding and feathering propeller test
 
Jul 1, 2014
252
Hunter 34 Seattle
I replaced the stock 15"/12 fixed 2 blade with a 16"/10 FoF 2 blade on my H34. I feel it did give some improvement in sailing speed, I know it improved my motoring speed but I was most impressed with the performance in reverse and the nearly total elimination of prop walk. My son has the FoF 3 blade model on his CS36 and is quite happy with it too.
 
Last edited:
May 1, 2019
31
oday 39 39 Jacksonville fl
Update...
So I went with the FoF 3blade 16x10. I was able to replace the prop with the boat in the water within a couple hours. I have only used it with the motor seems to be working well. I went down 1" in diameter because I was only getting about 2400rpm max in gear on a 3000rpm motor. Now I am at about 2800 rpm which should be better for the motor and trans. I haven't had a chance to sail with the prop yet ( I still need to install seatbelts), but I am expecting good results. Thank you everyone for your input.