Am looking at a variprofile feathering propeller for my Beneteau 331. Maxprop seems to be the other alternative. Any comments on these two and the underlying choice to go with a feathering prop would be appreciated. Sail Lake Superior so fouling isn't an issue.
Feathering Propeller
- Thread starter Jpgerlach
- Start date
I just recently went though the same thing and the Max-Prop, Vari-Profile and J Prop were the three on my list.
In the end I liked the engineering of the J Prop best and bought one last week. Stanley at Beta US is now the US importer/distributor for J Prop. Stanly is one of the best guys in the industry and knows his stuff. He spent nearly an hour with me going over every little detail of this prop and sizing etc... The J Prop is hugely popular in Europe but up until recently had limited distribution in the US.
Don't count out the J Prop if you are looking at the Variprofile or Max.. All three are good props but they still have differences. When it came down to pulling the plug the J Prop won out for me....
Thanks for the info. I hadn't really heard of J Prop and will look further into it. Was your decision to go from a fixed to feathering prop worth the investment?
Your decision will be complicated by the need to procure the specialty prop zincs in the required magnesium material. A feathering prop is a very expensive investment and galvanic corrosion can make a mess of a poorly protected prop in very short order.
Thanks for your reply. Can you tell me why you got the variprop instead of the profile. And why variprop instead of say Maxprop. Who did you deal with to get your prop? Look forward to hearing from you. Also Iassume you got tha16 inch three blade. Jim
Because I am in fresh water zincs don't erode as fast or as dramatically but thanks for the heads up
In the 4 years Kestrel has been in Bayfield the magnesium on our Flexofold has not changed at all.
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I have a Max prop and love it. My boat backs up straight as an arrow and I have no galvanic corrosion difficulties (fresh water).
I have put max props on every boat I have had in the past many years. Never a problem. In reverse they are amazing. Faster than the fixed blade alternative. As a result I can't compare with anything else.
There are those who use maxprop, those who use Variprop and one that got back to me that has a J Prop. All must be good feathering props. Anyone who has comparative info re these props?
Can you tell me the prop size, CW or CCW, and shaft dia you had installed? Also, did you have a two bladed prop before?
I had good luck with the Kiwiprop. It is plastic and SS no mechanism to speak of and cheap (well inexpensive)
I have had an Autoprop on Papillon since i got her in 1998 and it works great. You leave the transmission in forward to feather so all you need to do is kill the engine. I know that all the transmission manuals say to put the tranny in reverse but the Autoprop free-wheels backwards so forward is the correct gear. In one race when i forgot to stay in gear I gained a full knot when I remembered. It also will allow you to do a very fast stop without any concern about the gears hitting the stops when the blades reverse. http://www.bruntonspropellers.com/autoprop/