I just bought a Hunter 34 in Seattle and need to sail her up to mid-Vancouver Island at the end of March. The problem is I need to install a different prop before I leave. My research so far states that a 15X15 or 15X12 two or three blade will be OK. However, all that is available on short notice is a 15X10 two blade. My question is will this get me home or is the pitch just too wrong to even try? Thanks for any info.
prop size
- Thread starter dutchy
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Dutchy: I would suggest that you contact West by North (Canada) and see if they can fix you up in an emergency. Their props are about $600, but you will be happy you spent the money on THIS prop.
http://www.westbynorth.com/CampbellSailer.aspx
You will need a different pitch between a two blade and a three bladed prop.
http://www.westbynorth.com/CampbellSailer.aspx
You will need a different pitch between a two blade and a three bladed prop.
You or the governor will have to keep the engine from over revving, and you won't get full speed, but It should be do able.
On your "research" 12" to 15 " seems a big range. Whom did you contact? Michigan, Campbell sailor and also the big prop retailer on the west coast all have programs that will calculate approriate prop sizes for you. I have done this on 2 boats, and found that they all came up with the same answers give or take an inch. There were of course differences for 2 blade vs 3 blade from all three sources
On your "research" 12" to 15 " seems a big range. Whom did you contact? Michigan, Campbell sailor and also the big prop retailer on the west coast all have programs that will calculate approriate prop sizes for you. I have done this on 2 boats, and found that they all came up with the same answers give or take an inch. There were of course differences for 2 blade vs 3 blade from all three sources
Congrats, Dutchy!.. A fine boat.. My '85 model 34 has a 15 X 15 two blade which seems to work fine. I would suspect a 10" pitch (30% reduction) would not work well for any extended motoring.. could be OK if you only have to motor a little bit.. you'd have to watch the tachometer closely ... and note that many of the original tachs on 34's read slow (read less than real rpm).. you'd get there fine but you'd use a lot of rpm for not much speed. If your boat has one of the Westerbeke engines, it may need a different prop because of a possible transmission ratio difference..? Some 34's had Westerbekes..
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Our '83 H34 came with the 15X12 prop and the Yanmar 3GMF. I had non slip tips put on by Bay Prop in Oakland several years ago- I get 6.1 over ground (gps) at 2500. 6.8 at 2800. Not sure how accurate the tach is, WOT is over 3400
Thanks for all your posts. It's great to know that all of you are out there to share your experience. I am heading to Seattle at the end of the month with a friend and I hope we make it back to central Vancouver Island. The marina where the Hunter will be kept is the closest one to the entrance to Desolation Sound - a wonderful sailing area. Glad to hear from any of you if you are up this way. Thanks again.
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