Should I get a Folding Prop

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jun 19, 2010
50
2003 Bavaria 44 Chesapeake Bay
Have stock three blad prop on my b44. My saildrive issues have got the boat pulled and some suggested a prop that puts less strain on the seals, etc..... ie lighter.

Was thinking perhaps a folding prop might work...cant imagine having it spin while sailing is good for performance.

Anyone have any experience or pros/cons of folding prop? Suggestions? how much speed can it add under sail? any sacrifice on motoring performance? Other issues? do they "get stuck"?
 
Feb 1, 2011
21
Sabre 426 Liberty Landing Marina
Have stock three blad prop on my b44. My saildrive issues have got the boat pulled and some suggested a prop that puts less strain on the seals, etc..... ie lighter.

Was thinking perhaps a folding prop might work...cant imagine having it spin while sailing is good for performance.

Anyone have any experience or pros/cons of folding prop? Suggestions? how much speed can it add under sail? any sacrifice on motoring performance? Other issues? do they "get stuck"?
we have a feathering prop however...folding props give you very little drag when you are under sail. Disadvantage...you might have more prop walk in reverse...usually to port so take this into consideration if you are in a marina and stern in...you'll just have to get used to it and adjust a bit
 

robgs

.
May 24, 2004
26
Bavaria Vision 40 Rock Hall MD
I replaced the original Volvo Penta fixed 3 blade alum prop on my Bav 40 with a Gori
3 blade folding prop this spring and now have a half season of experience with it.
Although expensive it is a terrific prop. powered performance in both fwd and rev is
not noticibly different than with the fixed prop except that the Gori is smoother at
higher rpms than the fixed. No increase in prop walk which is light anyway with saildrive.

Performance under sail is dramatic-at least one half knot more speed-a particular
benefit in light air.
 
Jun 19, 2010
50
2003 Bavaria 44 Chesapeake Bay
How do you like the feathering prop?



we have a feathering prop however...folding props give you very little drag when you are under sail. Disadvantage...you might have more prop walk in reverse...usually to port so take this into consideration if you are in a marina and stern in...you'll just have to get used to it and adjust a bit
 
Jun 19, 2010
50
2003 Bavaria 44 Chesapeake Bay
what do you mean by "smoother" at hiigher RPMs? Saw you are local...where did you buy? who intstalled?



I replaced the original Volvo Penta fixed 3 blade alum prop on my Bav 40 with a Gori
3 blade folding prop this spring and now have a half season of experience with it.
Although expensive it is a terrific prop. powered performance in both fwd and rev is
not noticibly different than with the fixed prop except that the Gori is smoother at
higher rpms than the fixed. No increase in prop walk which is light anyway with saildrive.

Performance under sail is dramatic-at least one half knot more speed-a particular
benefit in light air.
 
Jun 19, 2010
50
2003 Bavaria 44 Chesapeake Bay
just looked at their website - do you have that control lever to fold/unfold prop? how is that wired to the prop? through the saildrive?

Saw some prices - whoa... How difficult was installation? did you consider any other brands before picking Gori?

got to say half a knot does have me drooling.....


I replaced the original Volvo Penta fixed 3 blade alum prop on my Bav 40 with a Gori
3 blade folding prop this spring and now have a half season of experience with it.
Although expensive it is a terrific prop. powered performance in both fwd and rev is
not noticibly different than with the fixed prop except that the Gori is smoother at
higher rpms than the fixed. No increase in prop walk which is light anyway with saildrive.

Performance under sail is dramatic-at least one half knot more speed-a particular
benefit in light air.
 

cbsura

.
Jun 7, 2004
27
Bavaria 32 Branford, CT
I do not have a folding prop (I have a 2 blade aluminum). I am just relaying what I heard from a mechanic at a large Volvo service center who works on a lot of saildrives. He said that he only sees seal failures on saildrives with folding props, and speculated that the reason could either be the heavier weight or snap open action stressing the seals. I would be interested to hear from all the people with seal failures whether they had a folding or fixed prop...
 
Feb 26, 2011
1,428
Achilles SD-130 Alameda, CA
just looked at their website - do you have that control lever to fold/unfold prop? how is that wired to the prop? through the saildrive?
Not sure what you are referring to- there is no "control lever" to fold/unfold any sailboat propellor, Gori included. I suspect you are referring to Gori's overdrive feature, which the owner can use by simply putting the boat in neutral while underway and then simply shifting into foward again. Nothing is wrired through the saildrive or anything else.

How difficult was installation?
Gori props are quite simple to install, either on the hard or underwater. I have done many of them this way.
 

robgs

.
May 24, 2004
26
Bavaria Vision 40 Rock Hall MD
I considered other folding and feathering props before choosing Gori. Feathering props
simply allow the blades to turn to parallel the flow but still stick out to catch crab pots,etc. The blades need to be pretty flat to produce low drag. I chose folding because they fold back and allow for better (more efficient) blade design. Of the folding brands Gori and Flexofold seem to be the best. I saw the
Gori at the Annapolis Boat Show in Oct and bought it from the US distributor, AB Marine. I installed it myself-pretty simple.

Re 'smoother', the engine sound and feel just seems smoother at higher rpms than withn the original fixed prop-probably better blade design and balance.
 
Jun 19, 2010
50
2003 Bavaria 44 Chesapeake Bay
that is interesting....of course volvo sells a folding prop (which i would never buy). Think i am going to go feathering and try the maxprop new ecowind. improved engine performance with sailing performance just seems to hard to pass up.



I do not have a folding prop (I have a 2 blade aluminum). I am just relaying what I heard from a mechanic at a large Volvo service center who works on a lot of saildrives. He said that he only sees seal failures on saildrives with folding props, and speculated that the reason could either be the heavier weight or snap open action stressing the seals. I would be interested to hear from all the people with seal failures whether they had a folding or fixed prop...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.