Feathered or folded?

[david hills]

Raven (J42 #73) seems to have a bit of vibration, which is not due to the shaft, the cutlass bearing, or the engine mounts, but may be due to it having a two blade prop. That was the perspective of the yard where Raven sits. I have come to understand that a three blade prop is likely to significantly reduce vibration, and improve performance. Now, considering choice between folding and feathering. Boat will live on the coast of New England and more specifically Maine, where there are many lobster pots.
Opinions/thoughts?
Thanks very much and I hope everyone has a great holiday,

David.
SV Raven #73

David Hills
Caretaker
Emery Farm
135 Piscataqua Rd
Durham, NH 03824
603-674-6412

I am my own strength, there is no other
I am my own weakness, there is no other
We are all one, there is no other

Sent from my iPhone

[William Beebe]

We are in the same situation, replacing the cutlass bearing and replacing the original 2- blade martec with a new 3-blade max prop easy.

Kim/Bill J-42 "LARVIK" hull #22

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[Michael Moradzadeh]

If I were worried about lobster pots, I'd stick with folding, as less likely to snag a line under sail. Folding is also least drag under sail. But the under power performance of the martec is splendid.

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[Wayne Cassady]

And much improved backing.

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 21, 2025, at 12:35 AM, Michael Moradzadeh <m...@yachtpc.com> wrote:



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[david hills]

Thank you all for your responses

David Hills

Caretaker 

Emery Farm

135 Piscataqua Rd

Durham, NH 03824

603-674-6412

I am my own strength, there is no other
I am my own weakness, there is no other
We are all one, there is no other

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 21, 2025, at 7:34 AM, Wayne Cassady <wayne.c...@gmail.com> wrote:

And much improved backing.

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[gale...@gmail.com]

Check the post on Nov 20-25 for more discussion.

Galen

[Bud Cary]

Two other comments

 

My yard convinced me to go with a 4 bladed Easy Maxprop  … greatly improves stopping power as well improving backing and just general motoring, adds very little drag over the 3 blade .. need to ensure pitch is correct. We are solely a cruising boat

 

Also, not sure which other models may have this but you can change pitch and grease it while in the water

 

Bud

S/V Pooh  (#82, J40)

 

 

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[Dennis Boyd]

We are pulling the orginal prop, and also replacing/like for like, the PSS dripless shaft seal  while we can pull shaft back.    We going to go back with 3 bladed Easy Maxprop.   We hoping to be 25/75   race/cruise

Dennis

Jaywalker J/42 #6

[Gary Krogman]

I have had both several times on a few boats. The folding seems to have a lot of slop that leads to vibration. When I got the MaxProp feathering 3 blade it was a world of difference, much, much less vibration. I can only imagine what a 4 blade feathering would be like!!

     -Gary

On Sun, Dec 21, 2025 at 9:51 AM Dennis Boyd <dennis....@gmail.com> wrote:

We are pulling the orginal prop, and also replacing/like for like, the PSS dripless shaft seal  while we can pull shaft back.    We going to go back with 3 bladed Easy Maxprop.   We hoping to be 25/75   race/cruise

Dennis

Jaywalker J/42 #6

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[Albrecht Goethe]

I went from a 20” folding to an 18” feathering three blade Maxprop. Went from intolerable knocking type vibration between 2100-2400 rpm to no vibration at all. 

Al Goethe

On Dec 21, 2025, at 09:46, Gary Krogman <gkrog...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Joseph Ruzzi]

As Gary noted, the old Martec props can develop significant slop that causes vibration.  They are still offering a refurbishing service that might smooth it out.   As a J/30 owner for more than 30 years, we've had Mondial's prop sent back a couple times for refurbishment.   And, of course, a significant benefit is that the service is much cheaper than a new prop.  Here's their website:

http://martec-props.com/blank-4/

Joe

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