Maxprop for B323

[david grove]

We have an '07 323 and am looking to see if anyone has installed a
Maxprop on their 323. If so, any comments, thoughts or input would be
appreciated.

Or, if anyone has installed any type of folding or feathering prop on
their 323, I would be interested in the type, model and results and
comments.

David Grove

[Rick Donovan]

David

Now you have done it. You have unknowingly asked what is very likely the most highly charged and most owner loyal subject we get here on the owners list since I have been around, what prop does everyone use. I hope you are ready for the replies to what we jokingly call prop wars, lol.

In all seriousness, your inquiry specifically for the 323 should get some replies from owners of those boats, but your question applies to any sail boat, my opinion. About any folding or feathering prop will be an advantage for additional boat speed thru the water when sailing and the general consensus always seems to be same each time this question comes along. That you need to do something as it will be an improvement over the fixed blade prop you now have while sailing and many times in reverse, which is the other side of this question. 

Obviously, your budget is where you need to start for the first step in this. When that is worked out, shall we say with "all involved", then do your research online for a prop that fits your needs and budget. 

There are several manufacturers to choose from and this list is certainly going to miss a few that others will remind us to consider and it is not in any particular order.

Flex-o-fold

Martec

MaxProp

AutoProp

Gori

I have the AutoProp on our 473 but you will hear from others about other brands, their likes and dislikes of other recommendations. For our 473 and our sailing style, my choices came down to either the MaxProp or the AutoProp. I believe that either one would have done the job very well on our 473 but went with the AutoProp for 2 reasons. 

First and most important to me, there was no assembly required for the AutoProp. It is a true bolt on item when you install it. You take the old prop off, clean and then regrease the shaft, slide the new prop on and tighten the shaft nut, then install a zinc cover. The MaxProp requires assembly and often times an additional haul out and then partial disassembly to readjust pitch to fine tune the prop to your engine to obtain maximum boat speed and engine rpm. Sometimes the suggested pitch settings are not quite right and a little extra work needs to be done. This is not a huge problem but I chose to not deal with it. 

Second, the Max is a fixed pitch when the blades are open to the internal stops. AutoProp does not work that way. The blades are free to keep feathering to match whatever the boat speed is because of the pressures around each blade. This is so hard to describe and make it sound right. 

They have a demonstration video that also doesn't show this so well either at http://ab-marine.com/Autoprop/autoprop-feathering-self-pitching-sailboat-propeller

When I first heard of this prop I couldn't get my head around how it worked at all. After owning one since late 2002, I am sold on its performance for my sailing style that I call performance cruising. For a cruising boat, the advantages are that it will allow you to motor sail in light wind at much higher than normal boat speeds while using a lower rpm setting which allows less fuel burn per hour. It is so difficult to describe but I assure you that it works for us. What happens when motor sailing is because the AutoProp blades are free to rotate as needed and are not restricted in any way as the Max blades are, they can "feather" to the water flow over them at any specific moment. What this means is that by running the engine and having the sails trimmed for the apparent wind created by the boat moving forward, you will have much more drive than if using the engine alone. when the conditions allow you can use a much lower throttle setting and keep the same boat speed there by using less fuel per hour. We have routinely seen boat speeds of 9-10 knots thru the water while motor sailing in winds speeds of 7-8 knots true. It may seem hard to believe and is even harder to describe, but it does work, I promise.

The only real downside I can think of on the AutoProp is the Zinc cover over the shaft nut. I had 3 seasons where when we hauled in the fall, the zinc was completely missing. With trial and error, I now have a way to get the season out of the same zinc. In our case the zinc was coming off due to the nylon screws provided by the vendor. I have since changed to stainless screws and that seems to have cured our problem.

I will sit on the side and see how this discussion evolves, it can get interesting sometimes.

Rick Donovan

2002 Beneteau 473 #29

Turn the Page

Falmouth, Maine

richard....@verizon.net

[DAVID FLETCHER]

Just buy a Kiwi prop , you will be happy and your bank account will still have enough for xmas

 

Fletch

OC400

[Surfer Gil]

We have an AutoStream on our O440. It is an Aussie product distributed
by Matec in the US. It is stainless and is serviceable in the water
(pitch, lube, zinc). Pitch for forward and reverse is adjustable and
thus prop walk can be almost eliminated. It can be painted or left
clean and scrubbed monthly. As we are in the VI, I look at mine each
time I go for a swim.

Martec is VERY helpful with service and adjustment questions.

Gil

[Jim Martin]

Our 32s5 is similar in size. The Martec two blade folding prop was installed when we purchased her 8 years ago. I've been very happy with it. They're ~ $ 800 from Defender, about half the price of a Maxprop. I had it rebuilt several years ago when it had developed some slop (I have no idea when it was installed by the previous owner). Under $ 200 and very quick service from Martec. I can look up the dimensions and pitch but they may not be correct for your 323.

Jim
32s5 Aquila
_ _

Jim Martin

Peachtree Laser, Inc.

404-352-2565

email: mailto:ptl...@bellsouth.net

website: peachtreelaser.com

[bruce dunham]

Let me know the  dimensions and pitch on the 323 and I may have a rebuilt Martec prop for you.  My 351 had a 17" x 12" pitch and I upgraded to an 18" by 15" pitch.  My old one is probably better suited to a 323.

 

Bruce

 

 

Jim Martin <ptl...@bellsouth.net> wrote:

---

Be a better sports nut! Let your teams follow you with Yahoo Mobile. Try it now.

[Bill Jarvis]

Bruce,

 

That’s a huge change in prop. Was the engine way under loaded before or over loaded after the change?

 

Bill

 

From: Benetea...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Benetea...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of bruce dunham
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 5:23 PM
To: Benetea...@googlegroups.com
Subject: {Beneteau Owners} Re: Maxprop for B323

 

Let me know the  dimensions and pitch on the 323 and I may have a rebuilt Martec prop for you.  My 351 had a 17" x 12" pitch and I upgraded to an 18" by 15" pitch.  My old one is probably better suited to a 323.

Be a better sports nut! Let your teams follow you with Yahoo Mobile. Try it now.</a

[glu...@comcast.net]

I have a Flex-O-Fold three blade on my 06 323. I bought the 3 blade because of the strong current I go through to get to Sandy Hook Bay. The prop may look fat but it fits behind the skeg of the 323 nicely (see attached picture). I think the light wind sailing performance is very good.

--
Gary Luisi
Calusa B323 #150
Middletown, NJ

[Michael Roper]

I know the autostream prop .By the standards of price and performance it
must be with the very best

-----Original Message-----
From: Benetea...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:Benetea...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Surfer Gil
Sent: Wednesday, 28 November 2007 2:01 AM
To: Beneteau Owners
Subject: {Beneteau Owners} Re: Maxprop for B323

[Larry & Maribeth]

Every one that I know that has seen a Flex_o_Fold including the people that
put mine on are VERY impressed with the quality of the workmanship. It is a
beauty.

Larry J.

----- Original Message -----
From: <glu...@comcast.net>
To: <Benetea...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 6:11 PM
Subject: {Beneteau Owners} Re: Maxprop for B323

[JonM]

I had a Volvo three blade folding prop on my 323 and it worked great.
My current 423 also has the Volvo folding prop. Since my 423 was a
dealer stock boat with the standard fixed prop, I got to experience
the difference when it was changed to the folding version. While
slightly higher RPMs were required to get the same speed with folding
prop, the boat ran much more smoothly under power. Note that my 423
has a "low RPM / high torque" Volvo engine while the 323 had a Yanmar
engine and the 423 prop ould have a different pitch with the Yanmar
engine.

One thing I like about the Volvo prop is that it folds, rather than
feathers. I believe (hope?) that folding is better if one should get
too close to a crab pot line while under sail (yes, I know that the
rudder is also an issue here).

Here are speed vs. RPM data for the 323 with Volvo folding prop:

RPM Paddle GPS
Wheel
2500 4.1 5.3
2700 4.5 5.7
2800 4.8 5.6
3000 4.9 5.9
2500 4.4 5.4
2700 4.9 5.7
2800 5.1 5.85
2900 5.25 6.05
3000 5.4 6.15
3100 5.65 6.35
3200 5.8 6.5
3300 5.8 6.2
3400 6.05 6.5

The GPS numbers should be close to reality since the measurements were
made during slack water.

The 323 prop had 3583399 blades, but I don't have the pitch data right
now (I could get it in a couple of weeks)

Jon

[Alan Kerr]

Gori is best, and we know that because we have one on our B393. Anyone who disagrees, tell me what country you live in and we will invade you in the name of freedom and peace.

Alan K.

[Michael Roper]

GRANADA

[bruce dunham]

With the original 18"x12"pitch fixed prop I was getting about 6 1/2kt at 3000rpm with the Perkins M30.  With the 17"x 12" Martec I was getting only 6kt at 3200rpm and in a head wind it would drop to 4 1/2 - 5kt.  Based on that and discussion with Martec it made sense to go back to an 18" dia. for more power and 15" pitch to get the rpm back down.  I picked up the new Martec at the Annapolis boat show and will install it in the Spring to see if that does the trick.

 

Bruce

Bill Jarvis <bjar...@suddenlink.net> wrote:

---

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

[Alan Kerr]

Sorry, been there, invaded that! They're all free now, and the McDonalds
franchise is safe and thriving.

[da...@comcast.net]

Perhaps a flotilla of Beneteau's should be sent to keep it safe this winter.

 

Dan

O 321 - 126

 

> >>> We have an '07 323 and am looking to see if anyone has installed a
> >>> Maxprop on their 323. If so, any comments, thoughts or input would be
> >>> appreciated.
> >>>

&gt ; >>> Or, if anyone has installed any type of folding or feathering prop on

[da...@comcast.net]

[paul pryor]

This seems like a good time to stir the pot since Army/Navy game this weekend ... GO ARMY!

---

From: da...@comcast.net
To: Benetea...@googlegroups.com; Benetea...@googlegroups.com
CC: ak...@earthlink.net

Subject: {Beneteau Owners} Re: Maxprop for B323

Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:00:37 +0000

[Bob]

GO NAVY!

Autoprop, cause the original fell off this season and after I convinced my 1st mate we should have it I have to stick with Autoprop!

                 Bob 
         S/V Our Dream
'97 Beneteau Oceanis 351 #195
   Slip C-17, Castle Harbor Marina
     Chester River  Kent Island
           Chester, MD
             _/)__/)__/)_

[Denny Wertheimer]

lets invade lichenstein, few casualtiees and good food nearby.

--
Denny Wertheimer


314-330-5001

[Larry & Maribeth]

What the hey, why not France?  Also great food, no casualties and you can visit the mother shipyard!

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

[Bill Jarvis]

Denny,

 

That’s already been done, and they made a movie of it.

 

Do you remember the movie “The Mouse that Roared”?

 

Bill

[Michael Roper]

Denny

There are standards that you could teach THE mILITARY

 

---

[Leonard]