Jode5 said..
Hi Dexport,
A lot folding props will auto rotate and not close if you just come back to neutral including my Flexofold 3 blade. To stop this the prop needs to be bought to the stoped position even if only momentary. Most people achieve this by selecting reverse after shutdown which is fine if you have a mechanical gearbox that uses engine compression to lock the shaft.
In my case I have a hydraulic gearbox which will not lock the shaft when the motor is not running. For me to stop my shaft auto rotating I need to have the boat going forward with a bit of pace then put the boat in reverse and shutdown while in reverse. Buy doing this the prop must come to a stand still at some point before it starts to try and auto rotate as you are still traveling in a forward direction (complicated)
You can usually tell if the prop is open as you will feel it on the rudder and generally hear and feel a rumble unless it is really light air and in that case you can use the same method as I have to use.

Ramona said..
After installation and your sailing again make an underwater video. Either use a camera on a "stick" or get in the water with a vane towed so that your abeam the prop while the boats traveling at a couple of knots. Would make an interesting Youtube video and answer a lot of questions.

Jolene said..
A little different on my side,,,3 blade autostream that feathers,
In my case, the resistance/effort needed to feather the prop is more than what it takes to rotate the shaft, so to feather the prop, the propshaft needs to be stopped or rotation needs a level of resistance for the feathering to occur.
I achieve feathering by grabbing the spinning propshaft with my hand or selecting reverse with the motor off.
Due to the design of the yanmar gearbox, the prop shaft will free spin in forward gear when the motor is off (like its in neutral),, caused by the windmilling prop driving the gearbox and NOT the engine driving the gear box. Yanmar warns against leaving the prop windmilling whilst the engine is off with forward gear selected as it causes unnecessary wear and damage to the gearbox.

Jolene said..
A little different on my side,,,3 blade autostream that feathers,
In my case, the resistance/effort needed to feather the prop is more than what it takes to rotate the shaft, so to feather the prop, the propshaft needs to be stopped or rotation needs a level of resistance for the feathering to occur.
I achieve feathering by grabbing the spinning propshaft with my hand or selecting reverse with the motor off.
Due to the design of the yanmar gearbox, the prop shaft will free spin in forward gear when the motor is off (like its in neutral),, caused by the windmilling prop driving the gearbox and NOT the engine driving the gear box. Yanmar warns against leaving the prop windmilling whilst the engine is off with forward gear selected as it causes unnecessary wear and damage to the gearbox.

Serenite said..


I've got the 3 blade autostream too but seems to feather (and stay feathered) as long as I stop it per the destructions. It's a different process to what I'd used before with other boats and of course different boats different results. I've got a pdf of the manual somewhere if you want.

Jolene said..

I don't recall Yanmar doing a 180?, as far as I know they have always stated the correct info. The problem has always been yanmar owners not understanding that selecting forward gear will not stop shaft rotation and that this type of rotation is a clutch mechanism slipping rather than a true neutral .

cisco said..




Just an unrelated side question here.

What sort of fun do you have on the VHF using " Schiehallion" as your call sign???

I like boty's call sign "Pagan". It sort of spells it out with no clarification needed.

boty said..
wife says im not allowed to have a boat name with more than six letters for that reason

cisco said..




Smart wife....but that does not allow for names like "Comanche". "Apache" is another good one. Great names for yachts.

I also like Aztec, Inca and Temujin. There was a great looking Alan Payne design yacht in Gladstone called Hobo.