What gear is best to leave selected when under sail. Forward Neutral or Reverse?.

Volvo recommends neutral. Lowest drag, but maximum wear on bearings.

All the racing yachts I've sailed with folding/ feathering props put them in reverse.

What sort of prop ? & gear box ?

Hi, if it is a fixed prop then freewheeling is the go, minimum drag versus the increased drag of a locked prop but if a folding or feathering then follow the advice provided by the manufacturer.

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woko said..
What sort of prop ? & gear box ?

Brunton H6 autoprop and (kanzaki?) tuff torq km35a2 gearbox

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cammd said..

woko said..
What sort of prop ? & gear box ?

Brunton H6 autoprop and (kanzaki?) tuff torq km35a2 gearbox

Nice I've been looking at the Brunton props. Like jethrow said reverse is the norm to get the prop to feather

It's confusing, Bruntons recommend engaging the gears to assist it to feather, Yanmar recommend the opposite saying you can damage your gearbox by sailing with it in gear. I have done a bit of both, probably 0.5 to 1knot faster with it feathered and not spinning. That's desirable, but not at the expense of the gearbox. Maybe some sort of shaft lock or brake is the go.

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cammd said..
It's confusing, Bruntons recommend engaging the gears to assist it to feather, Yanmar recommend the opposite saying you can damage your gearbox by sailing with it in gear. I have done a bit of both, probably 0.5 to 1knot faster with it feathered and not spinning. That's desirable, but not at the expense of the gearbox. Maybe some sort of shaft lock or brake is the go.

With the prop feathered there should be no load on the gearbox. Does the Yanmar recommendation refer specifically to feathering props.?

There is still some load because it's difficult.to put back into neutral, basically have to slow the boat right down to do it.

If the prop isn't free wheeling while it's feathered then it can't possibly be doing any harm to the gear box, a shaft brake will work if you are concerned but it's added complication and a possible cause for catastrophic events

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cammd said..
There is still some load because it's difficult.to put back into neutral, basically have to slow the boat right down to do it.

Yeah, using reverse to feather my prop sometimes jams the shift lever. I too slow the boat right down if have the urge to use reverse to feather it. But mostly I just grab the prop shaft with my hand.
If the lever jams don't force it, forcing it is what causes damage that the manufactures warn about,,, just re- start the engine to unload the helix and the lever will move back to neutral.

Thank you every one for the advice, I think I will give the previous owner a call, he sailed her around the world. I will check if he left her in gear or not for 45000 miles.

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woko said..

Nice I've been looking at the Brunton props.

Pretty happy with the Brunton, generally achieve 6 to 7 knots at 1800 -2000rpm. Prop walk is minimal, it's still there but a short burst of power gets momentum, than back to idle and it pretty much disappears. It pulls Wapiti's 12 tonnes up well when docking. The motor sailing ability is awesome ,low revs (<1500) and a light breeze and Wapiti is doing 7+ knots.

I got a fast reply from Roger (previous owner) he sailed with it in gear always, either forward or reverse.

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cammd said..
I got a fast reply from Roger (previous owner) he sailed with it in gear always, either forward or reverse.

I looked into a bruntons prop ages ago after a sistership owner fitted one and reported similar results to yours, a tadd too expensive for me at the time and the gentleman that provided pricing also added the little gem that I should fit their shaft brake as well, which of course pushed it well over the top.