Feathering propellers

[khbritten]

I just spotted this thread, and thought I'd throw in my 2 cents worth. Our 45-footer has a Maxprop and it's great. Especially in reverse. The adjustable pitch feature is also nice. Only grumble about it is that it eats zincs. At least 2 per year. A shop guy I talked to about it said they all do. But they are a bit of an expensive habit...

Ken

[HerbDB]

I use a maxprop on my 36CC. It works well. I agree with you about the zincs, but don't think two a year is excessive. They are small because they have to fit on the prop hub. If you have room for a shaft zinc, that would extend the life of the prop zinc.

[Gene T]

These folks make an adapter for the MaxProp so you can use a larger zinc.
http://www.smtinc.net/

[khbritten]

Ours has two meaty shaft zincs, no help. A guy in Anacortes also invited me to compare the weights of "old" Maxprop zincs and newer ones. He claimed they were alloying down the zinc. They sure were lighter. We'll see how this one lasts.

[Fstbttms]

Originally Posted by khbritten

Only grumble about it is that it eats zincs. At least 2 per year. A shop guy I talked to about it said they all do. But they are a bit of an expensive habit...

It is not the prop that is "eating" the zincs. The zincs for Max Prop are just not a particularly robust piece of metal and in fact, are thinnest where they should be thickest. That's around the screw holes. I replace these zincs all the time, frequently just because the screws are exposed even though the rest of the zinc is in pretty good shape. If you are getting 6 months out a Max Prop zinc, you are doing fine.

[Fstbttms]

Originally Posted by khbritten

A guy in Anacortes also invited me to compare the weights of "old" Maxprop zincs and newer ones. He claimed they were alloying down the zinc. They sure were lighter. We'll see how this one lasts.

I don't know about changes in the actual metal, but Max Prop has changed the design of these zincs many times over the last 10 years and one of those changes was to simply use less metal. Other changes have been made primarily to make it harder for other zinc manufacturers to copy the zinc, IMHO. Depending on the age of your prop, there are at least 3 different anode shapes with 2 different screw hole patterns and 2 different screw sizes available.

[christyleigh]

A trick I've seen in a couple sail mags which I have used on my AutoProps is to paint around the screw holes (not the mating surface) to try and slow down the consumption at the weakest point. I can't give any perfect A-B test results because in my marina as in most, neighbors with a possible 'hot' boat come and go...but it can't hurt. By the way 4 years on my previous boat with an new AutoProp and 1 year on my current (5 year old AutoProp) one with no problems.