Grease betw prop & shaft

[trantor12020]

Should I or shouldn't I put grease between the prop and shaft (taper) ?
My though is it'll be easier to remove (when underwater).

[celenoglu]

Do not use any grease. The shaft generally transfers the enrgy to the propellor via the frictional force between the shaft and the propellor. Generally this connection is conical to increase the friction. Although a wedge between them supports energy transfer, the main method is via friction.

[negrini]

Controversal. VOLVO 3 blade folding prop, and KIWI prop manual, both recommend greasing it. I did it in both cases, but didn't find it any difference when removing previous props in older boats, I mean, I foun d it easy. I've greasing it for years and never found any grip problem, as all props have a key on shaft. For your ref, the VOLVO was mounted on Yanmar 40HP saildrive.

[RanAweigh]

A sail drive is far different. A sail drive employs a splined shaft not a taper and should be greased with a light coating of lithium grease.

A tapered shaft should NOT have anything applied. The shape of the shaft taper and the propeller hub taper are the factors that hold the propeller fixed and allow energy transfer. If you grease the shaft you run the risk of interfering with the fit.

If the propeller is easy to remove it wasn't properly installed in the first place.

By the way if the propeller is properly installed there is no force applied to the key. The key is there to insure that the wheel and taper are correctly aligned