Talk me out of a Flexofold 3 blade

[slug]

Originally Posted by boom23

What primer and paint do you use? Thanks.

I've been happy with FlexoFold propellers too. I've had them on a couple of boats. I particularly liked the low maintenance.

I now VariFold, which is a similar design. Again, no problems so far.

Many products around

They all seem to work

I’ve always used Velox ..,Italian

Cheap and cheerful One year , perhaps two depending on prop rotation hours

[joefults]

I use a simple zinc coat / cold galvanizing spray paint on my FF here in the upper Chesapeake and it seems to work very well.

[bailsout]

I began with a fixed 3 blade that I thought matched the boat well. After well over 12 years it was beginning to show signs of wear. Another fixed 3 blade recommended by well reputed seller proved to be much worse in performance and durability. The original two blade fixed that I found in the bilge took its place. Not quite the performance but adequate and I center and lock it when sailing. Like it and loved the price!

[Bean Counter]

Had a cat with twin flexofolds, 3000 hrs each, 9 years, no problem at all. Easy to service and even to dismantle. Communications with the manufacturer were good when I thought I had a slipping hub (turned out to be a slipping clutch cone) Reverse not as strong as forward or maybe a fixed prop, but pure bliss when under sail with folded props.

[mjgill1]

Replaced our fixed prop with the FOF and couldn't be happier. Also used the test data you referred to. Called FOF ahead of time and discussed the boat and prop with them. Never a problem. Great Prop!

[Jim Cate]

So, OP, have we talked you out of a FOF yet?

Really, this has been an unusually consistent set of answers for CF. I think there is a message in there somewhere!

Jim

[David B]

Originally Posted by AiniA

I am replacing the 2 blade fixed prop on my Catalina 36. At this juncture I am leaning towards a Flexofold 3 blade. Boat will be for cruising and day sailing only and the FF seems to offer the best combination of performance and price. I am using the YM test for performance data and current prices I have found. The Kiwi is definitely cheaper but did not do as well in the tests. Featherstream was also a finalist.

Flexofold are a great prop. Beautifully made, no prop walk, very efficient (as you noted in the review), and very easy to work with in regard to maintenance.
We don't use any antifouling on ours and the worst we see is a little surface scaling which falls off in seconds with a spray of de-scaling acid, but our hull is Coppercoated, so that may be a factor.

For what it's worth, here is a link that shows me assembling our Flexofold - gives you a good idea of how simple they are and easy to work on. No bearings, just a bit of grease (it's the video in the 'Boat Tech' section)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLC...ZLuMu4r8ahwI1A

Hope that helps.

[AiniA]

I will be ordering a FF. I hope you guys all get a commission. We are having a semblance of spring this weekend with temperatures around 7C but more snow next week. Good to make plans though.

[Capn Dan]

A word of caution. I purchased a Flexofold and it ended up with their calculations not working for my boat. I am now somewhat over-propped. I am now faced with either purchasing another set of blades at over $1K or sending the blades out to be re-pitched.


I was not happy with the end result of my purchase or with their customer service.

[hoaga]

Flex o folds are great. we circumnavigated with them, with no complaints. FYI, they will swap blades with you in order to get the right pitch. The only caveat is that the blades must remain in as new condition, so you can't sail for too long before deciding to swap for a different size/pitch. They are very good about this. We swapped twice, all we had to do is pay the shipping to send back the blades. We are repowering now, and will go with flex o folds again. We will are getting new blades for the same hubs because the new motors can power more prop.

[bailsout]

I switched from a three blade to a two blade that I found in the bilge. Probably what was on her when she had an Atomic4. Yanmar 2gm20, now. I like the two blade although I could probably improve with one suited to the Yanmar but I sail a lot more than I motor. I like being able to center and lock the two blade for less drag and you can find replacements on ebay for under a hundred.