Any Opinions on Max Props for a 47' Sailboat ?

[Tom Stewart]

Anyone have any opinions good, bad or indifferent on a Max Prop for a 47' 45,000 lbs. Wellington Cutter?

Thanks,

Tom

[Knowazark]

We have a Maxprop on our 47 footer. It came with the boat when we bought it. Seems to work fine. Plenty of power in reverse and the prop seems to feather OK. You just need to grease the internals of the prop when you haul the boat and check the anode. No big deal ... remove a grub screw, insert a grease nipple, pump in some grease and replace the grub screw. Easy.

No complaints at all.

[Jon D]

Not sure I know what you're trying to find out.. Are Max Props good products yes... just do a search lots of conversation on the topic...

should you spend your money on one? depends if you motor/motor sail everywhere no.

if you sail they make a difference.. is it enough for you... who knows...

FWIW I own one and would never own a sailboat without one.

[Dynamo1181]

Originally Posted by Jon D

...


FWIW I own one and would never own a sailboat without one.

Ditto!
A

[gunboat]

I have a 51' 38,000lb cutter with a Maxprop. You get less prop walk in reverse and if properly set up work well. As previously stated if you sail rather than motor good idea. They are roughly 3 X the price of a reg prop though

[Jim Cate]

I too am a bit unclear about what you are really asking. If you are asking about Max Prop as a specific make of feathering prop, they have many fans as shown above. There are other manufacturers of feathering props to consider, though, if the question is about feathering props in general.

In particular, the Auto-Stream prop from Australia might be of interest. It is considerably cheaper to buy, has similar performance under power, is easier to change the pitch in the water, and is simpler to get to feather when moving from motor to sail.

There are other brands to investigate as well, and most are cheaper than the Max.

Cheers,

Jim

[R2boat]

We have Norseman 447 with a Max-prop...one came with the boat when we purchased it 12 years ago...we have since replaced it after having the initial one rebuilt...would not have another sailboat without one...PYI is great to deal with. FYI...some guys at the yard actually made up a grease gun with fittings to grease it while in the water.

[Bob on OTTER]

maxprop on OTTER; Sabre 30. works great....

[Tayzach]

Max prop on my Beneteau 473 is great. Plenty of power and improves speed under sail considerably over the massive three blade fixed prop that comes with the boat.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

We installed a Variprop because we would have had to cut either our shaft or our prop aperture to fit a Max prop. We have been very happy with the Variprop.

[btrayfors]

Installed 17" 3-blade MaxProp on my 42-footer some 22 years ago.

Never a problem. Great power in reverse.

Like others said before, I'd never own a boat without one.

Bill

[hdra]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I too am a bit unclear about what you are really asking. If you are asking about Max Prop as a specific make of feathering prop, they have many fans as shown above. There are other manufacturers of feathering props to consider, though, if the question is about feathering props in general.

In particular, the Auto-Stream prop from Australia might be of interest. It is considerably cheaper to buy, has similar performance under power, is easier to change the pitch in the water, and is simpler to get to feather when moving from motor to sail.

There are other brands to investigate as well, and most are cheaper than the Max.

Cheers,

Jim

While I've never used an auto-stream prop, I have used Max Props on a 88' and 110' schooner, and on both they worked like a dream - the only real issues I had was that the prop cone zinc tended to work loose if we hadn't installed it on the hard with loctite and a lot of muscle power - so when we had to replace them underwater after being corroded they tended to then fall off again even with fairly religious checking of the bolts. This may just be because the boats had a lot of vibration, particularly in reverse - both had full keels with prop apertures.

In regards to ease of getting them to feather, all you had to do on the two examples I used was to shut down in gear - Usually I'd just pop the engine into idle forward before turning it off, and the extra drag from the gear box would cause it to feather in a second or two, so I could then shift back to neutral. They worked great, and I had no complaints about them.

[daddle]

That Auto-Stream prop look interesting. What is the pro/con of stainless vs. bronze?

As for Max-Prop. I have one and it seems fine.

[lrclough]

In Maine, lobster pot rope is devastating to Max Props - it cost $1,600 plus three weeks to repair.

[compdoc]

this my first post. My new [to me] Norseman 447 AC w/ Maxprop walks uncontrollably to stbd in reverse at any speed with or without gear in reverse or neutral. Doesn't matter if helm is neutral or to port. So bad that I'm considering a bow thruster. Any suggestions?