Whitby 42 Brewer Sail Boats

We are considering going from our original issue fixed prop to a four bladed Variprop. Does anyone know why we should or should not do this? Thanks, Hannah on Rita T

Because of the closeness of the prop to the keel, using a prop with an even (e.g. 2, 4) number of blades may cause undesireable vibration when the opposite blades are both hidden behind the keel....... that's why all these boats have 3-bladed (odd number of blades) props.

John
MENEHUNE
3-bladed Maxi prop - no vibration

John

What are the dimensions of your max-prop? Did you make any alterations to the prop aperture when you installed it.
The Max-prop is a definite on my wish list, but due to the price I'm considering buying the hub this year and a blade every Christmas until I have the full unit.

Regards

Gerry

Gerry, Hannah, and other listeners:

Hmmmm these are numbers that I should have on the tip of my tongue.....I could go measure, but the boat is buried in snow. I think the Max prop is 11 x 18. Did not have to make any adjustment to the aperture, but did have to shorten the shaft by about 2.5 inches. Also, I've had to have it rebuilt approx ev 6 yrs because of mechanical wear in the gearing. (Greg did hull 313, and did not have to alter the aperture)

John
MENEHUNE (#195)

I have never heard of anyone going to a four bladed prop on a Whitby. I believe readily on what John Cece cited in his response on this thread! And Gerry, any attempt to increase the apperture should be well studied before beginning. I have a shop drawing of the factory installed rudder internal components showing the metal contained therein available by email! Just include your hull # Douglas

Thanks Doug

I would not have altered the aperture without adult supervision. This is the e-mail I got form the max-prop people;

"The space available for a propeller on the Whitby 42 is not always the same. With some boats we can only fit an 18" propeller and others we can fit a 20". For the boat and the engine the best propeller would be a 20" but if it will not fit it does not matter much.

If you are able to fit a 20" propeller I would use a 2:1 reduction. If you are limited to an 18" propeller I would use a 1.7:1 ratio."

My hull is is #98 and my email is whitby42 "at" gmail.com. I would appreciate a copy of the shop drawings.

Thanks again for your continued support.

Gerry