Received 6 th Jan 2023 - Kiwiprops on catamaran with 2 x D1-30's on 130 S - K3 16.50" x 21º units

Good morning from Puerto Rico after a 500 mile sail from Granada. We had a fast but rough sail with winds from 14–20 knots most of the time, mainsail was on the second reef the whole trip and the headsail maybe halfway due to going too fast for the conditions, boat speed was 6–10 knots, best thing I know for sure is there was no vibration at all.

Kind of hard to compare the speed with the old props without the same conditions but if I really notice something I will let you know.

Susan

Received 6 th Dec 2022 - Kiwiprop # 6212 Universal 35 hp @ 3,000 on 1.79:1 - 1.88:1 - Modified blades

Hi John, after all of your help I thought I had better send you an email and let you know what the final outcome was.

The cutting down of the blades to 15.5” went very well. I designed a template in CorelDraw, printed it and marked out the three blades. It is surprisingly tough material to work with, which of course is a good thing. I started with a jigsaw to remove the excess, but the blade was blunt by the time had finished the first blade. I then resorted to the hacksaw that you recommended and used a belt sander to smooth out the profile.

I set the pitch to 22 degrees. But it turned out to be to much so I took half a turn (1.5 degrees) of each of the screws. And I think that is about perfect as it seems to replicated the original prop in terms of Rpm and SOG. The shorter blades are noticeably less aggressive in reverse and that has solved the issue I had of getting the gearbox out of reverse.

Which gets us to good part, I am delighted with the performance gains under sail. I did the bottom job at the same time and that always makes a noticeable difference, but taking that into account, I estimate that I am consistently getting an extra 0.5 - 0.75 of knot. Which on a 36’ yacht is considerable.

It certainly turned out to be challenging project but in the final wash up well worth the effort. Thanks again for all of your help John.

Received October 27th 2022 - Beneteau Oceanis 43 with Yanmar 4JH5 rateed 54 hp @ 3,000 on 2.36:1 = 18.50" x 25º

Hey John,

I installed a kiwi prop 2 months ago on my Beneteau Oceanis 43.

Just wanted to let you know that I am very happy with its performance. Coming from a fixed prop it has made a huge difference to our sailing ability. We can sail about kt faster and in about 3 knots lighter wind that we could previously. Might not sound like much, but it is a game changer.

I think it has more prop walk but that’s the least of my worries. It also performs well under motor at low revs which I am happy with.

I do however get a vibration when surfing waves at >9 kt. I am not sure though if this is coming from the rudder or prop. But it is nothing compared to the vibration that used to come off the fixed prop.

I’m sure we will speak again. Many thanks, J

But in the meantime, we moved on and sold our monohull, house etc. and left the country. We’re now settling in to Mexico. I already found a boat, that I probably buy. It’s a 40ft Admiral sailing catamaran. It has two double bladed props, but they’re non folding. The engines are 2 x Yanmar 29hp 3YM30 diesel engines coupled to saildrives. The boat is 8200kg (empty).

Please let me know if you need any further information. What props do you recommend? How much would they be? As you said, you deliver them around the world, it wouldn’t be a problem to send them to Mexico. All the best

Received 29 Jan 2022 - Davidson with Volvo 2030 @ 3,600 on 120 S with K3 16.50" x 22º

Hi,

Received on 22 Nov 2019 – A Farr 1020 Owner from Australia

Hi,

I have just finished servicing my 3 blade kiwiprop on my annual pull out. I bought it 12 years ago to replace a 2 blade volvo feathering prop on my Farr 1020.
I continue to be impressed. I repowered my boat a little time ago from the original Volvo 2002 to a D1-30, and transferred the prop. The ability to fine tune the pitch meant I could get the maximum out of the new engine.
After 12 years of use the prop shows very little wear. This year the rollers for realigning the blades in reverse all had stiffened. So there was a little chaffing on the blades. I had used a different antifoul last year. Perhaps this was the cause? Anyway, I freed them up, cleaned and greased according to the manual, and am about to return it to the water for another year of service.

Thanks for your excellent, innovative product. I show everyone I can how it works. It deserves far more recognition than it gets.
I’ll write another testimonial in 12 years if I’m still alive, because I’m sure the prop will be.

Cheers, Chris You may use this testimonial as you see fit.

Received on 18 November 2019 from a Nova 28 owner in Auckland

Hi John,