C. Trembanis
Member III
Has anyhone had any experience with the Indigo Prop?? I have an E27 with Atomic 4 direct drive, and would like to change from the existing 2 blade. Campbell Sailor would be an other choice. Thanks C. Trembanis
Indigo Propeller
- Thread starter C. Trembanis
- Start date
Hi,
I put an Indigo Prop on my E-27 and absolutely loved it! It lived up to all of my hopes and its promises. Backing was very good and prop walk was not a problem. I found that forward performance was outstanding and with the A4 it was no problem to cruise at 6 knots in most any condition. When I bought mine, I was able to get it in stainless, which I did, so I don't know hands-on about the anti-fouling qualities of the special alloy he now uses. From a sailing stand point, I never felt it held me back. On many occasions I found myself sailing 6+ knots, and that would mean I was hitting hull speed with it. On one occasion (it was blowing constant high teens low 20's,) I saw 7+ under sail, so I would not be worried about drag problems for it being 3 bladed.
For the record, I don't have any affiliation with anything to do with anyone in the propeller business.
-David
Independence 31
Emerald
I put an Indigo Prop on my E-27 and absolutely loved it! It lived up to all of my hopes and its promises. Backing was very good and prop walk was not a problem. I found that forward performance was outstanding and with the A4 it was no problem to cruise at 6 knots in most any condition. When I bought mine, I was able to get it in stainless, which I did, so I don't know hands-on about the anti-fouling qualities of the special alloy he now uses. From a sailing stand point, I never felt it held me back. On many occasions I found myself sailing 6+ knots, and that would mean I was hitting hull speed with it. On one occasion (it was blowing constant high teens low 20's,) I saw 7+ under sail, so I would not be worried about drag problems for it being 3 bladed.
For the record, I don't have any affiliation with anything to do with anyone in the propeller business.
-David
Independence 31
Emerald
Joe Benedict
Member II
I put an Indigo prop on my E29 last season - went through the same hunt you're going through. The engine runs cooler, quieter, and gets up to speed quicker. I really wasn't concerned about speed but bought it for manuverability, docking - basically no reverse with the stock prop. The prop performs well and I can think of a lot of things to do with the money I saved.
Kiwi Prop
We put a three blade feathering Kiwi Prop on our E-39 a couple years ago and have been very pleased. At about half the price of other feathering props, it is a fantastic value. Underwater adjustment of pitch is a piece of cake -- though this is something you would usually only have to fine-tune once. Beyond greatly reducung drag while sailing, a feathering prop will give the best performance possible of any design in reverse.
We put a three blade feathering Kiwi Prop on our E-39 a couple years ago and have been very pleased. At about half the price of other feathering props, it is a fantastic value. Underwater adjustment of pitch is a piece of cake -- though this is something you would usually only have to fine-tune once. Beyond greatly reducung drag while sailing, a feathering prop will give the best performance possible of any design in reverse.
ted_reshetiloff
Contributing Partner
Gotta agree on the price here. Anyone else know about the Kiwi Prop? 3 blade maxprop is twice the price of the kiwi. Why? 2 blade maxprop 16" from pyacht.com $1400, 3 blade kiwi $1200? I of the no free lunch crowd myself...
Kiwi Prop price
The Kiwi Prop uses a composite material for the blades rather than machined metal. This probably gives them a cost savings in both labor and materials. Theoretically it would be easier to ding one of the blades, but so far it does not seem to be an issue in the real world. To put the customer at ease, they include one extra free blade.
I think the Kiwi Prop also has a cost advantage in their design of eliminating the gearing between the blades. All three blades independently feather into the water. It seems to me that this is both simpler to manufacture, as well as resulting in lower drag (since almost no boat has the propshaft mounted in line with the water flow). It also totally eliminates auto rotation without having to engage the gearbox. In fact, this last point is one of the reasons we wanted the prop. Our hydraulic transmission has no ability to control the propshaft when the engine is not running. The sound of the original fixed three blade prop spinning around while sailing was something we were not willing to put up with.
The Kiwi Prop uses a composite material for the blades rather than machined metal. This probably gives them a cost savings in both labor and materials. Theoretically it would be easier to ding one of the blades, but so far it does not seem to be an issue in the real world. To put the customer at ease, they include one extra free blade.
I think the Kiwi Prop also has a cost advantage in their design of eliminating the gearing between the blades. All three blades independently feather into the water. It seems to me that this is both simpler to manufacture, as well as resulting in lower drag (since almost no boat has the propshaft mounted in line with the water flow). It also totally eliminates auto rotation without having to engage the gearbox. In fact, this last point is one of the reasons we wanted the prop. Our hydraulic transmission has no ability to control the propshaft when the engine is not running. The sound of the original fixed three blade prop spinning around while sailing was something we were not willing to put up with.
NateHanson
Sustaining Member
Also that big lump in the leading edge of the blade can't be good under power. My first impression of this prop is that it would have low drag sailing, but low power powering. Anyone have better information or experience on this?
Flat Blade
Yes, that picture is accurate. Here is their take on the flat blade issue -- taken from their website (jeez, I'm beginning to sound like a shill for KiwiProp):
"The tradeoff for any flat blade design (required for the feathering function) as boat speed increases is a fall in relative efficiency. By starting from a much higher base however, our experience on a number of different installations of top speed in calm conditions, is equal or better depending upon the quality of the original installation. Hull displacement speed constraints will generally determine top end motoring capabilities in calm conditions.
The unit really comes into it’s own however when motoring into adverse conditions. With the very significant extra thrust available from the three blades, which perversely increases as boat speed falls, boat speed is maintained at higher levels than competing units.
We feel this technology now allows yacht owners to afford the best of both worlds. The all round motoring capability, light weight and minimum maintenance of a three bladed fixed propeller coupled with minimum drag for optimal sailing performance. Many of our users are reporting significant increases in sailing and motoring performance, particularly when punching into a head sea, coupled with very much smoother running and an excellent reverse capability. "
Yes, that picture is accurate. Here is their take on the flat blade issue -- taken from their website (jeez, I'm beginning to sound like a shill for KiwiProp):
"The tradeoff for any flat blade design (required for the feathering function) as boat speed increases is a fall in relative efficiency. By starting from a much higher base however, our experience on a number of different installations of top speed in calm conditions, is equal or better depending upon the quality of the original installation. Hull displacement speed constraints will generally determine top end motoring capabilities in calm conditions.
The unit really comes into it’s own however when motoring into adverse conditions. With the very significant extra thrust available from the three blades, which perversely increases as boat speed falls, boat speed is maintained at higher levels than competing units.
We feel this technology now allows yacht owners to afford the best of both worlds. The all round motoring capability, light weight and minimum maintenance of a three bladed fixed propeller coupled with minimum drag for optimal sailing performance. Many of our users are reporting significant increases in sailing and motoring performance, particularly when punching into a head sea, coupled with very much smoother running and an excellent reverse capability. "