The Awkwardness of Prop Walk, Illustrated [and Propeller Choices]

[AdventurousAnton]

Anton,
I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. Our boat is a 1984 E30+, our propeller is a Brunton Varifold two blade geared folding prop installed by a previous owner in 2001. It's a 13 x 9 RH prop, with prop walk to port. I spoke with a propeller shop which recommended a 15 x 9, but there is not enough clearance under the hull/rudder for that size.
The prop walk can be strong and a bit annoying, but I've mostly learned to work with it and use it to my advantage.
When backing up I initially give it quite a bit of throttle, but then put it in neutral and turn the rudder in the direction I want to go, then put it in reverse again with less throttle until it "grabs" and I can feel the boat move where I want it to go in reverse. It took a while for me to figure out how much throttle, when to shift to neutral, etc.
I hope this helps, but let me know if I haven't answered your question.
Frank

This is exactly the info I was looking for…and more! Thanks, Frank! She’s (SV Andiamo!) quite different from my other Ericsons, and worlds different from my Catalina 42 (3-blade folding, RH).

 

[bgary]

What I've found (and others undoubtedly know) is that the prop is like the rudder, in that... if there's flow across the blades, it works as expected. Without flow, it takes on decidedly different behavior.

On my boat, what that means is that the prop is a two-edged tool. If I want to slow down or do down-speed maneuvers, it's important to keep RPMs low and keep the prop working as it should. If I hammer the throttle, it's no longer a prop, its a tiny little paddlewheel that shoves the stern sideways. Useful to have both tools in the toolbox...