Gary, I believe the list has addressed this before but I'll throw it out there again.
A freewheeling prop has less resistance than a fixed one. There are a few assumptions being make in that statement. *Fixed blade prop *No shaft driven generator/alternator. The navy does it regularly. As a throttleman onboard an aircraft carrier with 4 shafts, I can tell you, a trailing shaft always required less compensation than a fixed shaft. The only reason we ever stopped the shaft was to do maintenance/repairs on the main engine or because of a shaft seal failure. The emergency shaft seal would be ruptured if the shaft was allowed to spin. As for our boats with featuring/folding props you have to stop the shaft in order to allow the prop to feather/fold. As others have mentioned you may have to shift into reverse to feather the prop. Staying in reverse ensures that the prop doesn't "re-feather" and start spinning again. Pretty unlikely. I occasionally forget to shift into neutral when starting... Oops! Josh Muckley S/V Sea Hawk 1989 C&C 37+ Solomons, MD On Jun 8, 2016 9:48 AM, "Tom Buscaglia via CnC-List" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Aside from drag, I don't see what harm having it is neutral could do to > the mechanical systems. That said, if I recall correctly, the MarTec prop > folks suggest putting it in reverse temporarily to rotate the prop blades > into a neutral position...but that could just be something I imagined. > > Tom Buscaglia > S/V Alera > 1990 C&C 37+/40 > Vashon WA > P 206.463.9200 > > > > On Jun 8, 2016, at 9:06 AM, cnc-list-requ...@cnc-list.com wrote: > > > > Message: 6 > > Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2016 09:05:42 -0400 > > From: David Knecht <davidakne...@gmail.com> > > To: CnC CnC discussion list <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > > Subject: Re: Stus-List Transmission in forward or reverse while > > sailing? > > Message-ID: <cc3239bb-3ac8-46c7-9c72-c0a940bd3...@gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > > > Mine recommends reverse but also says the transmission will be damaged > if left in forward. Not sure why. Dave > > > >> On Jun 8, 2016, at 7:16 AM, Gary Russell via CnC-List < > cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > >> > >> > >> The answer may depend on what make of transmission you have, but my > Hurth transmission recommends reverse. If your prop is spinning in > forward, I would suggest that is not good. I would recommend reverse. > Some transmission, I'm told, have the oil pump on the input shaft, so there > is no lubrication when the engine is stopped. That's one reason you want > to make sure the prop is not free-wheeling. The other reason, of course, > is drag. > >> > >> Gary > >> S/V Kaylarah > >> '90 C&C 37+ > >> East Greenwich, RI, USA > >> > >> > >> ~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~ > > > _______________________________________________ > > This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you > like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All > Contributions are greatly appreciated! >
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