Sailing in forward, reverse or neutral

[knitchie]

There is an active discussion on the Catalina 30 list about whether to sail with the engine in gear or not, and which gear. General agreement is that you should not sail in neutral because of the wear on the strut, stuffing box and transmission. It sounds like whether you sail in forward or reverse depends in part on the construction of the transmission, and which gear will wear less and take the stress better. It seems that reverse is the popular choice, but with the construction of the A4 tranny, is this true?
On my C30, I have a hard time keeping my tranny in reverse without holding the pedistal handle in place. Seems like the A4 tranny would slip more in reverse.
Fair winds,
Ken - Obsession
'78 C30 TRBS
Lake Champlain, VT

[MikeB.330]

I keep mine in forward but not just for tranny wear and tear. I also think it's a bit of a safety issue. If I need the engine in a hurry for what every reason I want to be able to turn on the key, push the starter button and have forward motion right away.

With an Indigo prop behind the deadwood my Vanguard had the prop drag is nill.


mike

[Kurt]

I sail with my tranny in forward. The prop/shaft spins and makes an annoying noise you can hear inside the cabin if I leave it in neutral.

[rigspelt]

Seems like the A4 tranny would slip more in reverse.

There is no detent in reverse, only forward. The 1976 C&C 27 manual says that the A4 tranny should be put in forward detent while sailing.

[Mark S]

Mike B, how does the Indigo perform in your Vanguard's aperture? Rigsy is right -- put the tranny in forward. Mark

[MikeB.330]

Mark,

I've learned to like the Indigo very much. My only real complaint is that it lacks the bite to get the boat moving from a dead stop like a larger 2 blade prop will. I installed indigo #2 this spring and it works better than the first indigo I had. I'm not sure what the did but the indigo guy (I forget his name) just said it would help get the boat moving better. From looking at the two side by side it looks like the made the airfoil (or is it hydrofoil) a little bit thicker.

My first indigo was damaged by a "well meaning" yard hand..Oops.



I cruise at 1800 -1900 rpm at around 5.5 knots.
2000 rpm nets about 6.1 knots
2200-2300 is what I get a WOT or open until opening more does not increase rpm.

At the cruise rpm of 1900 the A4 burns .72 gallons per hour. Over the past two months I have put about 150 hours on the engine so I think the .72 gal/hr. is a real number.


The Vanguard does indeed have an aperture and a ton of dead wood too. I have the prop centered front to back in the aperture wich is about as far away from the dead wood as I can go befor the rudder would hit at full lock. I don't know if it helped or not but I did fair the trailing edge of the dead wood .

[Mark S]

Mike,

Thanks for the information. This is exactly the data I have been looking for. It would seem to me from your comments that the "feel" of the boat with an Indigo would be better in just about all circumstances than with a two blade, except, as you noted, in getting underway from a standstill, a trade I would make.

How is it in reverse?

Mark

[sastanley]

Ken,
My C-30 has the gear shift on the cockpit side wall (tiller boat!!!) - I put mine in reverse and then remove the control levers when sailing. This was the procedure by the P.O. for my whole life so I don't know any different. I do not notice any prop spinning while sailing.

Is this discussion happening on the C-30 Yahoo group? I guess I better go check it out..I can't deal with all the e-mails those things generate!