36i propellor

[Andrew Watt]

I have read with interest the posts on the 36i over the last 10 months. I am enjoying the Jeanneau immensely and I have had only a few minor issues, the main one being an irritating leak, not serious, which only occurs after a good bash to windward. I have looked at the portlights below the gunwhales but this does not seem to be the problem.
My major concern sailing in the Gulf of Thailand is the amount of rubbish and bits of rope floating around. I picked up a large piece of mooring line while sailing last weekend and when I started the motor, of course it wrapped around the propshaft. It did not disable us and we were able to enter the marina slowly. However, after engaging reverse gear the problem became much worse and as it turns out, the cutlass bearing completely left the P piece.
I have decided to haul out the boat for repairs and replace the prop with a 3 blade folding prop, but I need some information that I am finding difficult to source.

1, I need the pitch and diameter of the current fixed 3 blade bronze prop
2. The reduction ratio of gearbox (2.21, 2.62 or 3.22)
3. The specs on the cutlass bearing

Any assistance will be appreciated

Andrew Watt - Sansanook J36i

[MartyB]

THe dealer should be able to find a cutless bearing easy enough. It should be a common size.

The gear ratio, should be listed on the tranny itself. Did you get a "Yanmar" guide with your boat? I am assuming you have a yanmar, as that is the most common motor used. Then give this spec to the prop folks, motor you have, specs on the boat, and they should be able to spec the appropriate prop for you. The spec should be on the upper back side, or actual side of the tranny box.

You may also want to look into the "Kelp Cutters" that fit on a shaft just before the prop. I have not used one myself, but rumours are, they do work. This might help with some of the twine, rope issues getting stuck on the shaft and prop too.

Marty

[Andrew Watt]

Thanks Marty, thanks for your advice.
My dealer unfortunately closed up his local office and moved to Phuket (on the Andaman Sea) and since this is not likley a warranty issue I will have to arrange locally. I do have the Yanmar book, but it gives 3 choices for reduction gear. I had a good look yesterday but could not find the plate on the gearbox - I'll go and have another look!!

[Don Reaves]

I had the same experience with my Yanmar transmission. There were three choices for gear ratio, but they were quite different. So with the boat out of the water, I turned the engine one revolution by hand, and my helper measured how much the prop turned. I repeated this measurement with the transmission in reverse, because the ratios were different in forward reverse. From this information, it was obvious which of the three choices was correct.

Don

[Andrew Watt]

I eventually located the ratio info hidden on the back of gearbox and with the help of a small mirror and torch was able to read it. It happens to be 2.62 All the transmissions have the same reverse ratio 3.06

[MartyB]

Depending upon what is the back vs front of the gear box, it could be hidden unfortunately as you found out! I would assume you found it on the Front of the trans, ie looking towards the front of the boat, mine is back side, ie towards the transom.

The cutlass bearing once you pull the boat out, is pretty simple to get, be it from a dealer, or local parts house. It is a function of the shaft diam, and length of the strut, along with diam of the strut itself for the bearing to fit in. It should not be hard to find one, unless of course you live in the podunks of nowhere, ie antartica or some other equal out back. But if you are in a waterfront town of any size, you should be able to find one easy enough, or wait no more than 24 hrs to get on from out of town.

Marty

[SO 36i - Penelope]

Andrew,

Are you sure you want a folding prop. On my SO36i I have installed a Feathering prop. I have been manouvering with both props and the feathering prop is much better. Furthermore there is no real difference in sailing. There are many different brands and the Jeanneau Dealer recommended the new Vari Profile. I am now sailing with for two months and am very happy. It is even better than a fixed blade prop.

For the tech specs, my dealer had all the necessary information and together with the prop dealer they adusted and installed everything.

Ewald

[flipper]

Penelope,

The vari profile.... Did you opt for a 2 blade or a 3? Noticeable performance gain?

Let me know. Thanks.

[SO 36i - Penelope]

Flipper,

I have the 3 blade model. It is always difficult to assess the exact performance gain. But with light winds our 36i is a passing almost every ship. According to the Jeanneau Dealer the gain is around 0,8-1 knot. I think that is a fair estimate.

For details: www.variprofile.de

Good luck tuning your SO36i. I have sent pictures of the german mainsheet system to the administrator and they will be put in the hints & tips section

[Andrew Watt]

My main reason for opting for the folding prop over a feathering one is that the folder is less likely to pick up ropes etc whilst sailing. In my first 10 months of sailing in Gulf of Thailand, I have had fouled propshaft/propellor 4 times. I have decided to buy a Slipstream S5 3 blade folding prop - Australian made. I'll keep you informed of the performance.
Looking forward to checking out the German mainsheet system

[Trevor]

Andrew,

I don't think you will be disappointed with the slipstream prop. I have one on our 36i and I think it is fantastic. I have no problems at all in forward or reverse. When going from engine to sail we give it a little increase in boat speed, pull back to neutral, cut engine and put it in reverse to ensure the prop folds.

We have never had a problem. Fantastic engineering. ;D

Trevor

Happy sailing

[Andrew Watt]

Hi Trevor,

What is the pitch and diameter of your folding prop? The one recommended and supplied to me is 15 x 10.5, but I think this is definitely under propped as I need an extra 300 rpm to achieve the cruising speeds I had with the fixed blader (16 X 11) The supplier has suggested returning the blades to Australia to be tweaked out to give an extra 1" of pitch.

Any thoughts?

Andrew

[Trevor]

Hi Andrew,

I have since sold the yacht so I have no way of knowing.

I figure if it doesn't over-rev the motor when flat out it should be ok.

Thanks,

Trevor

[offshore]

Hi Andrew

Like Trevor we have the slipstream 3 blade folding prop on our 36i. This must have been a popular option on the east coast of Oz. The specs off the invoice are as follows 16.5 x 11 Rh 3B INB.
This prop gives us very good forward (a bit faster than the original fixed prop) however we need a lot of revs to stop the boat and get any reverse. Looks like this is a bit different to what they supplied you.

Regards

Barry

[davideso37]

Andrew,
Be sure to post on how you get on with the Cutlass Bearing. My shipwright could not locate one here in Sydney and had a maratec bearing custom made. This is a fibre composit hard bearing unlike the rubber one fitted originally. The rubber one had excessive wear after two years possibly because in comparison to other yachts the p bracket is modest compared to the size of the prop.

On the subject of propellors what are you using for antifouling on the prop.

Regards

David

[Andrew Watt]

David
I eventually managed to get cutlass bearings from Jeanneau in France. Cheap enough until freight and customs duty are added . I bought two, so hopefully be good for 2 or 3 years.

The new prop is stainless - so no antifoul.

[davideso37]

Andrew,
Thanks for the reply. My propeller is a Seahawk Feathering Stainless Steel model www.seahawk.com.au/images/Autostream_En.pdf . It fouls in Sydney Harbour. We used Propspeed for the first two years and had one good experience and one when it lasted only a few months. We put hard racing antifouling on this time and it is not lasting well. I'll be interested to see how it goes after all the antfouling wears off. Since writing the first post I visited one of the local clubs and saw that most of the boats on the slips were treated with Propspeed and the all looked like first class jobs.
Regards
David