The 'Interim Period' - Lucey Blue MaxProp Feathering Propeller Upgrade

In July 2013 we hauled out Lucey Blue for her annual antifouling at Woolwich Dockyard in Sydney. Nick always enjoys working on the boat and this year was looking better than most as he had two MaxProp feathering propellers ready to install.

We had spent a long time researching the best propeller solution for Lucey Blue. Anything had to be better than dragging fixed three-bladed Volvo Penta propellers through the water, but the cost and complexity of more efficent feathering or folding propellers - such as Gori, Flexifold, MaxProp, Austral Slipstream/Autostream or Kiwi propellers - made the decision complex.

As luck would have it we found two new 'Three Blade Classic MaxProp' propellers that suited our Volvo Penta 130s saildrives for a great price.  The design looked simple, reliable and relatively easy to install and maintain.

The new MaxProp propellers are incredibly well made, but they need to be set to the correct pitch during the installation process, which worried us a little bit. If the propeller pitch is set too high our engines would not be able to reach their maxium design revolutions and if the propeller pitch was set too shallow they could exceed this limit - both outcomes were undesirable. In the end with a bit of help from the local MaxProp representaive and Scott Grittiths from Victory Marine Services the installation was relatively painless.

We finally had propellers that would not hold Lucey Blue back when sailing and hopefully we would see another knot or so of boat speed in light to moderate wind conditions. Nick was particulary impressed with the construction of the MaxProp.

Over the next few days Nick also replaced the lower oilseals on the Volvo Penta 130s Saildrives, serviced our D2-55 Volvo Penta engines, coated the hulls in Interlux 66 Antifouling and cleaned the topsides of Lucey Blue - she always looks better with a new coat of Awlcare protective polymer sealer!

Volvo Penta 130S saildrive overhaul – Lower oil seals and boot covers

The next job onboard Lucey Blue was to service the Volvo Penta 130S sail drives. With the boat out of the water we took the opportunity to replace the lower oil seals, check the drive assembly and inspect the propellers. We also replaced all the saildrive “boot covers” - half of the port boot cover had “gone missing” a while back and it was unclear how long the other would last.

Dismantling the lower element of the sail drive leg was straight forward – remove the propeller, anode and unscrew two bolts.



After checking the drive mechanism for wear and tear we replaced the lower oil seals, o-rings and put everything back together – carefully ensuring the cup side of the seals were back to back to stop water ingress and/or oil leaks. The only real trick is to ensure you don’t loose the two internal washers and sleeve….


All was looking good, but we then found that the fixed three bladed propellers had a little movement on the shaft so we sent them away to be rebushed by a guy in Wollongong. I debated replacing the propellers with either folding or feathering units to improve our sailing performance, but after much discussion and number crunching we decided to stick with what we have for now.

While we opted for a “no change solution” we found some fantastic low drag propellers on the market – including a number made in Australia. The all stainless steel Austral slipstream folding and autostream feathering propellers have a good reputation, are well made and are backed by excellent customer support. But we really liked the Gori folding propellers with their unique overdrive feature, which improves fuel efficiency when motor sailing. We also had a look at Hydralign propellers made in Sydney and the composite Kiwi propellers made in New Zealand.



Replacing the "boot covers" was actually more fiddly than the rest of the saildrive overhaul. After we had removed the old “chop strand" fiberglass covers we laminated up a sheet of fiberglass using “woven matt” to a thickness of about 2-3mm. We then used an old cover as a template and cut out four new covers, which we latter stuck to the hull with sikaflex and a few small counter sunk screws. The new boot covers are much stronger than the old ones and should stay attached to Lucey Blue for years to come....


With our Vovlo Penta 130S saildrives back in one piece we bolted on the new zinc anodes, three bladed fixed propellers and filled the system up with synthetic gear oil. Another job ticked off the list, but plenty more still to come......

Volvo Penta: 12 volt charging system overhaul

Lucey Blue’s two D2-55 Volvo Penta engines are factory fitted with 115 amp alternators, but we can never generate enough power. We are not really power hungry and have a large house battery setup comprised of eight Trojan T105. However, our 12 volt fridges do chew a bit of power and on average we burn through about 100-150 amp hours per day.

The boat has sailed many thousands of sea miles from the US to the Caribbean and then Europe to Australia with the current electrical setup. But it must have been a chore running the engines each day to generate sufficient electrical power.

Part of the problem is the diode block used to isolate the house battery bank and starter batteries. The diode block does its job well, but there is a voltage drop across the input and output terminals of approximately 0.6 volts. This means that the alternators only ever deliver a maximum of 30 amps (total) even when the batteries are nearly flat.

As a short-term fix I have been using a jumper cable to bypass the diode block and feed the alternator power direct to the house battery and one of the starter batteries. This technique has ensured we get approximately 60 amps to the batteries, but the alternator’s internal regulator soon drops the current back to 20 to 30 amps and it still takes an age to fully charge the batteries.

Our ultimate solution is simple - replace the diode block with a voltage sensitive relay and install an external smart regulator on one of the alternators.

The voltage sensitive relay will link the batteries during the charge cycle without a significant voltage drop and break the link when the engines are off. The external smart regulator will ensure the alternator supplies maximum current until the battery voltage reaches its required value rather than trickle current into the system like standard automotive regulators. I will let you know what kind of improvement we see once the system is installed, but the difference should be like night and day based on past experience.

We are also going to invest in some relative large solar panels to ensure we have another source of power. But more on that later………