Removal of Feathering Max Prop for Reconditioning

This past summer both Sue and I have noticed more vibration coming from our drivetrain. On many dives to the prop for cleaning, I began wiggling both blades and felt there was more clearance in the blade than necessary.

I started to wonder when the last time this prop has been reconditioned (not when we owned the boat). I even dove on another sailboat that had a Max Prop to feel its clearance and it wasn’t quite as loose as mine.

Soon after Jubilee was brought on land, ten days ago, I began walking around the yard testing clearances of other boat’s props.  I determined that Jubilee seemed looser and needed reconditioning.

Easy removal - cotter pins and socket head screws

I found more support from Jerome of PYI, dealer of Max Prop on the west coast. He found that this prop was installed on Jubilee in Rochester, NY in 1988.  That is 26 years of questionable use; except for the trip to the Bahamas and all the motoring we did in the ICW.  Jerome also added that the split pin through the locking nut was done in the late 80s and since the middle 90s, a double pin is used to retain the gear mechanism.

I also found that this prop was installed improperly in 1988.  This is an 18” prop with 16 degrees of pitch, running in forward, turning counterclockwise, was set for reverse.  However this didn’t matter since the pitch is the same in forward or reverse.  This prop was usually good for 7.5 knots in flat water, at 2500 rpm, and we usually sail much more than we motor.

I'll be sending everything to PYI next week in hopes that their rebuild will give us a smoother ride in the spring.


I had to use a wheel puller to break the taper on the shaft