Your intuition is wrong. You never loosen the grip, you just change
to a different kind of grip. Ever notice how hot brakes get? That's
because they are turning all that energy into heat. When you let the
prop go, it is still restrained by the friction of the bearings and
oil in the transmission. They get warmer because they are turning the
energy being produced into heat. That gets reflected in drag on the
boat.

When the prop is locked, the shaft break, clutch, or whatever is
holding it doesn't get hotter. What gets hotter is the water flowing
past the blades. That energy production gets reflected in drag on the
boat as well but there is less of it at normal sailing speeds and
freewheeling shaft rpm.

--

Roger Long



"Flemming Torp" fletopkanelbolle2rp.danmark wrote in message
. ..


My intuition tells me that when you ' loosen the grip' on the
propeller shaft and let the propeller turn freely, it reduces the
drag on the boat. Right or wrong?

--
Flemming Torp