Glenn Ashmore wrote:

I had not thought of the J-prop but I will look at them. The 3 bladed Gori
and MaxProp are near the top of my list.

Glenn,

I looked into all of the above, plus J Prop and the Kiwi
plastic ones. I ended up with a _used_ 17" Autostream
bought from a private seller in Oz, but was leaning to the
Kiwi prop for weight (catamaran) and cost reasons previously.

Kiwi:

- cheaper than the rest
- corresponded with one early adopter who had only good
words to say
- blades maybe a bit more vulnerable if you hit debris, but
maybe this saves a shaft or coupling?
- chunky hub

Maxprop
- good track record
- expensive for the VP version


Autostream
- continuous improvement from their earliest models
- Duplex s.s. construction with low corrosion
- simple and very nice engineering. I like this
- seals are simple O-rings at blade hubs with delrin bushings
- independent reverse/fwd. pitch, easily adjustable with a
wrench and allen key underwater
- I don't think their blade area is anything different from
Maxprop

J-Prop
- asked for price from Quebec distributor (out of sight) so
didn't think about it further

All Feathering props:
- must exchange blades to change pitch; usually time limit
on this
- can't change pitch if boat more loaded/fouled bottom
- lower efficicency in head seas/wind
- best choice for racing oriented boats but not cruising
boats IMO

Autoprop
- bloody costly and fairly heavy

Varifold
- no opinion

Evan Gatehouse