"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
But decreasing drag is just one reason to shift a boat
transmission into reverse: another good one is to reduce wear on the gear
train and bearings. Agree?

Cheers,

Dick

No, disagree. I purchased a Gori folding prop this season after some
experimenting last season with the prop in neutral vs. reverse. The manual
that came with the boat recommends locking in reverse to prevent
transmission wear, shifting from reverse to neutral while under sail
resulted in a 1/2 increase in boat speed. Did this on several occasions,
just to verify. I figured a folding prop should be worth at least 1/2 knot
also.
John Cairns