Formular-Nr.:71 Rev.-Nr.:07 03/18
-4-
OPERATION
The VARIPROP feathers automatically when the shaft rotation is stopped. After engine start-up and shifting
into gear the blades will engage in either forward or reverse.
THE BEST WAY TO FEATHER THE PROPELLER IN THE SAILPOSITION IS:
VARIPROP
sailposition with mechanical gear-box:
Power at 3 to 4 knots in forward.
Stop the engine, turn it off
and engage the transmission in reverse to stop the freewheeling of the shaft.
Now engage in Neutral again.
VARIPROP
sailposition with hydraulic transmission:
Power at 3 to 4 knots in forward.
Stop the engine while still engaged in forward. The remaining oil pressure of the transmission will stop
spinning the shaft to feather the blades in the sailposition.
If the propeller is not feathered in the sailposition the shaft will freewheel like with a fixed propeller.
In that case start the engine again and repeat the steps above.
Once the prop is feathered, it is better to shift the transmission to neutral.
DO NOT
stop
the engine while it turns in reverse. In this case the blades will stay in the reverse position and
will not feather. You can actually use this feature to drive a shaft generator.
Please note that 98% of our delivered VARIPROP propellers for hydrolic gear boxes feather into
sailing position without a shaft lock as you turn off the engine with forward gear still clutched in.
This procedure generates higher oil pressure and prevents shaft rotation. This small-scale friction is
usually enough to feather the propeller instantly into sailing position. If this procedure does not
work, you most likely need to fit a shaft lock. For large yachts, equipped with a propeller from our
VARIPROP XLS range, we highly recommend to fit a shaft lock to ensure the propeller feathers and
stays in sailing position.
TROUBLE SHOOTING:
If the propeller does not work in forward or reverse go systematically through the
points below:
Check low idle of the engine. It should be 800 to 900 rpm in idle.
Check shifting movement of the transmission lever. Make sure that the shifting travel is
not too short. The amount of lever travel, as measured at the pivot point of the actuating
lever, between the neutral position and end positions for forward and reverse can be found
in the owners manual of your transmission. A larger amount of lever travel is in no
way detrimental.
Check the clutch discs of the transmission. They could be worn out.
WARNING:
It is important to follow the instructions below carefully so as to avoid excessive load and shock
to the gears, shortening their life.
When going from ahead to astern or the opposite, it is necessary to idle down and shift at low
rpm’s (max.1200rpm) between gears to allow smooth reversing of rotation without binding. This
will substantially lengthen the service life of your propeller gears.
When going from ahead to astern or the opposite, you can hear the turning-noise of the feathering blades.
This is normal and not a problem or a defect of your VARIPROP.
The propeller body must always be completely filled with a high viscosity grease. We recommend synthetic
grease typ TW.2 GEL or mineral multi-purpose grease EP/SAL 8 (see servicing page 9 )
The propeller must be protected from electrolytic corrosion by fitting the usual zinc anodes on the shaft
plus the prop anode. We recommend the replacement of the anode once a year.
If you want to protect your VARIPROP with Antifouling, use only Antifouling which needs a
primer first. Otherwise chemical interaction and decomposition could occur. Our recommendation is
Velox
TF plus
including a primer ( offers also protection against electrolyses ), available from your VARIPROP
distributor.
