A) Fit the hub (1) to the propeller shaft (2). Be sure that the key (3) is the proper dimension and that the hub slides completely onto the shaft. If you are not sure, remove the key and slide the hub onto the shaft making a mark on the shaft where the hub stops on the shaft. Re-insert the key and slide the hub on to the shaft, if it slides up to your mark , it is fine. If not, you will need to file down the sides or top of the key until the hub slides completely onto the shaft.

B) Tighten the nut (A) onto the shaft. Align the groves in the base of the nut with the groves in the central hub, so as to obtain two complete holes allowing insertion of the pins (B). Insert the pins, then rotate the pins are as shown in the drawing below, so as not to interfere with the inserting of the central cone gear. One thread can be exposed aft of the nut, if more than that is showing it will be necessary to cut off the excess with a hack saw. If too many threads are exposed it will raise the central cone gear (6) and effect the performance of the propeller.

C) Insert the central cone gear (6) into the central hub (1) as shown in figure 3VP. The cone gear has a block between two teeth, this is the "X" mark. It will fit into the central hub at only one place, where there is a gap in the gear teeth.

D) Fill the two halves of the spinner (7) with grease. We recommend Lubraplate model 130AA grease. Close the two halves around the hub and tighten down the screws.

NOTE: DO NOT USE TEFLON GREASE it will wash out very quickly.

E) Locate the mark on the top inside of the spinner (a small drill hole). This is the "Y" mark in the drawing below. Rotate the spinner until the "Y" mark on the spinner coincides with the correct letter on the top of the cone gear. "R" is for a right hand rotation shaft and "L" is for a left hand rotation shaft. (Shaft rotation is determined from the stern of the boat looking forward).

NOTE: It is helpful to make a mark between the spinner and the exposed part of the central hub, or tape them so that any rotation can be noted and corrected. If the spinner is rotated before the blades are attached it will alter the blade angle.

F) Insert the three blades onto the three pins of the spacer (10). Fill the end cap (11) with grease and put the blades into the three seats of the end cap.

NOTE: Make sure that the numbers on the blades correspond to the numbers on the spacer and the numbers on the end cap 1 to 1, 2 to 2, and 3 to 3.

G) Move the blades to the feathered position, making sure that the rounded trailing edges of the blades are aft as shown in figure 3 of the instruction manual. Slide the end cap and feathered blades onto the spinner, make sure that the numbers on the blades and spinners match. Next tighten down the end cap with the screws.

NOTE: Check to see that the spinner did not rotate. If it did pull the blades back 1/4" and then realign the mark between the spinner and hub. Make sure that when the blades go on to the spinner that they are fully feathered.

H) To make the blades rotate more freely it is advisable, after tightening all the screws, to give some bedding blows on the spinner and blades with a plastic or wooden mallet.

I) To make sure that the screws will not loosen insert a cotter pin into the head of each screw. Put them in so that if the screw were to loosen it would hit the cotter pin as shown in figure 5 of the instruction manual. Cut the cotter pins to a length of 1/4" and put them in. A light tap with a hammer on the head of the pin will spread the ends open, it not use a screw driver to spread them apart.

J) Make sure that the propeller is protected from electrolytic corrosion by using "mil spec" zinc anodes on the propeller shaft. If the propeller has been assembled properly:

• The blades must rotate freely and stop at the blade angle you selected.
• In the feathered position the blades must line up perfectly as in figure 6.
• The propeller must never rotate as shown in figure 7.

Pitch adjustment is very simple on the V.P. model, and can be done with the boat in or out of the water in a matter of seconds. Refer to the figure below.

Once you have determined the pitch and rotation to set the propeller at, pull back on the adjustment ring and rotate it to the correct degree of blade angle for that rotation. Once the correct setting aligns with the degree reference mark push it back into place. The pitch is now set. As an example the setting for the propeller in the drawing below is 22o for a right hand rotation propeller or 18o for a left hand rotation propeller.

3) TROUBLE SHOOTING If the propeller feels stiff or has a hard spot in the rotation systematically go through the points below.

A) If the propeller does not rotate freely, remove some of the grease from the spinner and reassemble.

B) Sometimes it can happen that a small piece of metal or a burr enters the gears, or a piece of the propeller has been dinged; in this case the blade movement can become hard. It is necessary then to do as follows, referring to figure 8.

1) Open the propeller and assemble it again after having taken the central cone gear (6) out, so that the blade and the hub rotation are independent. If the hub rotation is hard, remove 0.01 mm from surfaces "A" with an emery cloth. On the contrary if the blades rotation is hard, remove 0.01 mm from surfaces "B" of the spacer using emery cloth wrapped around a flat file. Try until both hub and blades rotate freely.

2) Again mount the central cone gear (6) and reassemble the propeller. If the propeller rotation still has some hard points remove 0.1 mm with a flat file from surface (C) so that central cone gear sits lower and the clearance between conical gears increases.

4) PROPELLER USE The Max Prop works automatically. By putting the engine in gear the blades will engage in either forward or reverse. The best way to feather the propeller is;

• Power at 2 to 3 knots in forward.
• Kill the engine while still engaged in forward.
• When the engine has stopped, if the shaft is still spinning engage the transmission in reverse to stop the freewheeling.

You can check to see if the propeller is feathered or not by taking the engine out of gear. If the propeller is not feathered the shaft will freewheel like with a fixed blade propeller.

In that case start the engine again and repeat the three steps. If your propeller has been greased properly it will feather in a fraction of a second as soon as you stop the shaft from freewheeling. Once the prop is feathered, you can either leave the transmission in gear or out of gear, it does not matter. DO NOT kill the engine while in reverse. In this case the blades will be in the reverse position and will not feather. You can actually use this feature to drive a shaft alternator.

5) PROPELLER MAINTENANCE The Max Prop needs to be regreased a minimum of once every two years. We recommend Lubraplate "130 AA" Grease, it is inexpensive and performs better than many other greases.

There are two holes in the spinner of the propeller to grease. Remove the set screw from the forward hole with a #3 metric Allen wrench and screw in the zerc tower, attach your grease gun and fill the propeller with grease until the grease starts to come out between the hub (#1) and the spinners. Replace the set screw and remove the set screw from the more aft hole. Reinstall the zerc tower and attach your grease gun and fill the propeller with grease until the grease starts to come out between the blades and the spinners. Remove the zerc tower and reinsert the set screw into the propeller. Do not leave the zerc tower in the propeller.

• With each pump of the grease gun rotate the propeller from forward to reverse to allow the grease to work through the propeller.
• The numbers above are from Figure 3 at the beginning of this Max-Prop Manual.
• Make sure that you always keep the zinc anodes in good condition. They must be replaced at least once a year or as needed. The propeller must be protected by a lot of zinc. When replacing it make sure that you clean the contact point between the zinc and propeller shaft. Use a wire brush or fine sandpaper to clean the shaft and the inside diameter of the zinc to give the zinc good contact with the propeller.

6) PROPELLER REMOVAL In order to remove the propeller you must first remove the spinner and nut. Be sure only to pull from outside the hub (figure 9). If the surfaces on the hub are hit or dinged it can effect the performance of the propeller.

7) WARNING It is important to follow the instruction below carefully so as to avoid a shock to the gears on the blades and cone gear, that could be damaging to the teeth.

1) When going from forward to reverse and the opposite, it is necessary to idle down and shift at low RPM's between gears.

2) The propeller body must always be completely filled with a very fluid grease. This is so when you reverse direction the rotation will be smooth with no binding. Binding points will produce a shock and could damage the gears.