REALLY MUST HAVE A PROPELLER WHEN SAILING?

HAVE THE BEST WITH THE VARIFOLD

Varifold – the folding propeller for larger cruising yachts, cruiser racers and purely racing yachts of all sizes with engines from 10 to 1000hp.

Varifold folding propellers have taken the market by storm. Regularly fitted by such notable yacht building names as Baltic, Swan, Wally, Moody and Oyster, the complete range of Varifolds has a model for cruiser racing and racing yachts of every size. Varifold is revolutionary in design and brings a revolution to the yachts they are fitted to. Radical reductions in noise and vibration and excellent performance under engine, both ahead and astern, are the result of the propellers unique design. Varifolds have proper helical pitch distribution, including pitch reduction towards the blade tip. This pitch reduction ‘unloads’ the blade tips and, combined with the skewed blades, greatly reduces noisy pressure pulses against a yachts hull. While some other folding propellers have a helical pitch shape, few have proper sections or pitch distribution. None, put all these requirements into a complete package, except Varifold.

So advanced is Varifolds design that a 4 blade version has successfully been fitted to a yacht with a 750hp engine, we believe that would have been an impossible task for any other folding propeller. Each Varifold, whatever its size, is built to the same extremely high specification from a nickel-aluminium-bronze alloy which guarantees great strength and high corrosion protection. Cruiser racing and racing yachts can now get the best of both worlds; a folding propeller that combines low drag when sailing, with efficient and quiet power when motoring. Oh, and by the way – Varifolds open in reverse, and not just sometimes!

IN DRIVE MODE

3-Bladed Varifold

FEATHERED

3-Bladed Varifold

From 10hp to 1000hp there is a Varifold propeller for your yacht, whether it is a small cruiser racer that does more cruising than racing, or an out an out racer that just needs a propeller to get back into port.


Our two, three and four blade versions are designed to produce excellent thrust when motoring with exceptionally low noise and vibration levels, and when folded for sailing, to reduce drag to a minimum.

Many well-known yacht manufacturer’s now fit Varifold as standard and the list of yachts re-propped with a Varifold to solve existing problems grows longer.

DESIGN & ENGINEERING
OF THE VARIFOLD

Even to the untutored eye close examination of a Varifold says excellent design and build quality. Hardly surprising when you realise that Bruntons Propellers are far from just being a supplier of propellers to builders and owners of leisure craft. The company designs and supplies propellers of the most advanced design to navies and commercial shipbuilders around the world and our in house designers, engineers and Naval Architects who work on those projects also bring their undoubted expertise to Varifold and our other leisure propellers.

Design of course is only one part of the process; a brilliant design is nothing unless matched by the highest quality build materials and construction processes. Our state of the art CNC manufacturing plant allows us to ensure that Varifolds highly advanced design features, like the special low pitch at the blade tips, which contributes so much to the excellent low noise and vibration characteristics of the propeller, can actually be manufactured and accurately reproduced on every blade.

Varifold

DOWNLOAD
OUR BROCHURE

The Varifold brochure describes in some detail the unique benefits that you will obtain after you have fitted one to your vessel.

If, between the brochure and this website, you find yourself still with unanswered questions, please do not hesitate to contact us using any of the methods on the contact page.

four blade
titanium Varifold

Bruntons Propellers recently delivered what is thought to be the first four blade titanium folding propeller manufactured. Specifically designed for the latest Baltic Yachts launch, a Baltic 115 Custom, this 36” Varifold titanium propeller is between forty and 50 kilos lighter than a standard Varifold, but loses nothing in terms of its performance, strength and durability.

VARIFOLD

DISCOVER
OUR MODELS

VF70

VF 70 2 blade
VF 70SD 2 blade for saildrives

2 blade 12” to 17”
305mm to 432mm

VF108

VF108 3 blade
VF108 SD 3 blade for saildrives

3 blade 16” to 25”
406mm to 635mm

VF120

VF120 4 BladeVF
120 SD 4 blade for saildrive

18″ to 25”
457mm to 635mm

VF160

VF160 4 Blade

26” to 32”
660mm to 813mm

VF230

VF230 4 Blade

36” to 45”
914mm to 1143mm

Take a look

TAKE A LOOK AT
OUR VIDEO HELP

Fitting a Varifold propeller to a shaft drive

Take a look

WHAT THEY SAY

Baltic Yachts

Everybody involved strongly indicates that your propeller more than lives up to the expectation we had for it. Vibration and noise reduced dramatically plus the power and speed going forward increased substantially.

Mr. P.G. Johansson of Baltic Yachts

Southern Wind

We launched that new 94 with the Yanmar engine, we all knew that we were a bit on the edge with this engine for a 94 footer, but the result is not bad at all, even slightly better than our expectation. In conclusion, I would say that we are quite happy with the result.

Germán Frers

I am very fond of your 4 blade Varifold propellers which I normally recommend.

Charlie Wroe

Noise due to cavitation is much reduced and there is generally less vibration throughout the boat while motoring. ​I’d say that top end motoring speed is about half a knot greater than before, as predicted by Bruntons.

Captain of Mariette

VARIFOLD

TESTIMONIALS FROM
OUR CUSTOMERS

Varifold propeller review

4 blade Varifold for sailing yacht

VARIFOLD
TESTIMONIALS

2 BLADE VARIFOLDS

Waking Dream. Catana 381 catamaran
After researching four different propeller manufacturers, I purchased the ‘Bruntons’ 2 blade Varifold.

The four manufactures being considered were Flex-o-Fold, Gori, Max-Prop & Bruntons, they all proposed similar size props and to a lesser or greater degree they all conveyed to me that I would achieve good forward speed but were less positive about reverse.

During my 5 months of sailing in America, both reverse & forward speed & control of the boat proved to be excellent. Even in tight corners when docking, I was able to use the two engines effectively to spin the boat around on a sixpence, one engine in forward & one in reverse.

I could not say if the folding props were better or worse than the previous fixed props but, it was good to know they were folded away when sailing, helping to increase boat speed. More importantly the fear of rope snagging from the thousands of Lobster pots around Cape Cod faded away as well.
Barry Parkinson.
UFO 31 “Ufomist”
This is just a note of appreciation to let you know that the Varifold you supplied earlier this year has now completed its first 50 hours. It has proved to be flawless in operation and has enabled us to achieve a remarkable improvement in boat speed under sail, smoother running under power, compared to the fixed two-bladed prop it replaced, better economy and absolutely no loss of manoeuvring capability.

It has matched almost perfectly with the Beta BD722 and 1:2.7 gearbox, achieving just short of the max revs of 3600 rpm. The required cruising speed for optimal fuel consumption at 2400 rpm is slightly over 5.4 knots – excellent!

But it is in sailing performance the transformation has occurred. Where previously “Ufomist” might struggle to 5 knots in F3, she is now achieving upwards of 6 to 7 knots to windward in 3 to 4.

All in all, we should have made the change years back, saved money on fuel and shown our heels to the other oldies we sail with!

Thanks again for your superb service and first-class advice and we would be happy for you to share our observations and commendations with other potential customers.
Jeremy Greenaway
Scanyacht 399DS
I recently fitted (very straightforward) the new Varifold 3 bladed prop that you supplied for my Scanyacht 399DS. (Volvo 2040/saildrive) The boat was launched early on Friday morning - 4th March. Being conscious that the new prop might behave slightly differently to the old fixed 3 blader I carefully motored from the hoist - it quickly became obvious that the prop was performing impeccably. This initial reaction was heavily reinforced by the first mini-cruise - Ardrossan to Campbelltown on Friday afternoon, across to Ballycastle ( N Ireland) on Saturday and return to Ardrossan via Lamlash on Sunday. Motoring at around 2000 revs gave us approx. 7 knots - the old prop would have needed significantly more revs to cruise at this speed. Motoring seemed quieter and smoother. When sailing we were consistently pushing 7.5 to 8 knots to windward in 18kts apparent - the passage was far quicker than it would have been. We have also got rid of the prop spinning at anything over 4.5 kts, making for a much quieter passage! The boat carries her way more when drive is removed for picking up a mooring/berthing. Control in reverse initially seems better than before. Maximum engine revs have reduced to 3200 but this seems to be in the range for WOT recommended by Volvo.

The only downside (very tongue in cheek) is that I have a yacht because I enjoy sailing - having spent over £1000.00 we now travel faster and so the passage is shorter!! Less time sailing!! Seriously, I am sure it will enable us to increase our range and shorten those tedious passages.... very much looking forward to the coming season and our cruise down from Scotland to Cornwall and the Scillies this summer.

I just wanted to let you know that I am very pleased with the new prop and impressed with the way in which the transaction was handled, from initial enquiry through to delivery. Many thanks for an outstanding product and service. ​
Barry P
Beneteau Oceanis 473
Sailing Yacht Leonora entered two sailing regattas this year and finished at the top of their class for each one. Their sailing speed was helped by the reduction in drag from the Varifold. "Your prop is fab, the Leonora Crew love it. We won our cruising class in Bequia 2013, and also the Barbados Mount Gay regatta 2013, knocked the socks off of everyone, the fast cruiser with no water resistance. Bruntons Varifold is the best!!!"
Captain of S/Y Leonora
Oyster Heritage
I have an aged Oyster Heritage circa 1985/6, which had a fixed three blade prop. I changed to a Brunton’s Varifold prop and this has been fitted for some eight months. I have just completed a Cadiz Bay Circuit, Lagos – Cadiz – Chipiona, Huelva, Tavira, Faro, Lagos and there is no doubt that the Brunton’s prop gives more speed under power (Volvo MD17D) more speed under sail and more efficient fuel use. In all respects a vast improvement for my old yacht. I wish I had fitted this prop before doing the Atlantic circuit and spending ten years in the Caribbean and the East Coast of the USA.
Barry S

VARIFOLD
TESTIMONIALS

3 BLADE VARIFOLDS

VARIFOLD
TESTIMONIALS

4 BLADE VARIFOLDS

Oyster 72
Changed from a feathering prop to yours, immediate reduction in noise, which is really important as the prop wash made the master cabin very noisy. Your prop has reduced the noise significantly, so it is now no longer a problem. ​ More efficient at driving boat, same speeds at lower revs, no change in sailing performance, hope this is of some use.
David H
132 ft Alloy Catamaran
We have done quite a few miles on the new props. We are happy with them and are getting approximately 10% to 20% increased performance from them, depending on sea conditions and engine revolutions (although a freshly antifouled bottom is probably contributing to this increase). They are very smooth when running, but seem to "clunk" a little when the gearbox is engaged (this is not a concern and seems to be normal, but is slightly more noticeable than with the old Max props) ​ At the engines maximum RPMs, 2700, 13.6 knots was achieved. ​ At 1800 rpm in flat water the Maxprops would give about 9 knots. The Varifold will push us along at slightly over 10. ​ The Max Props performance would drop significantly with a head wind or when punching into a seaway (20+ knots and 3/4m waves would have us down to 6 or 7 knots. As would be expected, the same applies with your Varifolds, but the drop in speed is considerably less and we seem to be able to hold 8/8.5 knots.
Moody 45 DS
As promised, please see the results of my sea trial after fitting your Brunton VF 4B 22"x15" propeller, I hope this information will be of some help for your records.

As you know I have a Moody 45 deck saloon. When I bought the boat, it was fitted with a Gory folding propellor which performed perfectly well when under sail, but because I motor sail 50% of the time I wanted the boat to perform to the best of its ability.

After discussing my requirements with you, you put together a speed graph showing the different options relating to propeller size and speed achieved at deferent RPM, I found this a great help in deciding which option to choose.

On a calm day in Torbay earlier this year I carried out speed trials motoring in different directions and found that the predicted speeds on your graph where very close to the speeds achieved in my trials.

I found that after fitting the Brunton propeller the boat had more positive drive especially when going astern.

I am very satisfied with the performance of the propeller and the service given by Brunton's.

I would be happy to recommend this type of propeller to Moody 45DS owners.
Tony T
Oyster 66
I bought the Varifold from you in March 2009 to replace a Max Prop on my Oyster 66. The Max Prop had served the yacht well for 6 years and approx. 90,000 but it was always very noisy in the aft section of the boat and particularly in the owner's cabin. The Max prop drives the water directly up to the hull which I believe is the primary reason for the noise. Since I was going to be on board for six months and we were about to embark on a 6 month stint of living on board and crossing the Pacific I thought I would treat myself to a few good night’s sleep and after consultation with Messrs Sheppard and Co from Brunton I put the order in, and the new big prop was duly air freighted to Antigua. As it turns out I didn't have time to fit it before leaving Antigua so it travelled all the way to New Zealand in the lazarette! This was ok in fact since we had so much wind we hardly ever motored in the entire transPac. So, it was even more exciting in New Zealand when we finally fitted the Brunton that we had airfreighted from the UK to the Caribbean and then shipped ourselves to NZ! The difference was amazing.

The reduction in noise is massive. It felt like we had just stopped hitting our heads with a brick! Not only is it a great deal quieter but we are achieving much improved fuel efficiency when motoring; I would estimate this at 20%. The supposed negative of giving up the Max Prop was a reduction in responsiveness when engaging reverse and in handling in tight spots; this concern turned out to be a non-issue and it was just a matter of getting used to it. The other big advantage is in removal and installation which is a great deal more straightforward than the Max Prop. So, all in all, I am a very happy customer, and it was well worth the investment to make the switch. The new Brunton prop has driven the boat up and down the South Coast of the UK, across the Atlantic twice and round the Caribbean since installation. ​
Martin D

CONTACT

If you have any questions,
please phone us on +44 (0) 1255 420005

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