It's not perfect though. It is definitely harder to back down but not impossible to do, but it takes some practice. I haven't noticed any problems in powering through chop. It does create more vibration under power. We are looking for ways to reduce this and might try a damper between the shaft coupling and the transmission to reduce this.
West Marine has such a part.
Martec seemed to think it would power well with this and it looks good so far. Seems to be going much faster at a given RPM but can't prove it yet. Will keep you posted if anybody is interested. It gives plenty of power in reverse, with great control and does show some speed increase under sail in light wind. This may be a good compromise between the Auto prop and the folding propeller.