Wind-powered ship propulsion (WPSP) is the concept where the wind is the main source of thrust, while the traditional propulsion system operates when needed. This type of propulsion can lead to considerably reduced emissions, something that the shipping community is striving for. A well-known example of WPSP is the Oceanbird with the goal to cut emissions of up to 90%. In this study, the propeller design process for a wind-powered car-carrier (wPCC) such as the Oceanbird is investigated, what the various challenges of WPSP are and therefore how an automated optimisation procedure should be approached. A controllable-pitch propeller was selected as suitable propeller type for the operation of the wPCC, and various functions such as windmilling, feathering and harvesting have been explored. Regarding the optimisation procedure, an essential input is the definition of the operational profile, in order to determine the most important conditions for the route. The main objective of the optimisation is the minimisation of the total energy consumption (TEC), calculated based on a selection of conditions using the potential flow solver MPUF-3A. Cavitation has been evaluated by the blade designer, through an interactive optimisation method. The results showed that designing and optimising for the most highly loaded condition led to solutions with the lowest TEC. © 2022 The Author(s)