Not sure about the VIIs (though I didn't have any great problems with them during my last Atlantic career either IIRC), but at least the series II in general seems to behave pretty well in this regard.
In a duck you can order 0 knots forward by putting the needle somewhere between the 0 and 1 marks and get some 50rpm off the electrics, which works fine in both being quiet _and_ maintaining depth - but ONLY IF you're not damaged! Have a leak or two and it all goes haywire, because then you'll need at least 2 knots if not more... plus the repair team binging and banging your boat back to shape, too
