Are outdrives really that bad

[Greg2]

Can outdrives be trouble? Absolutely!

Do outdrives bring some benefits making it worth living with the possible downsides? Yes, of course.

Three of our six boats have been on drives and in our experience looking after them makes a difference but it doesn’t provide a guarantee. Removing the dipstick each year to check the oil was always approached with a degree of trepidation - would it be milky (meaning water ingress) or not?! ?

As QBhoy says, if you get to understand them and remove the mystery it becomes less daunting and you realise that things can be put right but having a slush fund to do so can be handy. But if you are unlucky they can be a shedload of grief!

The benefits are obvious - a bit more economical than shafts (but let’s not overplay that - it isn’t massive for the number of hours the average leisure boaters does and notably offset by higher maintenance costs) but importantly they create space so you tend to get more living area out of smaller hulls on some types of boat. A friend did the French canals in an outdrive boat and when he got a rope around the props the benefit over shafts in those circumstances became very obvious as he lifted the legs and was able (eventually) to cut the rope off. If it had been a shaft boat they would have been in real trouble.

My preference is for shafts - very little goes wrong in reality and maintenance is very low - but I wouldn’t rule out drives if it meant that we got the right kind of boat for our needs. In fact that is exactly what we did when we bought our last boat, a Sealine S34, which was a great boat. ?
.

 

[SimonD]

To answer just your thread title - Yes.

I'd second that. You'll get plenty of opinions for and against. I had a pair on my last boat and, whilst they didn't give an excessive amount of trouble (although I only had the boat about 18 months) they caused a lot of sleepless nights. Also consider that the sterndrive(s) sit well below the keel and vulnerable to grounding damage. A shaft drive prop is often protected.

If I was forced to sell my shaft drive boat and the only other option was a sterndrive, I would give up boating. Seriously,

 

[Boat2016]

There’s lots of opinions on outdrives, a lot of positives from owners who’ve owned them, looked after them and had many trouble free years of use….then there’s those who never owned or experienced their benefits who have convinced themselves they are no good based on the bad mouthing from the ones who only ever fix them when they go wrong instead of keeping on top of them with good maintenance.
Theres plenty out there in daily use all working well, they are suited to some boats but not others, it’s a case of choosing the right package that works for you.

 

[simonfraser]

There’s lots of opinions on outdrives, a lot of positives from owners who’ve owned them, looked after them and had many trouble free years of use….then there’s those who never owned or experienced their benefits who have convinced themselves they are no good based on the bad mouthing from the ones who only ever fix them when they go wrong instead of keeping on top of them with good maintenance.
Theres plenty out there in daily use all working well, they are suited to some boats but not others, it’s a case of choosing the right package that works for you.

that's for sure

however if you are faced with a choice of hanging a bunch of carefully made parts, metal and other materials, in water 24/7 or leaving them out in the air most of the time, i recon it's an easy decission

 

[Boat2016]

that's for sure

however if you are faced with a choice of hanging a bunch of carefully made parts, metal and other materials, in water 24/7 or leaving them out in the air most of the time, i recon it's an easy decission

if I was worried about leaving them immersed then there’s the dry stack option, personally have never left afloat for more than 6-8 months without lifting to at least check them and maintain as necessary, usually the anode wear is of most concern.

 

[Portland Billy]

I have owned six outdrive boats, from 32ft to 42ft. All Volvo.
Mostly light use on river with annual coastal holholi

 

[Portland Billy]

I have owned six outdrive boats from 32ft to 42 ft. All Volvo's.
Mostly light river use with annual coastal holidays.
Lifted and serviced every three years.
No major problems.

 

[DavidJ]

Choose the boat you love, space, glamour, whatever, then if it has shafts, fine, but if it has outdrives that’s really ok too. I’ve had outdrives for 30 years, test for milkyness ever year (fingers crossed) and I had to have a seal replaced once, gaiters every two years.
Except for @SimonD I‘ve never heard of anyone having sleepless nights thinking about drive legs, electrowizzardry possibly!

Just go with the boat that takes your fancy

I don’t know if you’re following the Portofino strakes/chines thread on here but interesting that he experiences steering reduction with shafts/rudders at WOT speeds and has to slow down to manoeuvre.
You don’t get that with legs or outboards.

 

[ChromeDome]

8 boats over 55 years. Outboards, sterndrives single/twin, shafts twin.

Doing the investment and operation budgets and the real life TCO plus assesment of benefits makes me put shafts and outboards above sterndrives.
To a point where I don't even consider sterndrives anymore.

 

[oldgit]

Cheap to install .
After that its get your wallet out its an expensive race downhill all the way to a cinder surface surrounded by Ragwort.







a 5 min walk for this little selection of delights.

 

[Momac]

Drive plate failure (shaft drive)

 

[Momac]

A bit of a scrub up and a squirt of paint does a lot to freshen up outdrives.

 

[jointventureII]

The guys that say they are that bad….I can perhaps understand a little…if the fella isn’t mechanically inclined or has been unlucky enough to own one that hasn’t been maintained Perhaps. The thought of removing an outdrive every so often can be a scary one to some…but I’m of the opinion that it’s not at all beyond the ability of the average guy…and once you’ve been shown how for the first time…you’ll wonder what all the worry was for.

This is a great point. Taking the drive off isn't really a complicated process at all, in the case of my Bravo 2 it's literally undoing 6 bolts and off she comes.

Providing the internal workings aren't touched, almost all the work can be done yourself - it does require more commitment than a shaft driven boat but it's not that bad.

Eg oil change in the leg, every 50 hours / annually: with the little oil pump takes about an hour, of which 45 mins is just waiting for the old oil to drain out.

The biggest pain in the ar*e is that they sit in the water all the time, growth + inaccessibility - even now that I want to experiment with a new prop it would mean lift out.

 

[Momac]

now that I want to experiment with a new prop it would mean lift out.

I have changed Volvo Penta duoprops with the boat in the water without getting excessively wet .

 

[Flynnbarr]

To answer just your thread title - Yes.

Maybe they are just as bad as owning a teak decked boat….what a stupid idea that is……who would have thought drilling thousands of holes in a waterproof fibreglass deck would be a good idea.

I’ve owned both shafts and outdrives……both have their pluses and minuses….you omit a large proportion of boats if you just dismiss them out of hand.

 

[oldgit]

Drive plate failure (shaft drive)
View attachment 150335

another shaft drive failure .

 

[julians]

you can find examples of issues with all boat drive types - these anecdotes help nobody, and in some cases cause people sleepless nights ( see simonD above - who had no major issues with outdrives, but still couldnt sleep,and would rather no boat than a boat with outdrives)

The upshot is that if you limit yourself to shafts only, or outboards only, or outdrives only then you restrict the boats that are available to you.

There is no single drive system that is the answer to everyones boating needs, you need to choose what fits your scenario best, ie what is the best compromise for you.

In the ops case, it sounds like an outboard would be best fit for his requirements (but possibly not if petrol availability is scarce - in which case we come back to outdrives because buying a <30foot cruiser on shafts is nigh on impossible), its about choosing the overall best boat for the job.

 

[Kubcat]

Hi All

I've been looking for a new boat after selling my 30 foot cruiser, we really want to downsize a bit, however nearly anything smaller than a 30 foot has outdrives.

Now I know shafts are straight forward, simple and reliable, and I don't want everyone to start arguing about which is best, but as I say nearly impossible to find a cruiser smaller than 30 foot with shafts, certainly here in ireland anyway, are there any outdrives that are good and reliable and what should I avoid

Boat would be used on fresh water rivers and canals

Mercruiser drives are not great in salt water and are quite agricultural. We have lots around here and they keep the mechanics very busy.

Volvo drives are much better for a moored boat.

 

[Kubcat]

Double post

 

[ontheplane]

There we go - conclusive proof for you that.......


.....everyone has a different opinion.


As I see it - buy the boat you like / want - what it's driven by is whats on it!

If you need a diesel at the size you mention it's going to have outdrives almost certainly - so get them serviced and then enjoy your boating - worrying about it is pointless.

FWIW I have run 3 boats with Outboards and 3 with sterndrives.

The boat with a Yamaha - no issues
The boat with a Force - never worked properly, ever
The next boat with a Yamaha - no issues
The next boat with a sterndrive no issues
and the one after that and the one after that....

I serviced all of them "properly"......

So that's not very scientific - but given a completely free choice in order of preference -
diesel on shafts would be my first choice
then diesel outboard
then diesel sterndrive
then petrol outboard
then petrol sterndrive.

However there are still almost no diesel outboards about and 99% of 20-30' boats have outboards or sterndrives and I'd rather run a 3 ton boat on diesel than petrol hence my choices.

On a 20' sportsboat though, I might choose Outboard over diesel just due to performance and the fact I wouldn't be doing massive cruises....
Next choice MPI inboard

Overall though if buying used, you're stuck with the engine it's got when you buy it!