How much to replace Yanmar SD50 saildrives?

[Coastgal]

Hi all - have done some searching for info on the cost of replacing the saildrives on a catamaran. All the manufacturers/chandlers sites say "call for price". Very helpful. And strangely I can't find any posts on it.

Soooo, has anyone replaced their Yanmar SD50 saildrives and would let me know how much parts & labour cost?

Thanks loads - Stacey

 

[Tranona]

Not really enough information to even hazard a guess - which is why you need to get a quote! You won't find much experience from others as replacement is a pretty rare event. Do you mean just the drives or the whole engine drive unit? If just the drives why? Engines can vary from 10 to 50+hp with correspondingly wide price range, but drives as replacements are all basically the same price. Straightforward drive replacement is usually around 10-12 hours labour per drive, but complete unit replacement is much more variable depending on specific installation.

If it helps replacing a Volvo saildrive is around £5.5k for the unit and labour, and on an older installation it is worth considering replacing the whole unit as the "deals" on complete units are much better than just drives (or just engines).

 

[Coastgal]

Thanks for the reply & info Tranona. It's just the SD "legs" (the bit between engine & prop). Apparently they've received a lot of corrosion through electrolysis so we just need to consider the cost of replacement. (We're considering buying a 6yr old boat which we're aware may have some corrosion.) The engines are apparently fine.

Cheers - Stacey

 

[Tranona]

You really need to talk to a Yanmar dealer. I have replaced a Volvo saildrive and with labour it was £3300 - but that was when you could buy a new saildrive at OE prices if you knew how. The latest price for a drive on its own is nearly £5k. Suspect Yanmar may be similar, but I don't know for sure. Corrosion is probably because the anodes have not been changed and will affect the casing only, so it may be possible to rebuild the drives into new casings. I would be very wary of a boat that new with severe corrosion as it is easy to avoid with the right maintenance regime.

Hope this helps.