P330 or Fairline Cornice

I’ve been doing some more research online and apparently these TAMD 41’s are prone to gearbox problems.

Does anyone know if an issue with a gearbox is likely to get picked up on a survey (unless of course it’s obvious) and if at some point one needs replacing how much can I expect this to cost?
 
Dazzajohm said:
I’ve been doing some more research online and apparently these TAMD 41’s are prone to gearbox problems.

Does anyone know if an issue with a gearbox is likely to get picked up on a survey (unless of course it’s obvious) and if at some point one needs replacing how much can I expect this to cost?
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The only fault that can be checked is the gear engages correct, a cone is £685 no gears are available. Best swap is either a PRM of ZF gearbox £5k
 
volvopaul said:
The only fault that can be checked is the gear engages correct, a cone is £685 no gears are available. Best swap is either a PRM of ZF gearbox £5k
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Ok thanks Paul, Jeez that’s an expensive bit to break. You’ve obviously worked with these engines a lot - are gearbox issues that common and if so are they reparable faults or replacements? I found an old article by MBM online about the Corniche and said they had two inherent problems - corroded fuel tanks (which I’m guessing will be easily picked up on a survey) and gearbox issues with the tamd41 but didn’t say exactly what issues.

Cheers
 
The issues are the ones I’ve saud . I’ve had 2 cornices and had to put tanks in one . For some reason it’s mostly the starboard that rots sway . Great value money boats , imagine what one would cost new today , I’d say 200k easily .
 
volvopaul said:
The issues are the ones I’ve saud . I’ve had 2 cornices and had to put tanks in one . For some reason it’s mostly the starboard that rots sway . Great value money boats , imagine what one would cost new today , I’d say 200k easily .
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Yeah definitely - I've just heard from the broker regarding that one in Chichester I've got my eye on. Apparently the tanks are both aluminium and in excellent condition so thats one more plus for me considering an offer. Just concerned about the gear boxes really, but I guess with this age of boat other than the survey there is only so far you can go with checking them out :)
 
A nice clonk when engaging forward or astern is supposed to be good sign and a simple check is to remove dipstick and hope to observe clear fluid up to correct level, if nothing else it suggests that owner is aware of the importance of regular oil changes.
There is in base of gearbox little magnet, unfortunately it is hidden away in bottom bearing casting and not easy to get at and inspect.
Chum fitted a pair of ZF 45 A ?? to his Princess 33 fly when one of his MS4B failed recently.
Lancing Marine normally charge about £2.5K per unit but they do have one unit on special at £1.5K.
The real grief is time effort getting the whole she-bang to line up, the engine mounts need shimming and hopefully the shaft will pull back a bit before props bash the "A" brackets and faffying with oil cooling connectings.
Having said that somebody else had the box on his Princess 41 go last month and a few months earlier another member blew up a much fabled Velvet Drive 72 just the luck of the draw .
 
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oldgit said:
A nice clonk when engaging forward or astern is supposed to be good sign and a simple check is to remove dipstick and hope to observe clear fluid up to correct level, if nothing else it suggests that owner is aware of the importance of regular oil changes.
There is in base of gearbox little magnet, unfortunately it is hidden away in bottom bearing casting and not easy to get at and inspect.
Chum fitted a pair of ZF 45 A ?? to his Princess 33 fly when one of his MS4B failed recently.
Lancing Marine normally charge about £2.5K per unit but they do have one unit on special at £1.5K.
The real grief is time effort getting the whole she-bang to line up, the engine mounts need shimming and hopefully the shaft will pull back a bit before props bash the "A" brackets and faffying with oil cooling connectings.
Having said that somebody else had the box on his Princess 41 go last month and a few months earlier another member blew up a much fabled Velvet Drive 72 just the luck of the draw .
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That’s great info thanks for that. I guess the gearboxes aren’t as much as I thought but sounds like it’s not as expensive as it could be if you’re pretty hands on. Unfortunately apart from the basics I’m not someone who could replace one so by the time an engineer has added on their costs they will soon start to add up.

If I go ahead with this boat or indeed find another I would be getting an engine survey carried out anyway so I’d like to think they would carry out the checks you have mentioned. It has been suggested to get oil samples sent off as well but on 27 year old engines there is bound to be some wear!
 
As I said I not technically minded but are there not places out there who can refurb / rebuild these boxes when they go wrong?

I know there are places for cars that will come take the gearbox away, refurb it and return it as good as new for a fraction of the price of a brand new one :-/
 
The MS3 gearboxes are not able to handle the -41 engines. The MS4B was built to be a bit stronger, but still a mechanical gearbox.
We had the HS1A hydraulic gearboxes on ours, and they were great! No "clunk" on engagement, just the boat responding.

These (HS1A) can be obtained second hand (have a look at the swedish "blocket.se" website), or refurbished. Verify the ratio to suit your propellers, or you might need to change.
Costly, but a drop-in replacement for the MS3 gearbox. Uses the same engine oil (15W40), so simple to change when you are already at it with the engine.
 
to sum up , doubt there is any "test" you can buy to check health of the MS series gearbox. wide held belief that its all down to actual previous boat use.
Lots of long offshore cruises ie gear box into gear at start of journey and out at end once as opposed to lots of in out of gear stuff,short hops between locks or constant marina manoeuvring.
Failure of drive in my gearbox box was almost certainly down to the the spiral shaft suffering a serious impact at some point as opposed to faulty item or wear.
Up side , small compact gearbox easy to get at and to quickly remove by one very unskilled operator.
Many bits available within 48 hours and very simple to repair box if you can find an outfit actually interested in fixing it.
 
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I have had my cornich for about 4years now, had all the holes you mentioned and repaired at low cost, just a bit of time and it will be as you want it.
It has 2 no tamd 41b on shafts and drives well, had a bit of work on the exhaust pipes, impellars , oil change on both engines and changed the bilge pumps .
A fine boat to travel in and very comfortable to stay on.
 
STUART P said:
I have had my cornich for about 4years now, had all the holes you mentioned and repaired at low cost, just a bit of time and it will be as you want it.
It has 2 no tamd 41b on shafts and drives well, had a bit of work on the exhaust pipes, impellars , oil change on both engines and changed the bilge pumps .
A fine boat to travel in and very comfortable to stay on.
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Thanks for the info. I did end up buying the corniche in the end and generally I’m pretty happy with her. Just a few bits to sort out which will be done during her annual maintenance the next few weeks.

There were some issues with corroded exhaust picked up on the survey so the owner repaired these before purchase.
 
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