Saildrive or Shaft drive?

[Guest]

About to buy a boat which I think has a sail drive in it. I have never owned a sail drive boat before and its attached to a 10hp volvo. Are there any specific tips on handling and maintenance etc?
many thanks
Rich

 

[Guest]

A saildrive unit has a rubber seal for watertightness that must be replaced every 7-8 years. This could be quite costly, so it pays to ask when this has been done last. Further maintenance is mainly the same as a conventional shaftdrive (very little!). In any case the saildrive is sturdier than any P bracket used in a shaftdrive configuration. A saildrive works very much like an outboard engine: it sucks the cooling water up through the 'leg'. Also have someone who knows their stuff check the oil in the leg, see if it's the right colour. A colourchange probably means there's water getting into the leg...

 

[Guest]

Apart from what Martijn writes, remember that the saildrive is made from alloy, which is sensitive to galvanic corrosion.
I don´t agree with Martijn regarding the ruggedness. Here in Sweden, where I suspect saildrives are more common than in UK I know a lot of cases with troble, like:
Leaking gaskets, even when replaced (Horrifying).
Seawater in gearbox oil (Must lift out to reveal).
Broken gearboxes (are they relly designed to cope with heavy folding props?)
Corrosion.

No, I think saildrives are mainly promoted by boatbuilders, because of much lower installing costs.

No, I would rather stick to a conventional shaft drive, even if P-brackets indeed are troublesome.

 

[Guest]

Saildrive strength

I have a saildrive and fitted a heavy folding prop lst year. I was worried about this but it was pointed out that in fact the saildrives shaft is in many ways better supported in a proper bearing than the ordinary P bracket.

Experience so far, much less vibration than a conventional engine, some lag in water hitting rudder so low speed manouvering takes a little getting used to. As for the seal its around £700 - £900 to replace if you get somebody to do it for you. This needs doing every 7 years.

All in all very happy so far.

 

[Guest]

Re: Saildrive strength

I also have a saildrive, in 17 years I have replaced the rubber seal, the starter motor and engine mounts.A major refurbish this year gave me a chance to remove the engine for a full internal check, the piston and head had very slight pitting. I replaced the main bearings and rings not because they needed replacement, but because the boat must be out of the water to remove the engine. Keep an eye on engine mounts if you do a lot of motoring in rough conditions.
Other than that I agree with the comments above.
Happy sailing....Old Salt.

 

[Guest]

I had a saildrive with a 10hp Volvo - no problems, but long term more expensive.