stern drives

[Guest]

Up to now I was the owner of a 52ft cruiser with twin Man 600HP. I want to go shorter to a 36ft - 40ft range where a lot of crafts are coming with sterndrives. Most of the people are telling me "avoid sterndrives" but they could not explain in detail why. I would be pleased if someone could inform me if i had to avoid sterndrives or not , but please state WHY ? Pleased by your kind response.

P.S kad 44 EDC Comments???????

 

[Guest]

They are ok , just expensive to maintain, unless you do it yourself, it aint difficult just requires a little common sense, but dont break nothing cos thats even more expensive!!!!!! my 280 volvo legs are 22 years old and still give good service, what more can i say, hope its of some use

 

[Guest]

Hi Pentelis,

Nothing wrong with stern drives, as such, up to a certain size/ weight of boat. In my opinion anything approaching 40 ft in length is better with shaft drives. Low speed handling is a problem with stern drives on a large boat. Also much less to go wrong with shafts.

 

[Guest]

I have read that the RPM of a stern drive is too high for open sea work.

 

[Guest]

I use Sterndrives on my 10m Fjord and have no problems you must change the rubber shaft boots every 2yrs , other than that just general maintenance is needed. steering at low revs with a breeze can test your skills, But shaftdrives can present you with similar problems...... john

 

[Guest]

I have used sterndrives on my boats (up to 40') for the last 8 years. All my boating is coastal and cross channel.

The main difference between shaftdrives and sterndrives is this - sterndrives are usually duo-prop which takes away 'paddle-wheel effect' which can be so useful for close quarters manoeuvering.

However, once you are used to this, manoeuvering is not a problem. A point here - most instructors will tell you to keep the wheel central and use the throttles only for manoeuvering. In practice, I find this no where near as good as using wheel as well.

Yes, service costs can be higher, but against this is the benefit of being able to raise the legs and inspect the props - so useful if you think you have snagged a rope or whatever.

Space-wise, the engines will be mounted right back in the boat, freeing up more accomodation space. Another plus.

I have used KAD42 rngines for the last 6 years, with no real problems apart from the constant need to change compressor belts, which wear so quickly. I do not know if the 44 corrects this.

In recommendation? Boats up to 40' or so will bring greater benfits with sterndrives.

 

[Guest]

Same here my 38 year old 100 series leg runs a dream

 

[Guest]

Providing you service them each year and have the bellows replaced every two years you should be okay.

I've had mine two years with no problem, and I do like the ability to lift the duoprops for inspect etc.

I think the people who have had problems are the ones who skip service or cut corners in maintenance etc.

RM.

 

[Guest]

my boat is twin engines on sterndrives, 9.5mtrs. I have to say that I have used boats with prop/shaft and rudder and sterndrives. I find the boat is far easier to handle with drives because the prop is directional! prop/shaft driven boats need a flow of water across the rudder in order to get steerage. Because of this they have very little steerage when going astern, no problem with drives you have almost as much steerage in reverse as forwards.

Barry

 

[Guest]

I would be interested to know the respondants' experience of how much extra it actually does cost to maintain stern drives compared to shafts

 

[Guest]

Pantelis, I did much the same as you, going from a larger shaft drive boat to a smaller sterndrive one and I regretted it straight away. In fact, I'm going back to a shaft drive boat shortly. For the record, I had a Sealine S37 with KAD44's and, in truth, the boat performed very well.

Re the Sterndrive v Shaftdrive issue. On the plus side, sterndrives are more efficient than shaftdrives and should give better speed/economy on a like for like basis. As has already been pointed out, because the engines are placed at the rear of the hull, it also frees up more accomodation space. But, for me, there are too many disadvantages. Definitely, a sterndrive boat is harder to handle at low speed in windy conditions because the bow gets blown about so easily; many sterndrive boats wander from side to side at slow speed also. This is highly subjective but I think shaftdrive boats make better sea boats because the boat's centre of gravity is more central in the hull. Also, as I know from personal experience, Volvo sterndrives are very expensive to service and, in my opinion, are far less robust than a shaftdrive system.

If you do decide to go down the sterndrive route make sure you thoroughly test the boat before you buy.