sterndrives or shafts

How would you wash your sails given no Industrial or Sailmaker facility ?

  • Use Home wash machine - sails one by one ?

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  • Hang between two trees and scrub by hand ?

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  • Ignore SWMBO and commandeer the bath for 2 days ?

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  • Other method ? Please post a reply

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  • Leave unwashed ?

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  • Thionk I'm daft for even thinking about using Domestic machine ?

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B

bilzaf

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anybody can give me a hint? i am about to buy a boat for my family of 4 kids 2-10yrs old which i will use in aegean sea and my shortlist is a sealine s37 with volvo duo props mod 98 and a sunseeker 40 travado with cats, which is bigger, heavier,should be more seaworthy(?) and reliable(?)(sterndrives not considered reliable is greece), has a/c but is 9 yrs older, 10% more expensive and should be thirstier. any opinions? both are in very good condition,sunseeker has more equipment(aircon and radar)
 
Most folk i have spoken to think shaft is good only becuase its a direct drive where as legs have th z drive = gears = more maintenance = more chance of things going wrong , but what do i know !
:
 
My neighbour has twin outdrives. I can't think why anyone would give them a second thought. High maintenance, crucial dependence on a bit of rubber and when you go into neutral you turn the steering off. On my sailing boat, I've tweaked the stern gland twice in 16 years. On my neighbours boat, I got to change the anodes for him, scrape, clean and paint the outdrives in some special antifoul, check the bellows (like you can really do that!), grease all the pivot points and then at close speed manouvring he has to come in under power and use more power to stop. Devils invention if you ask me intended only to create more living space in a boat.

I'll now put on my tin hat!
 
as HLB says it is down to the boat and personal preference. We have a sterndrive boat and have no regrets, I am sure we save more on fuel than we spend on maintenance and we have never had an issue with manouvering. Sterndrives manouver very differently to shaft drive but I would not say it is worse, infact with some practice you can do anything a shaft drive can and sometimes more. I do not agree with the comment on engaging neutral and loosing the steering, erm well I do agree but the same goes for a shaft drive motor boat. Sailing boats have massive rudders that require little speed in the water to have an effect, shaft drive power boats have tiddly litte things which need speed and thrust from the props to work. In a twin engine boat you use forward and reverse gears to turn you.

Having said all that, a poorly maintained out drive can be a nightmare so make sure it has been looked after and you continue to do so.
 
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Devils invention if you ask me intended only to create more living space in a boat.

I'll now put on my tin hat!

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Don't forget your wellies and flack jacket, a little camouflage might be an idea too! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

You're probably right though... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
bilzaf, you have'nt told us what you want to use your boat for? Just day cruising or extended trips?
This is just a personal opinion but the Travado would definitely be my choice, assuming it was in good condition, because, being heavier, longer and shaftdrive, it will give you a more comfortable ride in choppy conditions. Also, again IMHO, it will be easier to handle at slow speed in a marina which is important because, by the sound of it, your wife will be looking after kids rather than helping you moor the boat
Has either of these boats got a bow thruster or pasarelle because these would be really useful to have? Also for me, aircon would be a big plus for Med boating. Sometimes you just want to get out of the heat
But the big question over the Travado is it's age and the condition of the engines. I'm guessing that it has Cat 3208TA engines and whilst these are generally very reliable, at some stage they will need an expensive rebuild. So you MUST get a proper engine condition report and oil analysis before you buy. This goes for the Sealine as well but, as you say, the sterndrives are potentially a problem area so these must be thoroughly inspected too
 
Not necessarily. I've heard of well used examples of these engines needing rebuilds after only 10-12yrs. The lower powered versions eg 375/320hp last much longer
 
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when you go into neutral you turn the steering off. On my sailing boat

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Eh? It sounds to me like your neighbour can't drive. As for the full power thing, if you use the vectored thrust correctly (actually turn the wheel) then you can do most things on tickover.

the problem comes when people try to drive outdrives like shafts. It doesn't work because they, er, aren't shafts. logically.
 
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when you go into neutral you turn the steering off. On my sailing boat

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Eh? It sounds to me like your neighbour can't drive. As for the full power thing, if you use the vectored thrust correctly (actually turn the wheel) then you can do most things on tickover.

the problem comes when people try to drive outdrives like shafts. It doesn't work because they, er, aren't shafts. logically.

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Here here /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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Ok, but your implication was he uses, in your oppinion, excessive power because of the OD. I argue its because he is a rubbish helm.

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Once again i agree,admitedly you have to look after drives carefully, but then you should look after your boat !!!!. If drives are maintained they offer many things ie performance,economy,flexibilty of trim,taking the ground and space to name a few. I am not saying drives are always better than shafts it is a matter of horses for courses!!!!! However I believe strongly that they are not the invention of the devil that many people believe. I have had many problems with my boat over the years none of which have been the drives /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
on second thought if sterndrives were fine volvo would not care developing and marketing IPS. I am going to do extended cruising around aegean in august and weekend escapes rest of time. my heart is also with sunseeker but i am worried if its logical to buy a 19 year old boat. otherwise its bigger, has an aft seperate cabin, its displacement is more than double. plus, in the marina i moor in, all the folks will laugh at me in a sterndrive boat. its not that they're not good, they just need very perfect maintenance:its the mechanics that destroy them i think, and the consuption is double in the sunseeker 4 litres per mile against 2.1 in good sea condition. of course that is questionable in a force 6 or 7
 
You are totally wrtong there. IPS are not a replacement for stern drives, but actually for shafts.

So if you apply your own arguement, you should have typed - if shafts are fine, volvo would not care about developeing and marketing IPS.

IPS is primarily designed to make shaft drive boats as efficient as stern drive boats.
 
I dont know the picture here but there is so much difference in the 2 boats in question: age being the major issue against the Sunseeker
with the shafts you will have double the consumption of fuel for the distance covered and less speed
but I would concentrate my issue on age

also the boats are different in size and also typology with the Sunseeker having an aft cabin
still the 2 boats have a lot of differences apart the shaft, stern drive issue

IMO the 40 Trovado looks a classic and is a brilliant seaboat well balanced so if you are in love with the shape fight the price and try to make a bargain for this
 
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