Sterndrives/outdrives

CX54WEK said:
As paul said they need more looking after than every four years!!!!

I would say every two at an absolute max. We did ours in March after they where last done when we bought the boat in October 2008. This was pushing it and one of the anodes was very worn. On top of that we had water contamination in the outdrive oil. Had we left this it would have started to cause problems.
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I'd recommend the anodes be checked more often than once per year, especially if the boat is in a marina; the erosion rate can vary from year to year, I did have to change mine 5 months into the season one year with my previous boat (Thankfully it was one Summer when the water got reasonably warm!). My current boat one has the active corrosion protection unit fitted, the anodes now last more than 1 season.
 
GrahamHR said:
I'd recommend the anodes be checked more often than once per year, especially if the boat is in a marina; the erosion rate can vary from year to year, I did have to change mine 5 months into the season one year with my previous boat (Thankfully it was one Summer when the water got reasonably warm!). My current boat one has the active corrosion protection unit fitted, the anodes now last more than 1 season.
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The last lot did 18 months fine, one of them was definately ready for changing the others would have done longer but we swapped them anyway. The water is pretty clear most of the time so you can see if they are wearing too low.

Sounds like you have a serious stray current close to your boat!!!!
 
KevB said:
This thread may help if you're thinking of doing your own servicing of the legs. Assuming you have 290's

Thread.
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Excellent post. Really helpful, but i think as far as we will be going with it DIY is changing anodes and oil. We will leave the seals and bellows to the experts i think.
 
We just finished our bi-annual check up and anti foul, had to replace cutless bearings been there ten years, had props refurbbed (ploughing) own fault. anodes and paint, job done. Had no end of aggro with outdrives, in/out, in/out, renamed boat YO-YO.
 
CX54WEK said:
The last lot did 18 months fine, one of them was definately ready for changing the others would have done longer but we swapped them anyway. The water is pretty clear most of the time so you can see if they are wearing too low.

Sounds like you have a serious stray current close to your boat!!!!
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We probably did that year; not since (we changed berths.) The indicators on the active corrosion unit control box show it's not having to work at full capacity to protect the drive.
 
PaulGooch said:
A single outdrive will be easier to manoeuvre in the marina than a single shaft.
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Not always true Paul
Today I had an 'own boat' instruction Gig
Single outdrive 24 footer.
She 'weathercocked' in the wind (inside marina) quite dramatically .
My single shaft boat (semi displacemnt) in the same marina is a lot easier to park, under the same conditions we faced today.
Some sports boats with a high freeboard on an outdrive can be a bit 'interesting' in the marina when its blowing a bit!
Especially with the tent up.
A Maxum 30 (or any similar) last year
Owner was really finding it difficult to get to his berth or the fuel berth without 'trauma'
OK, after a days practice we had him sorted.
But it takes some concentration and skill.
Nowt underneath and a high freeboard with a single outdrive
To me, It's one of the most difficult types of craft to park sometimes.
Especially single handed
By the time you have 'lassoo'd' a cleat or skidaddled aft to get a line on.
The dam things have blown off:)
 
"A competent DIYer could service both legs including changing the exhaust and UJ bellows in a day"

Would that "day" also include removing by jet wash 12 months weed and barnycules from both legs,getting up inside all the nooks and crannies of the transom shield and behind the rams,touching up exposed metal,removing lose bits,sanding down,slapping on some undercoat and then top coat with 4 tins of that special anti-foul @£ 23.50 a teeny weeny tin. :)
 
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Well thank you all for your input. Firstly the commnet about walking around yards and seeing power boats with two holes in the stren hit home as my wife commented on exactly that when we visited a yard in Hamble last week.
I am taking from this a number of items firstly anodes and oil when the oil and filters are do on the engine and an annual basis. New bellows and seals biannually.
Dont buy a boat unless there is a service record for the legs along with engines etc
To avoid being shafted get shafts
 
I've got a pair of early 290 single props on a Sunfury, I've owned the boat 3 years now and have added around 100 hours on top of the 450 they had when I took ownership.

I've had no mechanical problems with the legs, port one whines a bit but the oil stays clean and its not getting any worse. I get the boat jet washed when it's lifted out then a couple of weeks later take the legs off and keep them in the garage. It takes about an hour each to get them off, and they're HEAVY.

I do this every year, they get new UJ bellows and anodes and an oil change. In fact the only agro i have with them is bloody barnacles. My yard has a huge diesel hot water jet wash and it takes paint off the legs with the irritating little things. I've had to repaint the legs every year so far :-(

Something to look out for on them is whether someone has bitten the bullet and replaced the trim cylinders already, at £400 each and 4 of them its a hefty outlay if you find they're corroded.

As far as maneuverability goes, I've only had single outboard powered boats before but I love the legs. You can spin the boat around in it's own length, and almost make it go sideways when you want. :)
 
All I can say is, I've had my boat for 11years and serviced the outdrive every two years since new and had no problems (touch wood). I have a Volvo guy do it for around £350/400 (DB Marine), although I could do it myself but this is one area I leave to the professionals.

So every two years is a full service, and all the rubber bits replaced etc etc. I check the oil every year but so far only replace it as part of the full service. I check for "milky" look as on my previous boat the outboard (not outdrive) the large rubber seal failed and basically welded the gear box (as the engineer put it), that was on a boat about 1 year old.

The anode is replaced every year and checked every time I decide to go for a swim, so far in 11years the anode ring has lasted the 12months.

As other has said, if you care about your boat you will do your annual checks properly including checking the bellow every year to make sure they are okay and like I said before replaced every two. Anodes replaced every year, mind I've started to replace the trim tab anodes every two years (but do power sand them back).
 
...and use up to 30% more fuel than you would on outdrives! :rolleyes:

Or perhaps not much difference at all,the sort of boat that pappaecho is looking at is not a whizzy soapdish buzzing around at crash bang crash speeds and suspect that as a ex raggie much of his cruising will be at the sort of speeds I crawl around at,say sub 10 knots,At low displacement speeds the difference between legs n shafts will be marginal.
 
oldgit said:
...not a whizzy soapdish buzzing around at crash bang crash speeds and suspect that as a ex raggie much of his cruising will be at the sort of speeds I crawl around at,say sub 10 knots,At low displacement speeds the difference between legs n shafts will be marginal.
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Fair comment - but it's not always 'crash bang crash' at speed! :)
 
oldgit said:
"A competent DIYer could service both legs including changing the exhaust and UJ bellows in a day"

Would that "day" also include removing by jet wash 12 months weed and barnycules from both legs,getting up inside all the nooks and crannies of the transom shield and behind the rams,touching up exposed metal,removing lose bits,sanding down,slapping on some undercoat and then top coat with 4 tins of that special anti-foul @£ 23.50 a teeny weeny tin. :)
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The Anti outdrive lobby are probably basing their (biased) opinions on their own experiences. Understandable, of course, if they've had negative experiences. However, how many of those experiences are due to a neglect of maintenance? In my experience, yes , a day is sufficient (actually half a day is enough , as I only have one outdrive. However, I don't apply 4 (!???) coats of an expensive elixir. What's that about? I don't come across exposed metal because thankfully for 10 years I haven''t come across any debris ( which equally might have ripped out a shaft driven boats propshaft and sunk the boat)

If I was paying someone to service an outdrive or a shaft drive, yes, an outdrive is more expensive in that respect, However, the economy of an outdrive is so much better and as I servce it ( properly) myself, it's a no brainer.
 
GrahamHR said:
The Anti outdrive lobby are probably basing their (biased) opinions on their own experiences.
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The anti-outdrive lobby are the same people who would suck their teeth and shake their heads if you were to tell them you were thinking of buying a convertible Porsche; "Expensive to service, lots of bits to go wrong and who wants to go fast anyway? No, you wouldn't see me behind the wheel of one of those, I'll stick with my diesel estate".

Thanks for the advice Grandad. :D
 
"I don't apply 4 (!???) coats of an expensive elixir."

Neither do I....Each Volvo 280 leg on my boat needs 2 two (£24.00 each 300ml) Trilux outdrive anti-foul to cover the leg and transom shield with one coat..You are also supposed to prime the old surface first (£25,00 500ml) and all !

Any quick look round the forum will show the sheer number of cries for help regards outdrives,some of them regarding very new units with problems occurring even before the first service.We will not even bother to mention the hydraulics or electric gubbins.

Outdrives are fine for some applications and are OK when newish on sports type boats(sometimes) see the SX drives corroding/breaking episode,Yamaha overheating etc,if you want to experience some outdrive grief first hand its simple.....just keep it a few years.:)
 
Strange; my first outdrive equipped boat( DPS type) was bought at 2 years old and used in the sea for 4 six month seasons; no issues.

Second outdrive equipped boat, again DPS type; One year old then used for 5 seasons in the sea, now on it's 6th season, no issues (so far).

Have I been especially lucky, or has the fact that they have been correctly maintained each year since new have something to do with it? No doubt, ignore them and they will bite you in the pocket. Ignore a car/ boat engine and never sevice them and they will bite you in the pocket.

re the paint, sorry, I misread it; I couldn't understand why it would need 4 tins each year unless there was multiple layers applied. If you have Trilux on there already and it's adhering properly, why do you need primer each year? I actually use one coat of Blakes Waterline, the Volvo Grey, it goes on a lot nicer than Trilux; one £16.99 tin does 2 seasons (including the inside of the transom shield and tilt/ pivot housing. It just gets a light (wet) sanding before application.
 
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Everyone does seem to forget about the efficiency of drives over shafts.

Think about it logically and a shaft always has the prop driving the boat upwards instead of forwards and as the bows rise the problem gets worse.

If legs are trimmed properly so that the prop is perpendicular to the surface of the water then all of the energy in the prop gets used to drive the boat forward, this means your engines can be smaller for the same performance, which makes them lighter so you carry less weight. The general rule of thumb is 20% more efficient but the pluses don't end there. you will gain room inside the boat so more storage and if the boat is aft cockpit and you do need major work on the engines they are a piece of cake to remove from the boat, just undo a few bolts and lift them straight up with no need to dismantle the saloon and remove patio doors.
For boats up to about 35' I would say the benefits outweigh the negatives, look after them and they will look after you, ignor them and you will find out where the horror storys come from.
 
With regard to fuel consumption, I am not looking for petrol engines, nor diesel engine above 80 bhp, so I do not expect my water speed to be above 10 knots, and so the aspect of whether shaft or outdrive and fuel efficiency is marginal. Given the bi annual servicing costs for each outdrive, I calculate that it equates to about 50 gallons of diesel, so that gives the opportunity to enrich the Treasuries coffers, but not to spend money on bellows etc, so it is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other
 
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