Still thinking about the next boat!

[Quest]

Recent months have involved much pondering regarding the next boat purchase.

The possibilities cover outboards (Antares 880, MF 855), shaft drives (Antares 8, MF 8... But I don't think these will provide quite the space I want on board) or sterndrives (something like a Prestige 30 or 34). I am looking at using the Plymouth Dry Stack for the foreseeable future and both of these last 2 can be dry stacked I believe.

Bigger shaft drives like the Antares 980 or Prestige 32 are a little too big for the dry stack to be comfortable with.

Reading thro' previous threads it seems that stern drives aren't especially well regarded - almost seems that they don't really like being sat in water! My question for the forum is does dry stacking a stern drive boat do away with many of the objections and do they then become a more attractive option or would many of you still steer clear of them?

As ever, your opinions would be appreciated...

 

[Greg2]

Whilst I don't have any experience of dry stacking I have had boats with stern drives and I am not sure that storing ashore would make a big difference.

Problems with drives arise due to use (e.g. Fishing line around the drive shaft which damages the seal) or poor maintenance/bad luck (e.g. Bellows failure). The main consequence is water ingress which is what causes damage in the longer term so I suppose that you could argue that if you have a problem then storing ashore might reduce the amount of water that gets in but the point is that it will still get in.

I suppose that the bellows may last longer if stored ashore but changing every two years isn't exactly onerous and why take the risk of extending this period?

The one area it might make a big difference is with corrosion. If there is a corrosion problem ( VP props can suffer from this) then not being in the water will greatly reduce the effects.

Overall, whilst drives can be a bit of a pain they are not really as bad as some will have you believe and they do have some benefits over shafts. If you factor in that you may have the odd problem and associated bill and factor it in to your boating costs then they are fine IMHO.

Hope this helps.

 

[Quest]

Greg,
thanks for that. Those are really interesting comments and the kind of opinions I was hoping to provoke. Have you stuck with stern drives or moved to shafts since?
I also enjoy river creeping over the winter periods and I guess stern drives would be more suited to this than shafts?
Andrew

 

[Greg2]

Andrew,
We are just in the throes of purchasing our next boat and to be honest it has been a bit of a journey! We weren't fixed on a particular type (sports cruiser/Flybridge/aft cabin) as they all have their pros and cons and we would have been happy with any. Our intended usage is probably 80% river and 20% sea and we eventually ruled flybridges out only due to bridge height restrictions.

We got to the survey stage on a 41 foot sports cruiser with outdrives last month but had to abandon that due to issues with the survey. We now have an offer accepted on a 41 foot aft cabin with shafts so we are making the switch but only because of the type of boat comes with shafts as opposed to a strong desire to move away from stern drives.

To be honest there are pros and cons to shafts and stern drives on the river. Shafts tend to make the boat easier to manouvre and there is less maintnence whereas stern drives may bring the potential for higher maintenance costs but they also provide directional power, can be lifted if there are depth problems or you need to change a dinged prop and they are more efficient than shafts, although this is more a consideration for cruising at speed at sea.

The old adage is that every boat is a compromise and whilst everyone will have their preferences and will argue their point of view the reality is that only you know what is important to you. A major factor of course is that certain boats of a particular size will only have one option e.g. a sub-35 for sports cruiser will not have shafts.

If it helps I used to be a big advocate of shafts and considered stern drives to be the work of the devil but having got to understand them through maintaining them myself the mystery has gone. They will cost more to maintain and you will probably have the odd drama but as fuel costs increase the overall cost differential will even out.

My advice would be to look at the diferent options in the round as opposed to focussing solely on the shaft v stern drive debate.

Hope this helps.

 

[Quest]

Yes, it does, thanks again.

Hunting for a new boat and doing all the research and homework is fun, but sometimes I feel like civil war on legs, pitching from one opinion to another. I hope to shortly start trying out a few options so things should start to clarify themselves I think (hope!)

Best wishes,

Andrew

 

[Greg2]

I know exactly what you mean. Listening to the experience and views of others is important and can be very helpful but don't takeit all as being the gospel truth. Dig hard enough on any boat or engine and someone somewhere will have a sorry tale to tell. Use it as guidance but make your own mind up based upon what is right for you.

We found ourselves in the perhaps slightly strange position of deciding between a Fairline Targa 40 or a Broom 41 . Completely diferent boats but both had their attractions. We drew up a list of the things we wanted from a boat together with issues to consider (so shafts v drives was there but not a deciding factor). We then scored each point out of three and the Broom came out well ahead so that is the direction we took.

Trouble is with boats is that the heart gets involved so the 'wow factor' of the Targa nearly made us ignore the obvious benefits of the Broom..............

 

[rafiki_]

There are those who consider that drives are the spawn of the devil, but if you look at the boat builders, more are fitting drives and pods to bigger boats.2 key reasons for this, packaging and fuel economy. Drives free-up much more space for accommodation, as you mount the engines in the stern, not the centre of the boat. And because you can angle them with lift and steering, you can optimise their drive angle, hence improving fuel efficiency.

For maintenance, there are conflicting issues. With drives, there are more things to go wrong, and hence maintenance is very important, and good maintenance at that. However, with sterndrives, the engines are usually much more accesible, so their maintenance is easier than when the motors are in the bowels of the boat.

 

[Quest]

I hadn't grasped the fuel economy differential. Are we talking small percentages or is the difference in economy rates significant?

 

[rafiki_]

I don't think you will see much difference on the rivers, as you are runnig=ng the engines at very low ratings. I believe the difference on the sea can be 10-15%, so quite significant.