Yanmar Sail Drives -beware !

Halo

Halo

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Yanmar have quietly changed their recommendation to inspect sail drive / hull diaphragm seals every 2 years and change them if cracked to the same but also change every 5 years regardless of condition.
It could easily cost £1000 to change them so that means sail drive seals will cost an average of £200/year or £4/week.
I have been in correspondnece with Mark Brender at Yanmar Europe ( Mark Brender [mark.brender@yanmar.nl] who says they are fixed on this change and its the owners problem.
I respectfully suggest that it would not be a smart move to buy a new boat with a Yanmar sail drive.
I also suggest that owners with Yanmar sail drives contact Yanmar and the manufacturer of their boat to see if sense can prevail and a condition based recommendation be made instead of this "cover your arse" one
Martin
 
I always thought Yanmar had longer intervals than Volvo because theirs is a double seal with a water detector between them.

If they have changed to a single seal guess that might be why they are changing their recommendation.
 
Have to say that I've always thought that sail drives are for the boat manufacturers benefit. Not for the owners benefit.
If I was buying a boat the OP's post would be a big factor in my decision making process.
 
Recommendations are not requirements ...

I know of saildrive seals that have been in place for up to 15 years - and when taken out they still look perfect ...
 
We will be renewing our diaphragm before next season on our VP sail-drive. It will be 7 years old and that is the recommended time to change, despite it looking like new and certainly not leaking.

Volvo dealer yard Quotation: Labour £400-£500 including VAT plus parts approx £250 plus hoist both ways and cradle hire, although we would be lifting out at that time anyway for anti-fouling etc.

IMPO and despite the above, I still much prefer sail-drives for there smooth vibration free quiet operation. I couldn't be bothered with all that shaft and gland gubbins.
 
Talulah said:
Have to say that I've always thought that sail drives are for the boat manufacturers benefit. Not for the owners benefit.
If I was buying a boat the OP's post would be a big factor in my decision making process.
Click to expand...

Nonsense, saildrives are no better or worse then shaft drives. Each has their own strong points.

Shaft:
- Easier to maintain (actually; less that can go wrong). But the number of P-bracket problems is significant as well.
- Alignment can be problematic
- Seal can drip for some models.

Saildrive
- Much less vibration
- Better propeller angle and depth.
- Takes up less space, good for interior
- More expensive for maintenance (seals, labor, etc.)

And one can come up with lots of other details. All in all I would say Saildrives are a little in favor when you look at comfort points and for maintenance the shaft drive has some benefits. Take your pick.
For me it would not be the decisive factor on a boat.

Cheers,

Arno
 
Always avoided saildrives as I believe any split would be catastrophic rather than just annoying and containable as with shaft seal failure.
If you've got one I guess you treat it the same way as your rubber timing belt in the car - pay up or clench 'em and hope.
 
If Yanmar have not changed the seal the proposed change to the inspection/service requirements may be to do with US product liability. Most Mororcycle manufacturers give minimum thickness measurements for brake discs. Sometimes these were so near origional size it was a joke. When I questioned the designer of one particular Kawasaki Motorcycle he explained that the in house legal team insisted on certain parts being marked thus. Then. if the part failed and was below the indicated thickness the draconian US legal system would be toothless. The charge for changing a Yanmar saildrive seal appears to be OTT. Being a Yanmar genuine part its bound to be expensive...................
 
I changed mine two years ago. Did it myself during winter lay up. It had been in the boat for 10 years and looked new. The top one was cracked though...

I found it not that difficult, it was my first major job on an (any) engine.
Used the standing mast and boom to take some of the weight of the engine (2ym) to slide it forward. It could still stand on only two motor mounts.
Had to take off the prop axle which gave a lot of extra work.

As part of all this I also added a speedi sleeve to the axle as the seal had worn a groove in to it.

But all in all, a good job to do myself.

But, if the yanmar guidelines are used by insurers (mine said 10 years when they inspected the boat when I had bought it...) and I had to have the work done, changing to a shaft drive would pay back very quickly!
 
If it has to be done every 2 years with the effort involved you may as well dispose of the leg and glass in a sterntube and propshaft. I converted mine 3 years ago and it was well worth the effort. No difference in noise and vibration and the boat handles better. Used a volvo seal which has been excellent and relatively cheap and easy to change. Zero maintenance spend to date much cheaper than the saildrive which ate expensive anodes.
 
fireball said:
Recommendations are not requirements ...

I know of saildrive seals that have been in place for up to 15 years - and when taken out they still look perfect ...
Click to expand...


I agree, however I'm sure most of the marine Insurance industry will use this an out to reduce or eliminate any claim if she sinks and has a older/ out of date seal.

Good luck and fair winds. :)
 
aluijten said:
Nonsense, saildrives are no better or worse then shaft drives. Each has their own strong points.

Shaft:
- Easier to maintain (actually; less that can go wrong). But the number of P-bracket problems is significant as well.
- Alignment can be problematic
- Seal can drip for some models.

Saildrive
- Much less vibration
- Better propeller angle and depth.
- Takes up less space, good for interior
- More expensive for maintenance (seals, labor, etc.)

And one can come up with lots of other details. All in all I would say Saildrives are a little in favor when you look at comfort points and for maintenance the shaft drive has some benefits. Take your pick.
For me it would not be the decisive factor on a boat.

Cheers,

Arno
Click to expand...


A shaft drive is easy to maintain - P brackets arent a problem on a properly built boat and many boats have logs instead anyway. Other maintenance is just a replace of the shaft seal every 5 years or so together with cutlass bearing. Maybe a couple of hours diy.

No reason for any more vibration though I will admit that aligning a shaft properly is a time consuming exercise
 
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