Unmaintained Saildrive? Am I asking for it...

[Boatwright]

Good luck finding a replacement drive for an MD11 Volvo. This is a 40 year old unit and basic parts such as bearings, seals, etc. are hard to find. I've bought parts from as far away as Turkey (we live in Michigan). The prop shaft in ours developed pits in the bearing surface at the forward end of the shaft. Believe me, a replacement was impossible to find. The shaft required a trip to a machine shop for an expensive rebuild.

Last year a complete old-stock unit showed up on Ebay. It cost me thousands of $ but we were glad to pay it. Ours is a fresh water boat, I can't imagine the trouble you are facing if yours has been in salt water with no maintenance. The housing is aluminum and requires regular anode replacement.

The best news is Beta Marine makes a complete engine / saildrive replacement for your engine at an "affordable" cost ($10,000 US). I hope you didn't pay much for the boat.

[Glenn.Brooks]

What all the others have said. No zincs on the saildrive very likely means the whole flange and housing that bolts to the big hole in the hull is corroded into boat dust. Save yourself a whole lot of pain pills and go off looking for something else. Lots of nice old boats out there, just waiting to be be brought back anew and sailed on for another 30 or 40years.

Glenn

[noblewarrior]

I have a saildrive and have just overhauled it. It was damaged due to the prop hitting a semi submerged tree. I would agree with the warnings re corrosoin if the anodes were not servicable during the 7 years. However when you open up those units they are incredibly well engineered. The wall thickness of the lower leg is very thick.
That would be my main concern with it, but you would be able to pick up a second hand unit for around 1500 Euro. I did.

[Steven UK]

Just curious where did you find the boat, there is a couple of boats on Yachtworld of that year. P.s I agree with previous responses regarding the corrosion concerns.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Wandering Dixie

I recently looked at 1984 Wauquiez Pretorien that has sat in a marina for a number of years. Researching the boat, it seems its been unmaintained and just floating in the marina for possibly 7 years. The owner is no longer around and just wants the boat off of his hands. After a quick search, it looks like saildrives have a very strict maintenance schedule and if not followed, death and destruction are imminent. Seriously though, am I asking for trouble if I purchase the boat? When I brought it up to the broker, he said that there was already an accepted offer on the boat, but the mechanical surveyor failed the motor. He said that the surveyor was well known to harshly survey mechanical systems in order to generate business for himself. He then said that their mechanical surveyor looked at it and said just change the fluids and its fine. I'm far more inclined to believe a purchasers survey than I am a brokers. If we did purchase the boat and it the motor was junk, what are we looking at for a replacement cost? If it was serviceable, it looks like just changing the bladder is going to cost $4k, not to mention fluids, belts etc. Typically I would do these myself, but in this case I think I would rather have a trusted professional do them so they can also closely inspect it given its history. The engine a 1984 Volvo, MD11D FW cooled.

Howdy.
From your description it seems that the broker and another buyer have seen this boat out of the water recently for another survey. Is that correct?

Did the broker provide you with any photos showing the condition of the saildrive lower unit? If so, please post them in this thread.

Why?
Because even if the saildrive looks good, it may be informative to see the condition, if that boat has been sitting in a marina for several years without attention.
___________

Since the topic of this thread is "unmaintained saildrive" I think having some photos in this thread to illustrate what could be the possible risk will help others visualize how badly corroded a saildrive can become (in relatively short time) if the anodes are not maintained.

Here are a few photos of badly corroded saildrives to illustrate my point. While these may be extreme cases, they show how the aluminum can be dissolved to nothing.

[saltandthesea]

@Wandering Dixie - are you referring to

1984 Wauquiez Pretorien Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com ?

If so, I've also talked to them about it. I attempted to talk sense into the broker (a very nice guy who specializes in these boats) - that the original engine needs to be replaced by now. He keeps on about "it'll run forever". Right, thanks.

I think it's been on the market since at least August 2017. Doesn't look like I'll get it for the price I want at this time.

[Wandering Dixie]

Originally Posted by saltandthesea

@Wandering Dixie - are you referring to

1984 Wauquiez Pretorien Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com ?

If so, I've also talked to them about it. I attempted to talk sense into the broker (a very nice guy who specializes in these boats) - that the original engine needs to be replaced by now. He keeps on about "it'll run forever". Right, thanks.

I think it's been on the market since at least August 2017. Doesn't look like I'll get it for the price I want at this time.

That's the boat! Unfortunately, I don't see them coming down enough on the price to make it affordable to us with the work that I think it's going to need. The broker was great and is incredibly knowledgeable. I'm sure he knows someone will ultimately buy it for something close to their asking price. Given that someone has already put an offer in that fell through based on the survey, I don't think they're in a hurry to move it. If they were, the last survey should've dropped the price.

[Wandering Dixie]

Originally Posted by Steadman Uhlich

Howdy.
From your description it seems that the broker and another buyer have seen this boat out of the water recently for another survey. Is that correct?

Did the broker provide you with any photos showing the condition of the saildrive lower unit? If so, please post them in this thread.

They did have it hauled out and a full survey was performed, but the broker did not provide any pictures, but I also didn't think to ask about any. I'm new to buying a boat and generally pretty passive until I get pissed off, so I've been a bit reluctant about asking to see a previous survey or anything of the like. Without actually seeing the survey, I don't take what the broker would say with much confidence. Like this sail drive, I think they'll just spin it anyway they can. Now I would be more than willing to buy the previous survey from whomever paid for it. Save us each a bit of money....

[Wandering Dixie]

Originally Posted by Boatwright

The best news is Beta Marine makes a complete engine / saildrive replacement for your engine at an "affordable" cost ($10,000 US). I hope you didn't pay much for the boat.

That's exactly what we were thinking we'd do. Replace the entire power plant and saildrive and not worry about in the near future. Its just getting the boat at a price to make that happen for us.

[Catboatjoe]

I re-powered my 1981 Nonsuch that had a R/W cooled Volvo MD11 with a rebuilt S110 Volvo saildrive in 2007. I had a problem with the engine (spun bearing). It cost ~$15,000 US at the time for everything, labor to remove the old engine and drive, install a new Volvo D1-30 engine, S130 saildrive, 3 blade folding prop and a new exhaust system.
The saildrive is fine after 10yrs but you really have to be careful with the zincs. The 3 little zincs on the prop hub last about a season here in Long Island Sound, The larger zinc between the drive leg and the prop hub has lasted over 3 seasons but, I replace them every 3 years anyway.

If the boat was at a marina with any stray current, the drive leg is probably shot. Have the boat pulled and check for corrosion. Also drain the fluid and check for water.

Remember that parts for anything Volvo are very expensive.

Hope this helps.