Sail drives, how bad?

[Gpser44]

Had and maintained twin 3JH Yanmars for 20 years. Attended Yamnar school and learned the ins and outs.

[barnakiel]

I never had any trouble from saildrives.


BUT


I did have to haul out boats to access the unit for maintenance, something I never do when the shaft leaves thru a plain cutlass bearing ...


The problem is some great boats come with the only option of a saildrive. Then what to do.


b.

[wannacat]

Thanks FuzzyFeat! I'll definitely stay away from that brand!

[sail4evr]

Originally Posted by molly1

Let me say this. I have been unable to use my yacht for 6 weeks and am unlikely to get it going within the next 3 months as ZF which makes all the drivers for Volvo and Yanmar cannot supply any parts for my SDD50 drive. I have a bent ( 2mm) prop shaft due to rope getting caught up. ZF says i have to buy a whole new sail drive $5500++ and they have none in stock and will have to wait while they make one.
I think this is a blatent lie as i cannot believe they would not have in stock considering the yacht is 5 years old.
The actual sail drive is a sd20.
I doubt I will ever buy a Beneteau or other brand that uses ZF DRIVES. This may be hard.
I currently have a Oceanis 55

I suggest getting the part # and google it. Yanmar will only sell within their own district so you need to find a supplier that does not operate under that restriction or find a dealer for the address you live in. I have found workarounds for shoddy service from my local Yanmar dealer.

[gulfislandfred]

A saildrive is a deal killer for me. I would not want to own a boat that has one.



Glad to hear the stories of people who have not had problems.

The reason sail drives are installed is that it's cheap. No shaft log, no engine beds, no alignment. Not a good reason to install an engine system on a boat

[joefults]

We have 800 hours on our saildrive. We are very happy with a more efficient thrust angle. I would never go back to a shaft drive, leaky seal, periodic adjustment. etc. Shaft drives will go the way of hanked on head sails very soon.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by gulfislandfred

A saildrive is a deal killer for me. I would not want to own a boat that has one.



Glad to hear the stories of people who have not had problems.

The reason sail drives are installed is that it's cheap. No shaft log, no engine beds, no alignment. Not a good reason to install an engine system on a boat

Another reason is that it gives the designer a lot more flexibility in where they locate the engine. Prior to saildrives being popular the designers sometimes put in v-drives for the same reason.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

I am considering a boat with saildrives, though having only ever had shafts I would really prefer shafts, but just how bad are sail drives?


I hear stories of constant problems, mostly expensive, I never had any issues with shaft drive and boxes, some say sail drives are not much of a problem, others report they are hell and considering i am talking probably 500 hours or more a year, just how much down time and costs are we looking at?


I know to avoid the yanmar sd40/50, any others that are particularly bad?

I would not buy a yacht with a sail drive , having a rather large hole under water worries me. Electrolysis, maintenance and general vulnerability puts me off. Myght as well just mount an outboard on the stern.

[wackerb]

The Yanmar SD-50's on my cat have a little over 3,000 hours. I just replaced one because a seal leak led to oil starvation, but neither have had cone problems. I think the cone glazing comes from the propeller turning in neutral while under sail. I always put mine in reverse to lock them when not under power. There's a mod if you do have problems. I bought it for backup, bu only installed the vent to prevent high oil pressure if over-filled. Do check the dip sticks, though. Hopefully none of the short ones are left, but better safe than sorry.

[bobatkins]

If they would just make the saildrive leg out of stainless steel instead of anode material (aluminum) I would consider a boat with a saildrive.

[Tom Emery]

Originally Posted by onavegador

Since 1982 I sail Sailing boats with Saildrives. The first was an Optima 30HT with a Volvo MD6A and a Saildrive. No Proplems so far during I owner her from 1982 to 1987. After I I owned an Englis boat with shaft, every time after hauling and back in the water I had to align the shaft, may be this due to a not so rigid hull.
Next was a Multihull with Yanmar 3GM30 and SD 20 Saildrives. I sailed far with her 4 Atlantic crossings and the full length of the med and back and had no problems. After I bought an other Catamaran with her I sailed two circum navigations including sailing up the Red Sea and around the souther spit of South America. Two Volvo MD 20A with Saildrives. The Engines and the Saildrives worked fine.
Now I have a 35 year old catalac with two Yanmar 2GM20 with SD 20 Saildrives. I bought the cat in Turkey sailed her to Southern France and up the River Rhone, Saone the Canal de la Marne au Rhin to Strasbourg, down the River Rhine to Mainz and now up the River Main. I'm happy so far. So far, as my wife told me not to sail on sea single handed as she finds I'm to old. So I have to be happy on Inland waterways. May be she is right, any how, better peace than war and she is lucky.

How do you like the Catalac sailboat? Is it still structurally sound? Any delamination issues? Blisters? Looking to transition from mono to multi. Any information about the older (less expensive) boats would be greatly appreciated.

[pbmaise]

If you are not planning on sailing remote areas away from supply lines... Fine. Just be aware if sailing remote places like SE Asia other than Thailand that many sail drive owners I have known have lost many cruising weeks waiting for spare parts to arrive and get through customs. Based on my observations before setting out in remote areas I would stock up on spares and expertise so I wasn't sitting waiting.

[David B]

Originally Posted by Whosails

Also, it is recommended to use non copper bottom Paine on hulls that have these engines.

We have Coppercoat on our hull right up to the Saldrive - no problem at all over 8 years

[David B]

Originally Posted by bobatkins

If they would just make the saildrive leg out of stainless steel instead of anode material (aluminum) I would consider a boat with a saildrive.

There are two anodes on the saildrive - no corrosion issues over 8 years - and we have Coppercoat on our hull right up to the drive. We also have a galvanic isolator installed for when in marinas.

[chowdan]

Some people mention that no rocks can hit the sail drive due to having a big keel or rudder surrounding them. This may be true for rocks but not logs.

Floating debris such as logs can easily bounce under the rudder and hit the saildrive.