Sail drive vs. shaft drive

[Bill O]

I know this may be too much of an opened question, but is there any advantage to a sail drive compared to a standard shaft drive? I understand the lower vibration, etc., but from some articles I've read it seems like a sail drive requires more maintenance and may have more electrolysis issues than the standard shaft configuration.

Hoping to hear from the people that actually have had sail drives, especially with the newer sd 60.

Thanks.
Bill O.

[SailingFan]

Not to intrude, but also what are the disadvantages of one over the other (picking up nets, damage from grounding, wildlife incidents and damage, maintenance requirements, costs of repairs, parts cost and availability, you know, the practical mechanical issues and the like)?

[zippy]

Sail drives are a cheap install by the manufacturer that passes the real cost on to the owners. Sail drives are on my short list of things to avoid.

[SailingFan]

Originally Posted by zippy

Sail drives are a cheap install by the manufacturer that passes the real cost on to the owners. Sail drives are on my short list of things to avoid.

Zippy, what are the "real" costs of which you speak? I have no experience with a saildrive whatsoever, but rather only with inboards and outboards. I also have not used I/O drives. I basically have nothing to compare to gain insight with what you posted. Can you please elaborate?

[LagunaRed]

We have a sail drive and I would say the advantage is really the smaller foot print you can achieve. This disadvantage is that you have a big hole in your boat that you really need to watch the seals on. I would avoid if I could but seems like most cats have sail drives these days and we wanted a new boat. As they say, there is no perfect boat!

[Siberian Sea]

To me it looks basically like the lower unit of an outboard motor hanging under there. If so then it's never going to hold up as long as a conventional shaft system. Just look at the case housing..... It's aluminum, that's nothing I want underwater for long periods of time. Neet concept but I think in the long run its not as good.

[Cheechako]

Sail drives are cheap to install for the builder. They have mixed metals in their construction and rely on a big hole in your boat. If they are anything like the outdrive on a power cruiser then bring $ for maintenance.

[Captain Bill]

The saildrive versus shaft drive debate is an old one that has been rehashed many times on this forum. It's probably a bit behind guns, anchors, now composting heads, climate change,and a few others, but suffice it to say there are two camps on this and no one will change their minds. They will also not say anything that has not been said before and nothing new will be contributed. Look up some of the old threads you'll see everything that will be said in this thread.

[Scout 30]

In just a few short posts everything you need to know has been stated. Avoid them if you can but if you're looking for a cat that's hard to do.

[danielamartindm]

Just two cents that aren't mentioned often. With a direct drive, the angle of the drive shaft's emergence necessitates some of the prop's thrust being directed downward, away from useful horizontal pushing of the boat. Not a big deal, but certainly a factor to bear in mind in this debate.

[sailon46]

It's a matter of choice but mechanically speaking I would not want the tranny of my boat in the water covered by 1/4 - 1/2 inch aluminum in the Carib where my boat resides. On top of this you need ujoins to transfer the flywheel motion to the prop. It's basically an outdrive. It's for boating around the harbor lakes etc. the ocean needs something more than toys.

[Valmika]

My two cents. (actually a lot more ) I had to replace the drive on starboard hull of a cat due to corrosion and it was only 7 years old. I'm sure there was an issue with lack of maintenance by PO but still Never had the problem with a SS shaft

[Bulawayo]

Once again there is a lot of ignorance from sailors that sit under tree's. Yes, I am happy to be controversial. There are pro's and cons to both shaft and sail drive and I really cannot favour one over the other. For every pro there is a con to both arrangement. We clocked over 80,000 nautical miles in our last two cats, both having sail drives. We did not experience any issues, not a single one - but are fastidious with maintenance. People that condemn either are often speaking of something they read by someone sat under the palm tree or something they 'know' of. The few people that have had an issue with either arrangement will rarely admit that there is an underlying cause.
The reality is that you do not need to be overly concerned. Buy your used boat, replace the seals and carry spare replacements. Obviously you'll also want to ensure the mechanical condition is A1 as well. Carry out the scheduled maintenance and neither is going to have an advantage over the other.

Originally Posted by Bill O

I know this may be too much of an opened question, but is there any advantage to a sail drive compared to a standard shaft drive? I understand the lower vibration, etc., but from some articles I've read it seems like a sail drive requires more maintenance and may have more electrolysis issues than the standard shaft configuration.

Hoping to hear from the people that actually have had sail drives, especially with the newer sd 60.

Thanks.
Bill O.

[Bulawayo]

Very valid point.

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

The saildrive versus shaft drive debate is an old one that has been rehashed many times on this forum. It's probably a bit behind guns, anchors, now composting heads, climate change,and a few others, but suffice it to say there are two camps on this and no one will change their minds. They will also not say anything that has not been said before and nothing new will be contributed. Look up some of the old threads you'll see everything that will be said in this thread.

[Intentional Drifter]

Let me sum it up for you: About a hour per drive, per haul out. Really, that's the practical difference. Changing the oil (on some drives, even that can be done from within the boat, others not), change the zincs, make sure the water intakes for the engine are unobstructed.

Now, some drives are notorious for slipping clutch cones (yeah, I'm talking about you, Yanmar SD 40/50!), but those can be fixed pretty easily or retrofitted. You must make sure that you use proper aluminum paint (regular bottom paint with copper is strictly forbidden). Every few years you can replace the large seals around the drive leg, more to keep our own paranoia at bay, most of the time.

Otherwise, it's the same precautions you would take with a shaft: Keep it off the rocks, don't wrap stuff up in the prop, check your fluid levels, keep your shift cables in good shape, make sure electricity isn't going to ground through it.

ID