Saildrive - water in oil

[brianc]

Hey all - this is more of a 'second opinion' post but I'd like some more input before I talk to the guys I usually use. And if it sounds like I don't really know what I'm talking about, it's because I don't really know what I'm talking about.

A year ago we had the boat hauled because of water in the saildrive gear oil. The mechanics replaced some seals and/or gaskets at the base of the drive where the prop attaches. This fixed the issue, however I just checked it this morning, and once again, water in the oil. The oil was fine in the beginning of January.

I feel like that after only a year this should not have happened and I'm wondering what some likely causes might be...improper installation? bad part? could something (fishing line?) have gotten wrapped around the prop and caused this? We haven't hit anything. The zincs are inspected and replaced as necessary, nothing unusual has been reported.

Any other ideas?

Thanks, Brian