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Ram · 13-04-2007, 04:44

I have a sd20 sail drive / fixed prop, wile under sail should it be in forward or reverse,
nutral is noisey
Ram

sv_makai · 13-04-2007, 04:47

Per Yanmar service bulletin I saw a while ago the sd20 should be in neutral.

Ram · 13-04-2007, 05:08

Hi Bill
Yes I kinda thought that, but im wondering what harm could come if any in gear? Any thoughts?
Wile sailing I dont want to hear 2 gears turning, wile the noise is not that high I still hear it, and if making a passage that becomes a pain in the ass after a wile
Ram

sv_makai · 13-04-2007, 06:35

From what I remember of the service bulletin is that leaving the trans in a gear is it doesn't damage the gears themselves, but puts excessive pressure on the clutches.

The gears don't run dry as they are bathed in oil and cooled by water passing by the leg, so it isn't a heat issues.

Kookaburra · 24-01-2012, 10:38

An old post that I just came across and I suspect it may have already been answered, but here is my tuppence worth. Fountaine Pajot says to leave it in reverse on their Cats while, as noted above, Yanmar says leave it in neutral. I raised this conflict with the presenter at a Diesel course run by Mack Boring. His answer came down to: it is essentially a legal issue. There was an accident where an engine was started with the gear in reverse and injured a swimmer. So on new set-ups there is now is a mechanism that prevents the engine being started in gear. To prevent someone wondering why their engine won't start when they are faced with, say, an emergency when you might not notice that it is on gear they now recommend leaving the gear in neutral.