Pros and Cons of a Saildrive?

[Being There]

Hi all, I've narrowed my gambit of selections in sailing vessels to a Wauquiez Pretorian and I have noticed most of them come with a Volvo Saildrive and a few with a V-Drive.The latter being my preference, mostly for maintenance and accessibility. What are your thoughts on this and would the saildrive deter you from making the purchase?
Also have heard allot of positive comments on the Yanmar saildrive. A good choice for a repower?

Thanks for your time.............. Dave

[Sunspot Baby]

Sail drives are becoming more and more popular.

I have a 12 year old catamaran with Volvo sail drives and have no complaints. Everything has pluses and minuses.

Personally, I would not make the drive configuration a determining factor in boat selection.

I am not an expert, and there are some on the forum, but I heard somewhere that the Yanmar and Volvo Penta sail drives are the same. Engines are of course different.

Mine are located between the keels and skeg protected rudders so aren’t likely to get into trouble in shallow water.

George

[danleach]

This seems to be an eternal issue, with no end in sight to the discussion.

Some reviewers and owners have had issues with corrosion with the saildrives. But others will always chime in, correctly, that if you are zealous about checking and maintaining your zincs...you should have few issues with this.

And there is no denying that the saildrive gives you better placement of the prop....aimed directly aft instead of aft and down. It will give you better control in reverse.

Me, I'm a v-drive owner on a Hinterhoeller Niagra, and I've been happy with it.

But I agree with the point that V-drive or Saildrive is not going to the the deciding factor on the boat itself. I would buy a boat with either...but if I had the saildrive I'd be extremely diligent in my zinc checking.

See you on the seas.

[Strygaldwir]

The Yanmar and Volvo sail drives are different. They will both however, take the same type of props.

There are so many different opinion os Sail drive vs shaft. My initial reaction to sail drives was I was getting a lesser product. After being in the yard a couple of times, I have concluded that I am just fine with my sail drives.

I whole heartidly agree, pick your boat on the 186,282 other things that will differentiate the boat. Not the sail drive.

With that said, I have the Yanmar SD20 sail drive. If I had my choice I would not select this unit. It is made for boats that can be readily lifted out of the water. I have two complaints. 1.) The specs say change the lubricant every 100 hours. To do this, the specs say, remove the boat from the water. Grrrr... 2.) To replace the zincs the spec say remove the boat from the water. I am finding this to be less of an issue. My zincs are holding up VERY well. Not much wear after being in the water for 1.5 years. I was going to change them at last haul, but they didn't need it.

The SD40, which is the next Yanmar Saildrive up has fixed the lubricant problem. If you get an engine that gives you that choice, I'd have no reservations about suggesting it.

Keith

[never monday]

I'd go for the saildrive with these options. I detest V-drives. they're A PIA for doing any miantainance on the stuffing box.

[Being There]

Thanks Everyone!, for the excellent advice. It should help me get beyond my hangups with saildrives. Great site for a wealth of information. I could of been "floundering" on this subject for months.

Dave

[Joli]

My father in law had a volvo saildrive in his pretorien.

Plus: Very quite and smooth.

Minus: Major PITA to change the zinc.
The boot is a concern, that is one big fricken hole in the bottom of the boat.
The outdrive is an aluminum casting and prone to corrosion.

All said, the pretorien is a great boat and is well regarded by cruisers. I sure would not let a saildrive stop me from buying one.

[Harriet]

The new Volvo saildrives do not require the boat to be hauled out of the water in order to change the zincs.

[n13L5]

Originally Posted by Strygaldwir

With that said, I have the Yanmar SD20 sail drive. If I had my choice I would not select this unit. It is made for boats that can be readily lifted out of the water. I have two complaints. 1.) The specs say change the lubricant every 100 hours. To do this, the specs say, remove the boat from the water.Keith

Hundred hours is only 4 days and 4 hours...

It seems that, depending on weather, you might exceed that time on a single voyage.

They expect you to haul your boat in the middle of the ocean?
Maybe a portable, inflatable, floating dry dock?


Sounds really bad for people living on their boat as well.

[crankysailor]

Originally Posted by Strygaldwir

2.) To replace the zincs the spec say remove the boat from the water. I am finding this to be less of an issue. My zincs are holding up VERY well. Not much wear after being in the water for 1.5 years. I was going to change them at last haul, but they didn't need it.
Keith

Err .. I am no expert but from what I understand how cathodic corrosion works this is actually a bad thing isn't it? .. you WANT the anode (zinc) to get eaten up so that your drive doesn't. If the Zinc is holding up "great" .. somebody else in your boat might be taking the hit instead :-(

Maybe get the electrical bonding of the masses checked?

[Svanen]

Originally Posted by Strygaldwir

My zincs are holding up VERY well. Not much wear after being in the water for 1.5 years. I was going to change them at last haul, but they didn't need it.

If you paint over them, they'll last even longer.

Originally Posted by crankysailor

If the Zinc is holding up "great" .. something else in your boat might be taking the hit instead

Indeed. There is a reason they are called 'sacrificial' anodes.

[goboatingnow]

inus: Major PITA to change the zinc.
The boot is a concern, that is one big fricken hole in the bottom of the boat.
The outdrive is an aluminum casting and prone to corrosion.

how is it a major PITA to change the zinc, anymore then say changing the ones bolted to my keel , once the boat is hauled ( and thats done every year ) , its a 30 minute job to change the saildrive anode

The boot is a concern, that is one big fricken hole in the bottom of the boat.

My recent purchase is a saildrive ( cause an awful lot of boats have them these days)
The major PITA is the boot replacement , but thats every 7 years and in fact many people leave them for over 10 , so its not a annual job or anything like it

The fear of a big hole is rather misplaced, The leg is designed to shear off , but in fact the type of energy needed to seriously rip the whole thing out is likely to have caused other serous structural damage . Charter companies regularly use saildrives and these boats get raced and rallied more then most

[ggray]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

The major PITA is the boot replacement , but thats every 7 years and in fact many people leave them for over 10 , so its not a annual job or anything like it

The fear of a big hole is rather misplaced, The leg is designed to shear off , but in fact the type of energy needed to seriously rip the whole thing out is likely to have caused other serous structural damage . Charter companies regularly use saildrives and these boats get raced and rallied more then most

I'm at 20 years and counting on the boots. May look at them this winter.

But how is the leg designed to shear off? If there is enough impact, the first thing to go would be the motor mounts, and the boot along with them. I read of a catamaran that swung around on anchor over a rock that the SD pounded on and tore the motor mounts and the boot.

I'm not particularly worried about this, but my engines are behind a fairly water tight bulkhead.

[Strygaldwir]

When cruising, it was more of an issue to change the zincs. One would either have to haul or dive to get the prop off, then replacement is simple. Now that I am not cruising and in a marina, I just do them when I haul out for winter. Either way, they are quite large and do hold up well if the saildrive is properly painted. The props on the other hand have taken a beating and will need to be changed after 15 years or so.

Keith