Steerable saildrive

[GinoDelG]

I’m thinking of buying a trimaran with a steerable sail drive. Does anyone have experience with them, good or bad. Only people with actual experience please.

[tkeithlu]

Sorry you didn't get any answers on this.Trimarans are infrequent enough on the forum, and with a steerable saildrive? You may be the first.

Thinking about it conceptually, I can pivot my single prop trawler on its axis, or close to it, but I don't have anywhere near the maneuverability that a steerable saildrive promises. Going into the tiny space newer marina's allow seems to assume at least a bow thruster, so we always ask for a T head tie-up.

On the other side of the issue, the brochure for the steerable saildrive does seem to assume that you also have a bow thruster. That makes sense, because the push from the saildrive will always be at the stern no matter which direction it faces. You cannot move sideways with the thrust off center.

Very modern cruise ships use steerable pods. It keeps them from needing tugboats.

[GinoDelG]

Thanks. Any opinion on their reliability or maintenance needs?

[tkeithlu]

Well, let's see. You are adding a turntable, the motor to turn the turn table, and all the electronics needed to feed the joy stick control. Saildrives by themselves amount to the foot of an outboard motor, including the two 90 degree turns that you don't have in a straight shaft to propeller. Saildrives are not as reliable as straight shafts, as evidenced by various posts on this forum. They are also user repairable.

I think what it does do is take you out of the DIY world when it comes to maintenance. It'll take a factory rep to repair if it ever does fail - no user repairable parts therein. To me, it would be really neat to own and use, but I'd be a bit hesitant to take it to the four corners of the earth for fear that a repair could mean removing it and shipping it from Way-The-Heck-Out to ZF for repair. That puts in in the same category as your electronics.

You might determine what ordering a new one would cost if youever did need one.