Mahe 36: Sail Drives and Props

[jean1146]

I was talking yesterday with the FP importer about having a lot of growth and barnicles on my saildrives and was telling him that they probably used some cheap paint,his answer was (never use any antifouling paint on the saildrive because of the corrosion it is going to create).those are Volvo's.Has anyone solved this problem? I am having to go under the boat every week to scrap the growth.JC.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by jean1146

I was talking yesterday with the FP importer about having a lot of growth and barnicles on my saildrives and was telling him that they probably used some cheap paint,his answer was (never use any antifouling paint on the saildrive because of the corrosion it is going to create).those are Volvo's.Has anyone solved this problem? I am having to go under the boat every week to scrap the growth.JC.

I think what he meant was never put any copper-based antifouling on the saildrives. There is antifouling made for aluminum applications that don't contain any free copper. They used to contain tributyl tin, but that is no longer legal in the US. Pettit and Interlux make paint for this application.

Mark

[jean1146]

Mark thanks.There had to be an answer,my boat stays in a canal in Apollo beach in Tampa bay,for some reasons.the barnicles problem is horible.some one told me that the more water moves the more problems you will get,if you keep the boat where there is very little water movement there will be much less growth.

[Scott730]

JC
I'm having the same problem with my sail drives, really bad build up. There is an Interlux prop paint as Mark stated, I think it is new to the market (one or two years old) Anybody have experience with this paint?

Scott

[Scott730]

I have a question on the saildrives, can they be left in reverse gear while sailing to reduce drag? I did this on my old shaft drive boat but someone told me that I could flood the engines if I did it on a saildrive unit.
Thoughts/experience?

Thanks
Scott

[DtM]

We put ours in reverse to get rid of a vibration (which is in fact the turning props) that appears at about 4 knots of boatspeed.

We checked with our Volvo mechanic and he says there is no problem with doing it. Just watch starting with the engines in reverse !!

[Jef & Marin, Netherlands]

Regarding putting the saildrives in reverse gear:
the operator's manual of the Volvo engine / sail drive instructs:
"When sailing the control lever should be in the reverse position if a folding propellor is used and in neutral position if a fixed propellor is used".
We have folding props on our boat, so we should put gears in reverse. However in many cases we put the controls in forward position to avoid the jib halyards catching the levers when tacking. Can't think of a difference this would make.
Previously we sailed on a 32 feet monohull having a fixed prop. Sometimes we put it in gear without noticing. We would notice it when putting the gearbox in neutral again because the speed would go up by half a knot, at speeds below 5 knots. I wonder how much speed the Mahe looses if you put the 2 propellors in gear, either forward or reverse......

[Wayward Wind]

Just antifould Wayward Wind, including applying Propspeed on the props. Here are the before and after photos.

JohnC

[Cotemar]

Seadog3315, I see the new blue antifoul paint on the hull and the propspeed on the prop, but what is the "black paint" on the Sail Drive Leg?
It all looks really nice and clean. Great job
Cotemar

[Wayward Wind]

Cotemar

Thanks for the compliments. The antifouling was done by the slipway operators, who also took those photos. We used Altex 5 for the hulls, Trilux for the legs, and Propspeed for the propellors.

Cheers!

JohnC

[jean1146]

More problems. Has anyone had problems with their transmission overflowing. Just drained the fluid while the boat was out of the water,put some Dexron II to the mark om dipstick,it is leaking out at the base of the dipstick and from the side tubing coming from the base of the tranny. Like it is building too much pressure and it has to go somewhere. There is no vent on the top of the transmission. Any suggestions?
Thanks for any comments.
JC.

[Scott730]

JC
You should check the fluid level when it is hot, I made the same mistake and had it overflow once the transmission warmed up. I seem to be fine now.

[jean1146]

Scott. When I got the boat the transmission was filled up all the way to the top and I never had this problem. I think it is something else,I will post on the forum and see if someone has an idea.
JC.

[lstyles]

Does anyone out there have the folding props and have you had any problems with abnormal wear? It looks like after less than 2 years both my props are so worn they need to be replaced.
thanks for your input,
Lori

[Cotemar]

Lori

Sounds like a Prop Zinc problem.
See attached photos of the zincs.
Just replaced them in the water with a 4mm wrench and a mask and snorkel.
Takes about 10 minutes per prop.

Can purchase them from BoatZincs.com (978-841-9978) – The Online Superstore for Zinc Anodes

Volvo Penta Part # 3858399 $24.59 for each set
3-Piece Collar Propeller - Zinc Anode


Mark