Volvo Penta 120S Saildrive

[Duncanson40]

Hi One and All,
Major issues? with my sail drive. It's a Volvo 120s fitted to a 55hp NissanSD23 diesel. A few weeks ago I left my mooring to head off for refuelling and water. It jumped out of gear, wouldn't go into gear and is now stuck in neutral. I was kindly assisted back to my mooring after trying to sort it out before it became a major dilemma.
( I killed the engine, jumped into my tender so I could at least keep her pointed into the wind and slow her drift down. There were plenty of yachts to hit and when alone my first priority was to keep everything safe and under control while I still could, away from other boats.)
It happened very suddenly and up till that point had been fine.
I thought it may have been the cable as it could have possibly broke. It works fine, I disconnected it and watched the lever at the helm change positions repeatedly.
About 2 months ago I sailed from Adelaide to Sydney. 3 significant things happened:
1) The grub screw on the water pump pulley fell out and the main over heated briefly as the water pump stopped pumping, easy fix and got going again. Location 20nm N of Kangaroo Island. No wind except way down South, another 80nm plus, but 11m swell from SW.
2) We lost steerage due to cable breaking in a big blow of the SE Corner, Vic/NSW, used emergency tiller from Green Cape to Sydney no worries.
and, 3) We jibbed at one point causing the main sheet to grab the gear lever on the helm under a lot of pressure, as the boom nearly took our heads off. Actually an enormous amount of pressure.
Anyway, Ive just tried moving the selector on the side of the transmission, after disconnecting the gear lever cable and nothing!!! It won't badge except for a movement of 1 - 2cm, BUT it's not selecting or finding a gear. It feels very jammed without going overboard trying to move it.
Any advice on the possible damage cost of repairs and where I can get it sorted out? Don't know how many hours its done, sorry. I changed the oil and anode before the trip and all was sweet. Now it's sour.
Should I jump over the side and try turning the prop by hand?
Anyone know of a unit for sale??? I am assuming that I have to slip the yacht which is a 40' Duncanson and the whole exercise is not going be cheap.... correct?
As far as the boats performance and design, its very seaworthy and sails very well. I'm in Sydney on a swing mooring near Balmain unable to move which is a weird feeling after such a big trip.
Thank you in advance to all those that respond.
Boats$$$$$!!!!

[DougR]

The shift mechanism on the side of the saildrive is an eccentric which actuates a shoe or dog. The shoe moves the shift cone up or down to select forward or reverse. All this mechanism works best if shifted when the engine is running. In all probability when the main sheet grabbed the shift lever there was damage done to the shift dog, and that is now hanging up.

You can remove the shifter from the side of the drive with two fasteners and examine it for damage and broken parts. Drain off some of the oil first. Probably the services of a good V.P. technician will be helpful.

Regards,
DougR

[Duncanson40]

Thanks for your reply DougR,
I have to agree with you. I was going through the manual reading up on it. I was looking around and remembered seeing those parts on board. They've been taken out and replaced as there is a large crack in the brass cone, the dog is there too, they're all in the parts box they came in. (The dog, and the selector cone).
When I get a chance I'll drop some oil out and remove the selector so I can check the dog and what damage has actually occurred.
If I have to replace the dog and cone, is it necessary to pull the boat out of the water or can I do it safely on the water. I'm imagining the worse and broken parts here and there. I also see in the manual that there are a lot of specialised tools and it requires an experienced technician.
I'm also wondering if its better to just replace the sail drive rather than rebuild it? So far I found it difficult to find anyone that sells or supplies parts or sail drives, shouldn't be too hard as Sydney has a large sailing community.
I'll let you know how I go.
Thanks again for your reply.