Saildrive

[Tony]

Hey Y'all,

Is there any advantage of a saildrive vs traditional prop shaft setup, aside from space limitations in some boats? Is there any advantage to moving the propeller forward along a boat's hull?

Thanks!

[Tim]

I'm not a big fan of the saildrive. It requires a very large hole in the hull, which is sealed with a rubber gasket in most cases. These tend to age and fail with distressing rapidity. Getting to the opening from inside the boat tends to be hard because the engine is right above it.

And perhaps more alarmingly, most saildrive units, being aluminum, are widely known for having often severe galvanic corrosion problems. Keeping up with the anodes is critical, but this can be tough if the boat is in the water year-round. I have seen terrible galvanic action on these units.

Their installation in boats is generally for purely economic and space-saving reasons. You don't see them more often because, frankly, they are a poor solution. Continually submersed aluminum in an environment known for being hostile even to much nobler elements like SS and bronze is just a poor idea, in my opinion. I dislike outdrives on powerboats for this reason as well (among others).