Sail Drives,...problems?

[brian eiland]

There are a lot of vessels utilizing these sail drives these days, so I am wondering if folks in general are having any problems with their's?

They require a pretty big whole in the bottom of the vessel that would admit a lot of water if they were damaged, or suffered a broken seal. And perhaps one would not realize how much water in short order if undetected right way.

I was watching this video and it appeared as those several of those multihulls sunk by the stern,...

..that would seem to hint at water ingress at the sterns.

 

[gonzo]

Sinking by the stern does not mean there was a hole at the stern. It is a function of weights, compartments that get flooded and those that keep their buouyancy.

 

[brian eiland]

Somehow those links I posted above did not work out as I planned them. Each one was suppose to open at a particular time along the video,...instead of just repeating themselves from the beginning. Lets try again,..
That did not work AGAIN.

Try going to time frame 10:36 of that video,.
..and then time frame 11:00 minutes into the video

then checkout that rubber seal, that I've heard many negative reports about failures.

 

[kapnD]

I’ve never owned a sail drive, but have sealed up several holes in hulls where they were abandoned in favor of outboards!
They are aluminum, and non-retractable, so a long life in a corrosive environment is dubious.

 

[gonzo]

then checkout that rubber seal, that I've heard many negative reports about failures.

In my years of experience doing repair, the failure of seals is for lack of maintenance. People wait for them to degrade before changing the seals. They should be changed on a fixed schedule while they are still good.