Welded metal belows - would that work for sterndrive?

[Nidza]

Is it possible to use welded metal belows for sterndrives, if custom one could be built to replace the existing one? Could that be a "permanent" solution?

Here is one example of what are some possibilities:
Configuration - Werte Kollegen und Kolleginnen, konfiguriert Eure individuellen Metallbälge! https://www.bellows-configurator.com/

Hmm, what would be the best material (316L sounds nice, but could lead to galvanic corrosion, depending on the type of attachment between the drive and below, just one of thoughts)? What type of connection would be ideal instead of clamps?

I would appreciate your thoughts.

 

[bajansailor]

I am sure that if it was possible to make a flexible bellows for a stern drive unit out of metal, somebody would have done it by now.

In your link they ask you to choose the number of cycles required - stainless steel does not have a very good fatigue life, unlike a material like rubber.
Think about how easy it is to break a piece of steel plate by simple fatigue (eg bending it to and fro).
But you can bend a sheet of rubber endlessly, and it will not break.
If you had a bellows made from stainless steel, then every change of course while underway would probably add an extra fatigue cycle (not to mention other effects like vibration) and it would no doubt fail very quickly.

 

[gonzo]

Those bellows are for vibration and small movements, not the displacement and twist required of a rubber bellows. Rubber lasts for several years, and is cheap. I think that it would be possible to use a better synthetic rubber, although the price would be higher.

 

[kapnD]

Gonzo is right.
I’ve always thought that the bellows could be built better, possibly with Kevlar fabric/rubber.
As they come, they’re fairly reliable, as long as they’re kept clean and changed out periodically.
No different than the rest of the rubber parts on a boat, it’s not a piece to run until it breaks!

 

[Nidza]

OK, thank you all for clarificartion. It makes sense.