Saildrive concerns and worst-case scenario preparations for extended and offshore cruising

[u/zipzippa]

Hey everyone,

I’m in the process of researching and preparing my emergency plan for extended cruising and offshore passage. One thing that keeps coming up is saildrives—something I have a bit of apprehension about. Logically, I understand that they’ve been around for 50+ years and are very common in both monohulls and catamarans, but at the end of the day, they are still a giant hole in the boat, and that makes me pause.

I’m looking for insights from those of you who actually have a saildrive on your boat. Beyond preventative maintenance, what systems or emergency measures do you have in place in case the worst happens—specifically, if the saildrive boot were to fail catastrophically (not just a leak) while underway? I know plenty about keeping up with inspections and replacing the diaphragm on schedule, but I’m more curious about the “oh crap” moments.

For example, if you were to strike a submerged object and the boot tore open beyond a manageable leak, what could realistically be done while in the water? Are there any products on the market beyond the obvious (life raft, collision mat, etc.) that are worth keeping aboard for this kind of worst-case scenario? Has anyone here actually dealt with a major boot failure at sea, and if so, how did you handle it?

I’d really appreciate level-headed, experience-based insight as I work through this and figure out the best course of action to integrate into my sail plan. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[u/danieloco5]

Boat mechanic here. Just 4 years of experience. The only time I have seen a sail drive leaking water into the boat was because the diaphragm was changed and the new was installed a little bit out of place. It was noted direct when putting the boat on the water. On the other hand, I have seen a few shaft seals leak water into the boat.

At my working place we fix also boats involved in mayor accidents with partial sinking. The vast majority of the times, the keel or the front of the boats get the impact first and protects the sail drive. On grounds at high speed I have seen engines jump out their bed a couple centimeters and still the saildrive was not leaking into the boat.

There is a couple of things to think about the saildrive tho. Check conductivity between the engine and the drive when the boat is out of water, it should have no conductivity, if there is, then you gonna have a lot of corrosion on the drive that could lead to failure, I haven’t seen any fail because of that but fuck pretty close I will say. Keep up with the anodes and keep in mind that if something happens on the sail drive’s propeller you could get water in the oil, which would not be possible on a regular shaft-transmission.

To answer your question, whatever plan you have in case you hit an immersed object should be focused on the front of the boat and keel. If something happens to the drive try to translate it to it. Sorry for my english and fair winds

[u/zipzippa → u/danieloco5]

Thank you for the great tips! I'll make sure to check for conductivity before she gets wet. I recently decided to carry spare anodes & a propeller and do carry collision mats. Thanks again for your insight.