mcp 34 Posted December 17, 2024 Share Posted December 17, 2024 I recently posted that I was looking for a second hand Yanmar SD60 sail drive and I received a few comments for and against. So I was a little bit intrigued as to why some are fore a sail drive and some prefer a shaft drive. I've had both, so far my opinion is a bit cloudy because I am replacing a sail drive but I can definitely see the pros of the sail drive system. If you have had both types, I would be interested why you prefer one over the other, and obviously the sail drive system is newer and there is always reluctance in boating to accept new systems. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Kitty 307 Posted December 17, 2024 Share Posted December 17, 2024 Yanmar sail drives, the SD40 & 50, (not sure what the 60 uses) have a sintered bronze cone clutch that has never operated acceptably. It needs sometimes frequent lapping, sometimes this lasts a season, other times a month or two before performing poorly again. Yanmar have never accepted responsibility for a poor design, and despite a couple of redesigns it never got much better. Sad because the engines are amazing! The little SD20 has a dog clutch, works great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Psyche 775 Posted December 17, 2024 Share Posted December 17, 2024 There are SD 20's from the 80's that are still going strong 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ex Elly 243 Posted December 17, 2024 Share Posted December 17, 2024 I think the main reason some people don't like sail drives, is that they are more costly to maintain and service. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Kitty 307 Posted December 18, 2024 Share Posted December 18, 2024 4 hours ago, Psyche said: There are SD 20's from the 80's that are still going strong If I'd had SD20's I'd still have sail drives! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
waikiore 462 Posted December 18, 2024 Share Posted December 18, 2024 The new SD60 that replaces the 40 and 50 has a clutch pack , it is made by ZF and very similar to the Volvo saildrive but with more plates, Volvo had many issues with this slipping initially which Yanmar benefitted from by being a late adopter. Dont know anything about their new big one (up to 100hp) but its from ZF too. Yes the SD20/25 (same thing -better primer on the 25) are largely trouble free if you change the anodes and oil when required. But personally still a shaft fan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Adrianp 127 Posted December 19, 2024 Share Posted December 19, 2024 22 hours ago, Bad Kitty said: If I'd had SD20's I'd still have sail drives! Yep I m a happy owner of a pair of SD20's with about 3500 hours on each of them now. They seem very scary in concept but actually seem pretty bloody simple so long as you look after them (which isn't much). Only issue I've had in 30,000nm is from a fishing line around the prop that cut into the seal. The SD20 and 3YM30 seem like a bloody good combo. 1 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cameron 93 Posted December 19, 2024 Share Posted December 19, 2024 Saildrives are smoother, no alignment issues, less vibration etc. On Hard Labour (Farr 1020) the sail drive has never had a thing done beyond normal servicing. I suspect the Volvo sail drive is better than the Yanmar unit (not cone clutch?). However when only 20 hp is going through the same unit as much more powerful engine can be hooked up to... it is inherently over engineered so probably pretty bulletproof Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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