[C320-list] Hi all - question about water in the bilge

[Jack Brennan]

Saildrives. Ugh. I wouldn’t own one at any price.

The aluminum outdrives start corroding if a chip of paint flakes off. An uncheckable rubber seal is the only thing between you and sinking, and it costs many thousands to replace the seal every five years or so. On some models, it’s difficult to change the transmission fluid.

A friend of mine who owned a big cat wrapped a stray halyard around one of his saildrives. Many thousands of dollars later, he got the boat back from the yard. When I caught a crab trap line a few years ago, it cost me exactly zero to remedy the problem.

I think their use is similar to the V-drive installations C&C, Pearson and some other manufacturers used to deploy. You know, where the diesel is installed backwards so that you have to be an acrobat to change the oil or a saltwater impeller.

They make it easy for the boat designers and builders, but are hell on the people who actually own the boats. I’m glad Catalina recognized that.

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, Fl.




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