Folks, I recently found an ODAY 27 for sail with and OMC Saildrive.... I have heard some horror stories about the saildrive... I do not know the year as I have not received a reply from the owner/dealer yet. Does anyone have some information for me regarding the OMC saildrive? Thanks, Doug doug.birch@anoka.k12.mn.us
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Doug: Of course it's for "sail" it's a sail boat. Otherwise see my answer to the guy who asked about the sail drive motor in a 28 O'day. It's the same answer for a 27 footer. Mike
Doug: Of course it's for "sail" it's a sail boat. Otherwise see my answer to the guy who asked about the sail drive motor in a 28 O'day. It's the same answer for a 27 footer. Mike
How old is the boat?
Think about it. The boat has to be at least 25 years old. These engines are exposed to the worst possible environment. These are not Mercedes or BMW engines. They are Evinrudes. When you go out into the ocean you entrust your life to that engine. A 25 year old evinrude for your life??? I do not like the odds.........
Think about it. The boat has to be at least 25 years old. These engines are exposed to the worst possible environment. These are not Mercedes or BMW engines. They are Evinrudes. When you go out into the ocean you entrust your life to that engine. A 25 year old evinrude for your life??? I do not like the odds.........
Saildrive is OK by me!
I have a 1978 25' that has the 15HP saildrive. Of course I've had my share of problems, many I think were self induced, but all in all it runs great. I do the work myself and have been pretty lucky finding parts. I would rather have the saildrive than an outboard hanging off the stern. I've also seen several articles on replacement saildrives so if one day mine goes, I'll replace it with another. Self induced problems: Shifting without the motor running. Trying to connect a garden hose to the water intake...blows gaskets. Trying to run it in a tub of water on the trailer...eats impellers. Running with a clogged intake (weeds) overheated and warped the outter head cover. How do you run it on the trailer? Dave
I have a 1978 25' that has the 15HP saildrive. Of course I've had my share of problems, many I think were self induced, but all in all it runs great. I do the work myself and have been pretty lucky finding parts. I would rather have the saildrive than an outboard hanging off the stern. I've also seen several articles on replacement saildrives so if one day mine goes, I'll replace it with another. Self induced problems: Shifting without the motor running. Trying to connect a garden hose to the water intake...blows gaskets. Trying to run it in a tub of water on the trailer...eats impellers. Running with a clogged intake (weeds) overheated and warped the outter head cover. How do you run it on the trailer? Dave
run it on the hard (trailer)
Dave: If you connect a hose to the engine water system where the lower end water enters the engine you can run it on the hard. You'll have to jury-rig the fittings but it can be done. There are others on this web site who have done it and described the exact process. If you give them a shout you'll probably get results. I too prefer the sail drive over the appearance of an out board. Mike
Dave: If you connect a hose to the engine water system where the lower end water enters the engine you can run it on the hard. You'll have to jury-rig the fittings but it can be done. There are others on this web site who have done it and described the exact process. If you give them a shout you'll probably get results. I too prefer the sail drive over the appearance of an out board. Mike
A few words about saildrives
I recently purchased a Nonsuch 30 with Volvo MD11C and Volvo saildrive. The engine and saildrive were the original 24 year-old units. The engine was raw water cooled via the pick-up on the saildrive. As luck would have it, the engine failed the survey and the owner had to re-power with new engine and saildrive in order for me to make the deal. Like many people, I was a bit uncertain about saildrives and decided to look into them a bit further. Here's the upshot of it all: Like all things mechanical, a saildrive is only as good and will last only as long as the owner maintains it. While the OMC saildrive certainly had its problems, many of them were owner exacerbated. More often than not, it was due to lack of knowledge. However, with the passing of OMC, and saildrive parts becoming more scarce and increasingly expensive, I personally would opt for a different aux. If you're the unlucky owner that this unit dies on, you're in for a major expense with regard to re-powering. My re-power cost a total of $15,650.00 for the aux, saildrive, misc parts, and labor. If I was going to have to pay for it, I'd have walked away from the deal. As it is, I am enjoying the new boat and am maintaining the aux and drive meticulously. It's the only way I can be certain of not running into problems in the future. As far as your considering the purchase of an unknown quantity, I have to agree with Marvin. Unless the owner can produce some solid documentation with regard to maintenance, I'd run like the wind. There are plenty of good boats out there and a nice diesel inboard would certainly do the trick. Consider a 272LE if you are looking to stay in that size range. At any rate, good luck in your quest. Cheers, Bob
I recently purchased a Nonsuch 30 with Volvo MD11C and Volvo saildrive. The engine and saildrive were the original 24 year-old units. The engine was raw water cooled via the pick-up on the saildrive. As luck would have it, the engine failed the survey and the owner had to re-power with new engine and saildrive in order for me to make the deal. Like many people, I was a bit uncertain about saildrives and decided to look into them a bit further. Here's the upshot of it all: Like all things mechanical, a saildrive is only as good and will last only as long as the owner maintains it. While the OMC saildrive certainly had its problems, many of them were owner exacerbated. More often than not, it was due to lack of knowledge. However, with the passing of OMC, and saildrive parts becoming more scarce and increasingly expensive, I personally would opt for a different aux. If you're the unlucky owner that this unit dies on, you're in for a major expense with regard to re-powering. My re-power cost a total of $15,650.00 for the aux, saildrive, misc parts, and labor. If I was going to have to pay for it, I'd have walked away from the deal. As it is, I am enjoying the new boat and am maintaining the aux and drive meticulously. It's the only way I can be certain of not running into problems in the future. As far as your considering the purchase of an unknown quantity, I have to agree with Marvin. Unless the owner can produce some solid documentation with regard to maintenance, I'd run like the wind. There are plenty of good boats out there and a nice diesel inboard would certainly do the trick. Consider a 272LE if you are looking to stay in that size range. At any rate, good luck in your quest. Cheers, Bob
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