Reprise: What to do with trans while sailing

[Chuck R]

Back to my roots of sailing.

I spent the afternoon at the Cleveland Boat show. And because it was no fun to pay $3.50 a gallon or more for marine fuel I sold my beloved Penn Yan power boat and bought my beloved sailboat. At the boat show I'd say boat wise sailboats were maybe 10% represented. However I felt the interest was on these 10% sailboats. Looks to me the change over is happening more often than I suspect.I suspect there is maybe a hand full of transmissions made for small HP inboard engines. So if one Mfg says put in reverse, another says leave it in gear and yet another says get a $1400.00 lock pin then someone needs to think of what the sail boaters really need, and that is a trans that you put into neutral turn off the key and sail. Let the shaft rotate. I think there will be a progression to sail and the bottom line is market share. So someone will make the ideal sailboat transmission, and I'll bet soon. My $0.02

 

[Maine Sail]

Well..

1) Yanmar says to add a transmission locking device because of numerous complaints about the transmission freezing in & not coming out of reverse after sailing for a while with it set in reverse. This is a known problem with the Yanmar tranny's. The fix is to actually start the engine with it in reverse then shift to neutral once the engine starts. According to Yanmar tech support this is still better than letting it spin while sailing.2) Hurth / ZF transmissions. These transmissions are often found on Westerbeke & Universal diesel engines. It is advised to "lock" the transmission in reverse while sailing or to let free wheel. In the forward gear setting the tranny will, and can, still spin and will harm the transmissions clutch plates. Reverse gear on the Hurth / ZF's is like "park" on a car and forward is like leaving it in drive on a San Francisco street side hill.3) Letting a tranny spin, while sailing, wears not only the transmissions bearings & in some cases clutch plates, but also the output seal & the shaft seal or stuffing box and the cutlass bearing. Letting it spin puts wear on more than just the transmission..Many ZF/Hurth tranny's can be sailed in neutral but the wear, noted above, is a good reason not to and to lock it in reverse instead. Here's what ZF/Hurth has to say about it: "CAUTIONDO NOT LEAVE GEAR IN FORWARD WHEN SAILING. GEAR MUST BE IN NEUTRAL FOR FREE WHEELING OR SHIFTED INTO REVERSE TO LOCK PROPELLER WHILE SAILING."

 

[Patrick S/V Shangra-La]

Check the owners manual

On my 320 it says to put the transmision in revers to keep the shaft from rotating.

 

[higgs]

Another reason for reverse

A free wheeling prop can get tangled with any lines that might inadvertently sneak overboard. I am sure that most of us have been out sailing and looked back to see the lazy sheet or the furling line streaming sternward in the water.

 

[Hugh4753]

When I think about it

When I think about it which is unfortunately only about half the time I put it in reverse per Yanmar. Rest of the time it stays where it was when I got the sails up which is usually in forward.

 

[Don]

ITMaster

I simply quoted what Yanmar recommends. Feel free to disagree but I would defer to them over the opinions stated here (or for thaty matter, any boat manufacturer's rep). Also, water will flow across the shaft bearing regardless of the shift lever position.Your choice.

 

[Grizz]

We habitually 'set the prop'...

...once the noisemaker has been turned off. While still in neutral, a crew member will open the compartment and rotate the (well marked) shaft so the Martec folding prop is oriented north/south. THEN we put the tranny in reverse.Been doing this for years on a string of boats. Thought everyone did the same. apparently not...

 

[Stu Jackson]

One more time....

It's NOT the boat manufacturer, it's the TRANSMISSION, f'rgoodnessake.See the link.It's not that hard...There is a reason for it all, read the instructions...This is for MY tranmsission, NOT necessarily yours.

 

[Big Windy]

Interesting

Stu is right...all tranmissions are different. His says 'do not use engine oil' and that ATF should be used, fine that's his transmission. My transmission says the exact opposite...do not use ATF, use 30W engine oil.Bottom line...read your manual...the transmission manual, not the engine manual.