![]() > Never leave the sterndrive trimmed up in the water for an extended period of time.(Take care when using a scraper in and around the rubber bellows). Using it regularly takes care of this, otherwise have a diver clean it down. > Keep the sterndrive clean from marine growth.If you are going through them at a high rate, you may have other corrosion issues at play (covered in previous articles). > Inspect and replace the cathode and anodes on a regular basis.Its performance is limited and do not expect it to perform as well as your hull coating. The antifouling used on the sterndrives does not contain copper due to sterndrives having a cast aluminium housing. > Re-apply the antifoul coating every 6 months.Ignoring this maintenance task is one of the traditional causes of expensive sterndrive failure. > Replace bellows and clamps every 12 months.Change oils, anodes, gaskets, etc, which will require a haul-out or slipping. > Service your sterndrive every six months.Here are some tips and pointers to help you maximise your time on the water and save you on those hefty mechanical bills It just means your sterndrive will require a stricter routine servicing arrangement than trailerable and/or freshwater rigs with ‘legs’.Īlong with the “spend money to save money” saying comes the advice to “use it or lose it”. The compact sterndrive is a great source of boating performance, especially on trailerboats or host boats that live in a freshwater environment.įor boats moored in a saltwater environment, you can still have the great performance. A case of spend money to save money with legs living in saltwater The sterndrive itself pivots to create the steerage and propulsion unit in one, eliminating the need for rudders. ![]() In the US, MerCruiser leads the sterndrive market wth petrol engines, while in Europe Volvo Penta has market-share driven by diesel engines.īoth Mercury's MerCruiser and Volvo Penta’s Aquamatic stendrives are an effective way of transferring high power output via the inboard engine to the outdrive and propeller for top performance. ![]() In short it's a two-horse race in respect of 'legs' The lower unit has another gearbox.īetween the two gearboxes is a vertical drive shaft.īoth 90 degree gearboxes in the upper and lower halves do the job of transmitting engine power to the propeller shaft at the bottom end of the 'leg'. The top half is connected through the transom to the power supply, that being the engine, via a gearbox. With sterndrives, spending a little money regularly will definitely save you big money in the long term.Ī little knowledge on what makes sterndriveĪ sterndrive resembles the lower unit of an outboard and has two halves. Sterndrives -or as I learnt after a recent US visit where they call them outdrives (and, of course, we sometimes call them just ‘legs’) - do need regular maintenance and a strict schedule should be followed. "But I hardly used the boat in the last 15 months." After 19 years of having a repair business on a slipway, I was amazed to hear the same response, time after time, from boat owners who had just been slugged with a major repair bill from the resident mechanic.
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