Saildrive membrane replacement times

[slipstream]

I have a 2005 Bavaria 46.  So the sail drive is now 12 years old.  The official advice is to to change the membrane every 7 years.  My membrane looks fine from above, no cracking, and it seems quite flexible still.  Considering the steep cost in this replacement, my thinking is to try and delay replacement for as long as possible. I was wondering what experience other forums members have had with this issue?  Has anybody had an actual breach of the membrane by delaying replacement? Has anybody gone a very long time without replacement, say 15 years?  If anybody has had this procedure done, what did it cost them?

[HappyAfloat]

Our Bavaria 320 Sportline 1994 prior to ownership had no documented membrane replacement. The last owner of 13 years definitely did not replace, so the replacement formed part of the sales negotiations. Apparently the old membrane looked as good as new.  We have the yanmar sail drive with the double membrane so I doubt that I will be in too much of a rush to replace every  7 years.

[Symphony]

There are reports of seals lasting far longer than that, and very few (if any) reports of actual failure. The only real weakness is the clamp ring that can corrode.

The risk is that if it does fail your insurer may well refuse your claim, and you will find it difficult to sell without replacement or at least accepting a lower price to cover the cost.

It is not an expensive job in relation to the value of the boat. In the UK the cost including the seal is in the region of £1000-1200 and takes a day. This of course assumes the boat is out of the water. It is also worth replacing the lower seals at the same time.

[Yngmar]

Mine was 15 years old when I've replaced it myself on my 120S-E. There is a date stamp on the existing membrane, visible from inside the boat (it's black embossed on black rubber, so you'll need a flashlight). Cost IIRC was about £500 for the parts (from Keypart - incl. lower seals and outer rubber fairing). The old membrane was fine, but it was still worth doing to clear out the fouling (mussel growth) inside the saildrive leg raw water intake channel.

I've posted about this before, so if you look at my previous posts you should find instructions if you want to do it yourself.

[JLM701]

I have just had the membrane (also known as bellows) replaced professionally on my 10 year old Bavaria 31. The kit costs £208 but then you also need 2 prop shaft seals £21.72 each (these go inside the sail drive) and 2 bearer carrier rings £1.06 each. The kit includes the outer membrane which you can see when the boat is out of the water although my professional tried to charge me for it as an extra! The labour took 17 hours which I think is a bit steep. All prices are ex VAT.

As it happens, the old seals were in perfect condition and there was not milky oil in the sail drive so I daresay it would have lasted much longer. However, as many have already said, would the insurance pay up if this work had not been done?

Having seen it done, I would definitely do the job myself next time.

[Symphony]

17 hours is only a bit OTT. More normal is 2*7 hours - that is a day. Or two days for one person.

[Ricd]

I replaced mine 2 years ago (15 years old)..the old one was perfect as the day installed.  I was also told by others that insurance would be an issue if the old one had failed after replacement due date but from everything I have read there is no recorded issue of one ever failing and even if it did, it would surely leak a bit first rather than fail catastrophically.   There are many like me who have left it 15 years plus before replacing and have always found the old one to be in good condition, as god as the new one it was being replaced with.  I would replace in future only when convenient and affordable (its not a cheap job)and not worry about insurance implications that will never arise.

[battuta]

Yup, well said Ricd and I agree.

I just replaced mine on my 2009 B31, but only because I had to pull my engine off the transmission for a repair. Otherwise I'd have held off longer despite what Volvo stipulates. It's a MAJOR hassle job, and best to outsource unless you want to spend triple the time doing it yourself.

And as everyone says, the old gasket looked like the new one...

-Riyad

[Odysseus]

I have on 3 occasions asked Volvo to tell me the technical detailes they have based this recommendation on. Did they tell me, short answer NO.

However I would point out to all, Yanmar have a recommendation twice as long using the same material and construction.

I inspect mine top and bottem each year and as an Engineer I am happy to do this.

Hope this helps
Odysseus
Bav 38

[Symphony]

I have on 3 occasions asked Volvo to tell me the technical detailes they have based this recommendation on. Did they tell me, short answer NO.

However I would point out to all, Yanmar have a recommendation twice as long using the same material and construction.

I inspect mine top and bottem each year and as an Engineer I am happy to do this.

Hope this helps
Odysseus
Bav 38

Yanmar is not the same construction. It has 2 membranes with an air gap between plus a warning light to indicate if either membrane is breached. One of their selling points to differentiate from Volvo - not that in practice it makes any real difference.