Sterndrive Leg Issues.

[dart]

Hi Guys,

My old man is looking at getting a bigger fishing boat so we can get into some bigger fish. We have been looking at some Bertrams and Huntsmans in the 23-26 foot range.

A lot of people we have spoken to moan about the legs being unreliable and costly to repair if you leave it on a mooring which is what we want to do. are there any common problems with stern drives? and is there anything that can be done to avoid them as shaft drive options are either too old (savage 26) or to expensive (bertram 28)

Thanks

Dart.

[pauljm]

10 years ago me and a few mates bought a bertram 25 about '84 model with mercruisers and legs..... it was a great boat except the legs were constanly needing maintenance....it was never a complete failure but we always seemed to be paying for slipping so we could get em serviced...cant remember the exact mechanics of it but they were always clunking in to gear and it was never as smooth as you would expect it to be.... we all said never again on the combo of a moored boat,petrol inboard and the dreaded legs.....whats the price of premium fuel on the water now? $2 plus im guessing? diesel shaft drive if i was cashed! (i wish)

[fisherdad]

In April we upgraded from our 17ft trailer boat to a 1980 Bertram 25 and yes it needed work. After the planned inital costs of slipping and Antifoul there were a few unexpected issues in the first week.

Listed are the parts only costs

Trim Hoses $140

Prop Shaft Seals $150

Propellors $600

Battery Cabeling $100

Alternator $290

Storm Cover $550

Tune up parts $95

Risers due soon $600

And thats to name the obvious ones

We purchased our Bertram 25 with 2, 30 year old mercruiser 165's knowing that they would need repairs as when you leave metal in salt water for 30 years things break.

I have no oncerns fixing the engines as those years training to be a Mechanic are paying off. If I were not able to fix a lot of the issues myself I would see my marine Mechanic driving a new car by now.

If I had the cash I would buy a Shaft drive diesel however if you are prepared for what you are getting into then i see no issues.

The legs are often referred to as Disprin's because they disolve in water.

When you hunt around you can save money on parts but when its on the slips and you need a part you are just happy to get it quickly. If you buy a boat with old mercruisers PM me or Fisherboy and we can share problems. I have also been dont by a boat with 470 engines they are just trouble.

Good luck with boat hunting

[digger]

my boat has legs for 10 years the only problem was the uni joints were rusting because the blow were spit and let the salt water in.tou need to keep on top off the legs.otherwise i have not any problem with them

[davegroves68]

We bought a 1980 bertram, had it surveyed and he said one trim cylinder was seized. 3 months later the gimbal casting at the top of the leg broke and we ended up doing full repower (see my post in the Bertram thread by fisherdad).

Basically, they work well, BUT, they have to be looked after on a regular basis. I choose the mooring option as opposed to a trailer boat as we didn't have storage space and $360 a year mooring licence fee is pretty good.

Dave

Edited September 8, 2009 by Welsh Dave

[mad_mullet]

my 23 was moored and i didnt really have many problems with my leg, they say the more you use it the better, but slipping for a service was a hassle and staying in the water let the boat start looking crappy, so i trailered it and repowered it and have not looked back, easier to clean inside and out and you can price around service wise as you can tow it to them, fuel bill went down as i can tow it to where i want to go, options on fishing increased as in lets go to nowra or newcastle, and insurance went down

cheers andy