Be Kind toYour Drivetrain

One of the easiest chores on a boat is maintaining the drivetrain, arguably the most basic, most reliable onboard system. A typical shaft-and-propeller drivetrain is comprised of simple components that last for decades and demand just basic TLC—unless you hit something and knock things out of whack, or you want to fix something that ain’t broke. I’ll bet that, somewhere, there’s a century-old stuffing box that’s still working fine, needing only repacking every few years. If you’re a “hands-off” owner, drivetrain maintenance is just the thing.

But that doesn’t mean you can completely ignore your drivetrain. If you do, after a number of years you might find water coming in around the propeller shaft, thanks to worn-out packing or a rotted shaft-seal bellows, a situation whose consequences can range from annoying to catastrophic. While a cascade of unwanted seawater is most dramatic, there are other, more insidious, consequences of drivetrain neglect, including worn engine mounts and excessive vibration. Fortunately, it’s easy to prevent all of the above.

A Drivetrain by Any Other Name

Many experts consider the drivetrain to be the string of components between the gearbox