Claims
Saildrive failures and policy treatment
| Failure | Cause | Usual treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Diaphragm perforation | Age, ozone, fuel or oil contact | Maintenance item; resulting flooding damage may still be argued |
| Leg seal failure | Wear at the propeller shaft seals | Wear; water in the oil is the warning sign |
| Water in gear oil | Seal failure or fishing line behind the prop | Gradual; often excluded, though the line strike may be an event |
| Anode neglect and corrosion | Missed anodes, stray current in the marina | Lack of maintenance, generally excluded |
| Impact damage to the leg | Grounding or propeller strike | Sudden accidental damage, generally covered |
| Electrolysis from shore power | Faulty vessel or dock wiring | Turns on whether it is sudden damage or a gradual process |
Twin saildrive costs on catamarans
A catamaran has two of everything. Two legs, two diaphragms, two sets of anodes, two sets of seals. Where a single event — a shore-power wiring fault, a season without anodes, an ageing pair of diaphragms fitted at build — affects both, the repair cost is doubled and so is the argument about condition. Catamaran owners should treat saildrive servicing as a scheduled fleet job, not an as-needed one.
Saildrive service records and inspections
- Replace diaphragms on the manufacturer's interval and keep the invoice with the date and hours.
- Check gear oil for water at every service and record the result — milky oil is the early warning.
- Inspect and replace anodes on schedule, and photograph them each time.
- Have the leg checked for stray-current corrosion if the boat lives on shore power.
- After any grounding or line strike, have both legs inspected, not only the one you think was hit.
- Keep the removed parts after a failure until the claim is resolved.
Flooding through a saildrive
Treat it as a sinking event: stop the water if you can, get pumps on it, notify the insurer immediately, and preserve the diaphragm or seal that failed. The condition of that component is the entire claim, and a yard that discards it has removed your evidence.
Read the wording before you need it
Almost every disputed marine claim turns on a definition, an exclusion or a condition the owner had never read. The PDS guide explains which sections decide claims.
Related guides
- Boat Insurance Claims Australia: Incidents and Disputes
- Sinking and Flooding Boat Insurance Claims
- Propeller Strike Insurance Claims
- Catamaran Insurance Australia
- Boat Insurance Exclusions Explained
- Product Disclosure Statement Guide for Boat Insurance