|
Wauquiez 38
John, is your (Mark II) Wauquiez Hood 38 equipped with a Saildrive? If memory serves, the answer is ''yes'' - which in part explains why the interior appears so spacious. While I agree that it''s a fine boat, I think there is an inherent incompatibility between saildrives & long-distance cruising. They can and often do go together, but you must accept much less frequent hypoid gear oil changes than the manufacturer feels comfortable with, nor in many cases can you tell if the gear oil has started to become contaminated due to a weak seal in the leg. OTOH some gear legs allow gear oil examination but, if one discovers contamination, then what? Cruising often removes the boat from the kind of yachtie infrastructure we all take for granted, where a gear oil change and inspection would be more feasible and immediately needed.
This could be considered a ''quibble'' if the boat were to be used in coastal cruising near a 1st World Country, but the loss of the propulsion unit - and a big hassle to replace or service it - can be a major & expensive issue when offshore.
Jack
|