I'd avoid a cone clutch like the plague! Our Yanmar saildrive uses a cone clutch and the clutch is a maintenance item that needs to be replaced every 500 hours. The part is almost $400 and people who use these drives without replacing the cone experience failure on a regular basis. I have disassembled failed drives and a very small amount of wear is all you find before the drive cone ( and often the mating gear/cones) are junk! I have this discussion with fellow Yanmar saildrive users all the time and warn them.... I got a telephone call yesterday from a friend who thought two years ago that I was wrong about my assessment of the drive, today he is being towed into Padanaram with no drive, failed cone clutch. If I ever experience a major engine failure, I'll re-power with a Volvo just to get away from that stupid cone clutch!(nl)BB