Beta 35 or Yanmar 30 in a Moody 346?

[MoodySabre]

I'm asking this for a friend who has a 346 and he is asking on the MOA. He bought the boat last year and sees it as a long term ownership.

As he is getting a new prop, shaft and stern gland he is thinking of going the whole hog and replacing the T80 with a new engine. He can get a new Yanmar 30 with basic panel etc for about the same money as the Beta 35 (with the enhanced alternator and switchpanel).

Questions:

1. He hasn't looked at other engines - should he?
2. Will he notice the HP difference from the T80 (35HP I believe) and the Yanmar?
3. Is the Beta as good as the Yanmar (he thinks the Yan is a proper marine engine rather than a Kubota base)?
4. Anybody with a 346 have either of these and care to comment?

TIA

 

[Tranona]

Beta 35. It really needs the extra hp. Beta is 4 cylinder and is a derated 38 running at low revs. Alternative is the Nanni version - same engine, but slightly different marinisation and blue rather than red.

Nothing wrong with the Yanmar, but Bigger engine better in this application.

 

[PetiteFleur]

Beta 35. It really needs the extra hp. Beta is 4 cylinder and is a derated 38 running at low revs. Alternative is the Nanni version - same engine, but slightly different marinisation and blue rather than red.

Nothing wrong with the Yanmar, but Bigger engine better in this application.

Ditto - I fitted a Beta 25 in my Moody 33 and it's fine. Did have a quote for a Yanmar which included realigning the prop shaft to fit a larger diameter prop but I'd would have had to get it round to Wales.......
Beta was good value and so far has been brilliant, now 5 years old. And my wife preferred the red to the blue or silver colour!

 

[jwilson]

I'm asking this for a friend who has a 346 and he is asking on the MOA. He bought the boat last year and sees it as a long term ownership.

As he is getting a new prop, shaft and stern gland he is thinking of going the whole hog and replacing the T80 with a new engine. He can get a new Yanmar 30 with basic panel etc for about the same money as the Beta 35 (with the enhanced alternator and switchpanel).

Questions:

1. He hasn't looked at other engines - should he?
2. Will he notice the HP difference from the T80 (35HP I believe) and the Yanmar?
3. Is the Beta as good as the Yanmar (he thinks the Yan is a proper marine engine rather than a Kubota base)?
4. Anybody with a 346 have either of these and care to comment?

TIA

I have a Yanmar 3YM30 that has always had intermittent overheating issues if driven hard. Sometimes you can run it at full throttle 3400 rpm for fifteen minutes with no problems, sometimes five minutes at 3000-3200 sets of the alarm (and the temperature is getting high as measured by an engineer. Reducing revs to 2000-2500 for a minute cools it down and shuts up the alarm. This was an an early 3YM engine, and Yanmar under warranty fitted the later heat exchanger with more pipes, which reduced but never eliminated the overheating. Apart from that it's a nice engine, smooth, reasonably quiet, no other problems. Only non-service replacement part used so far has been an exhaust elbow, replaced due to signs of coorosion on the original.

I have sailed a boat with a Beta 35, and it seemed very nice, but was relatively new. I can see the advantages of an industrial engine base block - widespread spares availability, etc.

 

[sailorman]

Beta 35. It really needs the extra hp. Beta is 4 cylinder and is a derated 38 running at low revs. Alternative is the Nanni version - same engine, but slightly different marinisation and blue rather than red.

Nothing wrong with the Yanmar, but Bigger engine better in this application.

i have the Nanni 4150HE rated 37.5hp @ 3000 RPM.
It has more power @ 3000 RPM than the Perkie 4108 it replaced
since I fitted it 11 yrs ago i have replaced the exhaust elbow @ 8 yrs (due to corrosion at the injection point the water is fed via gearbox oil cooler from under the elbow & water / air sit there ).
nothing else apart from normal service items

 

[ChrisE]

+1 for the Beta, we re-engined 7 years ago and the engine hasn't missed a beat in 900 hours usage. Uses less fuel than Thorneycroft it replaced, no oil leaks and hasn't needed anything other than an annual service over the period.

 

[charles_reed]

Though a believer in Yanmar as the "best" marine engine, I'd suggest going for one of the kubota-based 4s.

The 3YM30 Yanmar is a stretched 20. And its probably been stretched too far, conversely the 4CHE is a price paradigm away from the Beta or Nanni.

 

[oliverkinchin]

+1 Beta, we had a Beta 30 installed in our Rival last year, brilliant value for money and no issues in the first year of ownership.

 

[A1Sailor]

I had a new Beta35 in the Moody336 I bought several years ago. It was very satisfactory, the only issue being that there was insufficient clearance to fit a sump pump - and I never tried to remove the drain plug. Changes were done using a "Pelo".

Access from the aft cabin was good also. (It was a 336, not 346)

 

[Blueboatman]

Two haporth:
When (if) I ever need to re-engine from a 2000hr 3GM(f) it will be to a kubota base unit and not the 3ym, which is theoretically a drop in replacement. There appear to be just too many Internet posts concerning Yanmar 3ym issues. And I am not convinced that the parent company is doing much of anything to design out the inherent weaknesses. Which is a great shame.

 

[snooks]

My main reason for choosing Beta was that the service points are all at the front which is essential for my boat, but all boats are different and your friend should see which engines fit and give him (or her) the best access.

As part of the upgrade I'm also replacing the prop, sound insulation, stern gland, prop shaft and cutlass bearing, all of which has added considerably to the cost, but it seems silly to go through all the trouble of replacing the bits which are ageing or spares are hard to find. To save money I'm doing a bit myself, but the engine beds and alignment and prop shaft are all being done professionally.

 

[Stoshak]

My boat was originally fitted with a Yanmar 2GM, and it was two years old when I bought it. I was so disappointed with the Yanmar in terms of noise, vibration, exhaust elbow integrity and cost of spares that I soon re engined with a Beta 25. I have been delighted with it.

The service from Beta is very good, knowledgeable and friendly, and the spares prices seem reasonable.

I was unimpressed by Barrus's customer service, but the people at Marine Power were helpful.

I do not subscribe to the theory that a Yanmar is the better product because it is designed purely for marine use. If a core engine is properly marinised it will not know whether it is in a boat or a dumper.

 

[MoodySabre]

Thanks folks - I think my friend will have caught the drift

 

[BlueSkyNick]

My main reason for choosing Beta was that the service points are all at the front which is essential for my boat, but all boats are different and your friend should see which engines fit and give him (or her) the best access.

As part of the upgrade I'm also replacing the prop, sound insulation, stern gland, prop shaft and cutlass bearing, all of which has added considerably to the cost, but it seems silly to go through all the trouble of replacing the bits which are ageing or spares are hard to find. To save money I'm doing a bit myself, but the engine beds and alignment and prop shaft are all being done professionally.

Almost ditto, I have replaced everything from the ignition key to the propellor apart from the shaft itself. I have fitted a Beta35, with some pro assistance, partly because it was about £1000 cheaper than the equivalent Yanmar, but also because of the torque across the rev range. As Tranona says, the 38 is the same engine but for environmental reasons has to rev faster, which I didnt want.

Access is different on a Moody346 to a Sadler or Starlight, in that it is mainly at the side rather than the front.

 

[GrahamC]

Hi All
The Thorneycroft T90 fitted to the Moody 34 and the 346 came about because there was a strike at Volvo , They should have had the Volvo 2003 or 2003T as the designed engine.
Therefore it follows that 28hp is ample for this hull and the modern Volvo D1 30 3 cylinder engine would be the preferred engine. The T90 just make the stern squat at full revs and wastes fuel,
Regards
GrahamC

 

[dulcibella]

Many are keen on the nice red paint-job on the Beta engine. Be warned - if you buy a Beta 35 wrapped in a Rustler 36 you will find that the engine has been painted grey. We should be told why!

 

[GrahamM376]

Hi All
The Thorneycroft T90 fitted to the Moody 34 and the 346 came about because there was a strike at Volvo , They should have had the Volvo 2003 or 2003T as the designed engine.
Therefore it follows that 28hp is ample for this hull and the modern Volvo D1 30 3 cylinder engine would be the preferred engine. The T90 just make the stern squat at full revs and wastes fuel,
Regards
GrahamC

The 80D 35HP (Mitsubishi K4D) were the standard engines in 346s after they stopped using the BMC units, as used in the 34s.

Having had a 346, I certainly wouldn't go for less than 35HP unless you just want to potter around the Solent. Into wind and chop it needs the power.

 

[pappaecho]

Replaced a 4108 with a Beta 35 three years ago.

Different type of engine. Perkins had a lot of torque, hence 15 x15 prop, which pushed the boats at a good 6 knots at 1800 rpm.

Beta was held back and had to be repropped at 15 x 9. Hence to get 6 knots needs to be run at 3000 rpm. so any fuel saving are negated by throttle settings difference.

On the other hand you are replacing a 35 with a 35 so the prop question should not be serious, unless the old engine was high torque and relatively low revving, when you might need to reduce the prop size by reducing the pitch slightly.

If you have the torque outputs for the old engine you could compare them with those on the Beta website.

Finally whatever engine you fit, if the engine is near or below the waterline, make absolutely sure the anti-siphon valve works. Mine was professionally fitted, the valve failed and the injection pump did not like water in it!

 

[PetiteFleur]

Another advantage of the Beta is that they will make special feet to suit your bearers at a reasonable price(£100 from memory) which avoided having to rebuild the original bearers which were much wider than the standard Beta feet.
On the other hand Thornycroft would also have supplied an engine(Mitsubishi) which would have just dropped in but it was more expensive.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Another advantage of the Beta is that they will make special feet to suit your bearers at a reasonable price(£100 from memory) which avoided having to rebuild the original bearers which were much wider than the standard Beta feet.
On the other hand Thornycroft would also have supplied an engine(Mitsubishi) which would have just dropped in but it was more expensive.

I think, dont know for sure, that the price of the special feet depends on their complexity.

On our 346, I replaced the T80 with the Mitsubishi engine from Thorneycroft and at that time they took the old one in part-ex.