Centaur Engine

[jim]

Has anyone successfully fitted an outboard to a Centaur. I can't afford to replace my Knackered MD1B and am looking for alternatives

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[wooslehunter]

Welcome to the forum.

Try the westerly owners site at www.westerly-owners.co.uk.

I have a Centaur & the previous owners replaced the engine with a reconditioned Watermota Sea Panther. I'm away at the moment so can't see the receipt, but from what I remember it was fairly reasonable and done at a yard in Gosport - fill in your bio and we'll know where you are. Remember you don't need a new engine provided the installers are reputable and you get a warranty.

Sea Panther is 28hp so it's a bit over-powered. It's quite a lump, not particularly economical but runs very smoothly & so far has performed excellently. Only real down side is the 28v required for the starter but later ones were 12v.

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[johna]

If you PM me an email address I can put you in touch with Ken Endean (writer of many articles in YM) who has had an outboard on his Sabre 27 for many years.

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[capt_courageous]

Bite the bullet and go for an inboard -recon or not. I put an outboard on my Hurley when the diesel died. Kept the boat for years. The outboard was ok but when I came to sell the boat the outboard was a real disadvantage. People expect Centaurs and boats of that size to have inboard diesels

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[Jcorstorphine]

Had a friend who had an outboard on a Leisure 22. Perhaps it was not fitted low enough down but the prop was out of the water more that in it. Look for a second hand non Volvo or look at fitting a Ford conversion. I had a Westerly Pentland with a Volvo which was drainng the purse to such an extent that I bought a second hand Ford 1.6 Diesel with the intent of fitting a marinising kit. I have seen a number of adverts for the 1.6 at about £75 down south. Kit will cost you about £1000 to £1500 depending on the gearbox. Cheaper if you hunt about for a second hand box, other most expensive item is the Water cooled manifold. If the Sea Panther which was a diesel version of the old 1.6 Cortina petrol engine then the "new" 1.6 should fit.

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[Jcorstorphine]

I had a friend who had a Leisure 23 with an outboard and the prop was out of the water more that it was in it. Fine for quite days but with a bilge keeler a good inboard is a sure way of getting off a lee shore.

I used to have Westerly Pentland and was so fed up feeding the Swedish Economy by the way of expensive spares for my Volvo that I bought a second hand Ford 1.6 with the intent of fitting a marinsing kit if the Volvo gave any more problems.

Perhaps you should consider likewise as one of the previous replies mentions the Watermota Sea Panther. This was a marine diesel version of the old Ford Cortina 1.6 petrol engine so if this fits the newer 1.6 diesel out of an old Fiesta or Orion should also fit.

I have seen 1.6 engine for sale at about £75 through Boat and Outboards etc and e bay. The kit to carry out the conversion will set you back about £1000 to £1250 depending on gearbox. Fitting an outboard will drop the value of your boat considerably.

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[steve28]

I dont know if this may of use to you but i spotted it on the boatsandoutboards.co.uk
http://www.boatsandoutboards.com/view/F50986/

steve

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