Dylan was right!

Diesel engines are far more reliable than petrol outboards.

I would dispute that a 20 year old diesel is necessarily more reliable than a modern outboard-where are your facts. Having had problems with injectors, exhaust elbows, injector pumps lift pumps apart from head distortion and clogged filters with diesel bugs I would go with a new outboard than an old diesel any day!
 
Seajet said:
Contessaman,

I did mention the Centaur and engines a fair bit, I'm glad the OP is getting it fixed and sorry you find A22's so threatening.

The OOD34 is indeed faster, except when it's aground with it's fixed keel or inverted, see the 1979 Fastnet report !
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REALLY? what ARE you on about? threatening? I enjoy mellow cruising with my wife and kid and discussing methods of DIY maintainance on this forum with pleasant, like minded individuals (i.e not you).
You are an angry man obsessed with a silly little boat that wants to argue with everyone. If you redirected your efforts from looking for conflict and preaching to the world about the anderson22, then even at minimum wage you could probably afford to move on from your trailer sailer and buy a proper yacht. who knows you might even get over yourself!

p.s. I tend to avoid running aground rather than resort to a lift keel in order to cope with navigational blunders. just a thought.
 
Every so often I get an email telling me that I have another reply to the thread that I started. When I look it is all too often a comment about how good / bad an Anderson 22 is. Could I respectfully suggest that if you want to discuss this issue then you start another thread about it and leave this one to the people who have got something helpful to say about my engine. Thanks.
 
So what is the latest? have you got the head off the engine yet?
if so is there any evidence of water in the engine?
frozen or sticky valve?
loose or lots of play in rocker?
sorting the head out should be easy but we need to determine the cause of the bent pushrod before refitting.
 
contessaman said:
So what is the latest? have you got the head off the engine yet?
if so is there any evidence of water in the engine?
frozen or sticky valve?
loose or lots of play in rocker?
sorting the head out should be easy but we need to determine the cause of the bent pushrod before refitting.
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OK the latest is that the boat is coming off its swinging mooring on Saturday and will be ashore so that my friendly mechanic can strip the engine down and see what happened. I will update this thread when there is anything to report as I always get frustrated when people ask for help then you never find out what happened!
 
My outboard propeller doesn't lift out every second wave. It isn't particularly a faff refueling in weather (when I'd likely be sailing anyway). Nor is it particularly noisy compared to an inboard.

Barnac1e said:
I just cannot understand the "I don't think that I will be able to trust her again" bit. Why ever not? Fix it and sail it. No different from any other boat with an inboard engine. My VP MD17C is 32 years old and has had plenty of fixing and I spend the summer sailing around full of trust in my old boat.

You have a great boat and would sorely miss her if you changed to a smaller one that an outboard could push around. Try motoring with an outboard in a short chop when the propeller lifts out of the water every second wave; try refuelling in a gale offshore; try putting up with the whine of the high revs for hour after hour in a calm. No, I repeat, you have a great cruising boat, appreciate what you have and get it fixed.
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EdBeynon said:
My outboard propeller doesn't lift out every second wave.
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Perhaps you don't encounter the "short chop" I qualified the sea conditions with. The North East coast isn't particularly known for that, although I do remember Whitby harbour entrance, between the outer piers, when the outboard propeller of my Wayfarer and succeeding Hilbre OD was as much out of the water as in with onshore winds.

It isn't particularly a faff refueling in weather (when I'd likely be sailing anyway).
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That's just in your subjective situations - I've known some hairy times trying to get petrol over the transom and into a tank, juggling with a fuel can and funnel in a seaway. Admittedly that was a long time ago before remote pressure tanks existed. But fuel consumption is higher than a diesel and petrol on board an added hazard.

Nor is it particularly noisy compared to an inboard.
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Hmm, again subjective and not my experience. To my ear, an inboard in a properly soundproofed engine compartment is hardly noticeable at cruising revs - my one as an example.
 
Without stealing Eds thunder, think part of his satisfaction is because he has a Hurley 22 which has one of the better well installations - although the prop is still behind the rudder and fumes can be a problem with some engines. Big enough boat to have a remote tank engine as well if you want.
 
Tranona said:
Without stealing Eds thunder, think part of his satisfaction is because he has a Hurley 22 which has one of the better well installations
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I can understand his satisfaction, lovely boats. I crewed in one for a race up in Northumberland once and brought it back to Whitby for the owner. It was a memorable sail across Tees Bay in a strong offshore wind - she handled beautifully.

Edit:
Forgot to mention, that one had an inboard and was fin keel.
 
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As you say a good well with a 6hp four stroke Tohatsu on a remote tank. The furthest I've been on that 6 in one trip is from Wells up to Hartlepool on her delivery trip with a bit of motorsailing but the sails were that knackered it was mostly engine. I anchored to sleep and refuel at Bridlington and Scarborough and I think I may have chucked another can in around the Humber somewhere. Part of my choice of boat came down to not being prepared to gamble on needing to put in an inboard installation I could ill afford on my first boat bought at the bottom of the market as I'd seen friends get stung with this. The prop behind the rudder is good at making me look (more) incompetent in marinas

Tranona said:
Without stealing Eds thunder, think part of his satisfaction is because he has a Hurley 22 which has one of the better well installations - although the prop is still behind the rudder and fumes can be a problem with some engines. Big enough boat to have a remote tank engine as well if you want.
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Everyone knows that a diesel in-board is usually a better option, except for 2 over-riding situations where an outboard is better...

1) Ed's and Dylan's case, small old boat, where the possible cost of replacement or major repair being more than the value of the boat makes it a risk too far

2) My case, where 100kg saved on a trimaran's weight is worthwhile. It's primarily a sailing boat; the engine really is only an auxiliary

A Centaur is neither of those, so the inboard should be kept going.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
My case, where 100kg saved on a trimaran's weight is worthwhile. It's primarily a sailing boat; the engine really is only an auxiliary
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is that DF920 you have got? they look amazing. I happened across the quorning promo video on youtube and couldnt stop watching it. Tell me, can it keep up decent speed in a short chop (you know typical uk headland wind over tide F6-7 stuff). Most of the videos on the tube are in calm conditions in sheltered inlets. If it can keep up a tidy mean speed in open sea thats one hell of a passage maker you have got there. If I had the wedge i'd be sorely tempted. The 35 looks even better but i'd have to sell a kidney to buy one.
I confess, when I made my earlier post about outboards - I wasnt thinking of multihulls. I used to crew an iroquois which had a yamaha 9.9 4 stroke on it which usually did all that was asked of it. It wasnt much cop into a headwind or sea and once it wouldnt go we had to sail up to the lock and get the dory out. but in the main its was ok. when cruising at 12+ knots on that boat I suspect it was well worth the weight/drag gain vs 2x inboard diesels that I have seen on other examples.

Given the cash I would be tempted to go electric on a tri. the biggest one of those torquedo things?

I stand by my original advice that a centaur needs and deserves a nice diesel lump in it.
 
It is a DF920. The hulls have a high lwl:bwl ratio (10:1 main, 18:1 floats) so there is no slamming. This helps greatly upwind in a chop. However, there are limits, and as the conditions worsen the speed needs to be brought down to keep things sane. In the conditions you mention bringing the speed down to 7 knots and good progress can be made. This is hard on the wind in a low F5, speed through water 8 knots...

 
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Angus. I want one!
I understand entirely you need to slow it down under such conditions. you'd end up pitchpoling? but if headlands can be rounded at sensible speeds then when the sea flattens off you can go for it again. genius. sadly for me they seem to hold their value rather well...
I know the cabin isnt exactly palacial for the financial outlay but who cares when you can sail up to 20 kts eh?
lovely boat mate, well done :)
 
contessaman said:
I understand entirely you need to slow it down under such conditions. you'd end up pitchpoling?
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You can't pitchpole them upwind because pitchpoling is caused by excess speed and burying the lee bow; there's not enough speed to do that upwind. If you sail them like a nutter on a close reach then it is a risk, like one did in the 2012 RTI race - asymmetric up in a F7 is too much. If you go too fast upwind it just gets bumpy, uncomfortable, loud, wet, stressed, and obvious that life would be better if you slowed down.

We're drifting this thread quicker than an A22 in a F11 now.
 
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I remember that trip. It was quite lumpy.


AngusMcDoon said:
It is a DF920. The hulls have a high lwl:bwl ratio (10:1 main, 18:1 floats) so there is so slamming. This helps greatly upwind in a chop. However, there are limits, and as the conditions worsen the speed needs to be brought down to keep things sane. In the conditions you mention bringing the speed down to 7 knots and good progress can be made. This is hard on the wind in a low F5, speed through water 8 knots...

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The Centaur ( late light models especially ) behaves quite well in the hands of a decent sailor who knows about sail trim.

They only got a reputation as motor sailors because they had 23hp Volvo's, this was simply because Westerlys were offered a good deal by Volvo !

The Centaur may not have the looks of a Contessa but I've been in a F8 in one and she did us proud.
 
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