Engine choice

N

Neeves

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 Nov 2011
Messages
14,075
Location
Sydney, Australia.
Visit site
If you had a choice of which engine, really manufacturer, you could have installed in a new sailing yacht, or were replacing an engine - say in the 10hp - 40hp range

What would you choose (and why).

And would this choice be different if you were to want a saildrive or shaft.

No limits: Volvo, Vetus, Beta, Lambordini, Chinese, Nanni and anyone else

But if there were limits on costs - would the choice be different?

After the yacht itself its one of those big ticket items - just the sort of analysis an individual might find difficulty to conduct, but the magazines steer clear.

Jonathan
 
Some years ago we chose a Beta 27 for the Snowgoose and have never regretted it - so a couple of years ago we put a Beta 16 in the Seamaster Sailer 23 and are equally happy.
 
We decided to buy a cat through the Sunsail/Moorings owners programme and chartered a cat in the Grenadines for 2 weeks on the basis that if we liked the boat and went ahead with the purchase of a new one in the Med we would get the charter costs back as part of the deal, which I thought was a very fair offer.

We liked the boat (a Moorings spec Leopard 40) which was about 3 years old but it had Volvo Penta engines. When we got home I spoke to The Moorings and explained that although I liked the boat I wanted Yanmar engines. The Moorings explained that they also preferred the Yanmars and that the builder had now (that very year I think) changed the spec to Yanmars.

The rest, as they say, is history! :)

Richard
 
I have a Volvo D1-30 with saildrive since 3 years without any issues, only 150 hours , so way too early for a judgment.
In my former boat 1 had a yanmar 2GM 20 with fixed shaft which worked for 24 years without any problems. It never let me down! I changed oil every 3 years ( approx. 60 -80 engine hours per year), same as impeller and changed starter battery every 7 year.
Don't think that there is a major quality difference between the major brands nowadays, the big market for these engines are construction equipment applications which run 40 - 50 hours per week!
I am sure that a less reliable engine would be banned quickly.
 
There is very little to differentiate the various offerings nowadays. Just like cars among the main brands the standard is so consistent that recommendations are based primarily on an individual experience and few people have experience of more than one or two current engines for any length of time. Prices are in a narrow band and for replacement the choice is often determined by these of figment in an existing boat. For a new boat the choice is usually made for you and for large volume builders about half fit Volvo and the other half Yanmar. With small volume builders you may get a choice.

I have had good service out of Yanmar and Volvo but chose Nanni for my latest reengine project because it or Beta were the only 2 cylinder engines that would fit. As the Nanni is blue and matches both the hull colour and the upholstery that was the deciding factor.
 
You obviously have a blank canvas with a new yacht, but when replacing an engine it's not so simple as access panels can be on the wrong side and new engine bearers may be needed, as well as a new prop, all of which can add considerably to the cost. Hence when I changed my VP 2030 I chose a VP D1-30 which pretty much just slotted in.
 
"What would you choose (and why)."


Unless you have very strong overriding reasons and if you have a boat which sold in significant numbers, my suggestion is you fit what everyone else is fitting in the class.

No thought required. It will help sell the boat when the time comes, you will have practical back up with fixtures and fitting, and a store of knowledge as maintenance progresses.
 
I think I'd probably go for Beta, because if I have a free choice of engine rather than taking whatever the builder fits then I must be doing something fairly custom or one-off (or a repower). Those are squarely in Beta's target market and what they're set up to deal with, versus a tiny sideline for the big boys at Yanmar or Volvo. They have sensible policies about owner maintenance etc, rather than just saying "take it to a dealer" for anything more than checking the dipstick. They positively recommend buying third-party parts for the base engine. I suspect they're likely to carry on with simple non-electronic controls for longer than the big makers - I'm not worried about the reliability of electronics (for controls as opposed to engine-management) but simple wiring is easier to adapt and modify for customisation.

Actual reliability and quality of engine is equal across all makers as far as I can tell.

Pete
 
The availability of spare parts often comes up in this discussion (like in a similar thread the other day), but for a replacement engine other aspects can be far more important IMHO.
When I repowered ten years ago I chose a Beta to replace the Volvo, which was a very poor choice in this narrow respect, given my location.
But it is really not too difficult these days to buy and keep your own stock of filters, zincs, impellers, gaskets etc.
Far more important in my case, and the main deciding factor, was the possibility to get an engine with a high exhaust riser at a reasonable price. (The lack of this was the main reason for the Volvo needing replacement after only 25 years).
 
When it came to replacing a BMC Captain in Sept 2014 I did the slog around the Southampton Boat show and my preferred engine was a Nanni over the Beta. When A R Peachment couldn't be bothered to reply to my email with a list of further questions I approached BetaMarine direct who could not have been more helpful.
The end result was a Beta 25 fitted to my Hillyard by Purbeck Marine. Great engine, great installation - I could not be more pleased.
 
Another vote for beta. They are very helpful, my engine has never missed a beat and spares such as filters are easily obtainable from car dealers without the marine mark up if you know the part number.
 
Burnham Bob said:
spares such as filters are easily obtainable from car dealers without the marine mark up if you know the part number.
Click to expand...

...and I'm sure I read somewhere on the Beta site that they will cheerfully give you a list of such part numbers for your engine :encouragement:

You can of course do the same thing with Volvo filters (£4 versus £24 for D1-30 fuel filter, though I'm sure the latter price could be reduced if not buying from a shiny showroom in an emergency). But Volvo will certainly not tell you what the cross-reference part numbers are, indeed will discourage you from buying anything that doesn't have a VP label on it (probably slapped over another name!)

Pete
 
We have been very happy with Vetus who had all the ancillaries in their catalogue, also Beta, I would see what fits in the space, engine mounts and shaft, for us Vetus happened to fit well
 
Neeves said:
But if there were limits on costs - would the choice be different?
Click to expand...

Given a completely free choice, Vetus or Craftsmen, because they look by far the best done to me. Unfortunately there probably isn't room on my boat for the Mitsubishi base (thanks to Tranona for checking this on a previous thread) so when I get round to it I think it will be Nanni. Beta is just too cheap-and-cheerful-covered-with-red-paint for my tastes and Yanmar irritate me with their spares pricing policy.
 
I think we replaced 9 engines in the yard last year.
If we are given the choice we choose Beta.
Basic, simple, dare I say slightly agricultural, however they work and as an auxiliary i think they are hard to beat especially if the owner wants to do his own maintenance down the line.
Installation always seems to go better with a beta swap.
Even though I personally have a 30hp Yanmar which in general I'm happy with, I find its a little fragile and parts are extortionate, along with a long running starter problem that we never seem to quite nail down.
Volvo are fine until they get to a certain age when they seem develop one issue after another.
We've had a few issues with raw water pumps last year and replacement was not cheap.
That said I do like the look of the Nanni, really nice package but not really got much experience with them.
 
Javelin said:
I think we replaced 9 engines in the yard last year.
If we are given the choice we choose Beta.
Basic, simple, dare I say slightly agricultural, however they work and as an auxiliary i think they are hard to beat especially if the owner wants to do his own maintenance down the line.
Installation always seems to go better with a beta swap.
Even though I personally have a 30hp Yanmar which in general I'm happy with, I find its a little fragile and parts are extortionate, along with a long running starter problem that we never seem to quite nail down.
Volvo are fine until they get to a certain age when they seem develop one issue after another.
We've had a few issues with raw water pumps last year and replacement was not cheap.
That said I do like the look of the Nanni, really nice package but not really got much experience with them.
Click to expand...

When I asked my local mechanic about replacing a 50hp Perkins he recommended Lombardini:

Direct slot in
Much cheaper
Just as reliable.
 
Interesting comments.

I had thought there would be more negativity toward Volvo and to a lesser extend Yanmar as their issues come up so frequently on these threads (especially spare parts costs), but possibly their frequency is a function of their market penetration.

I noted Sybarite's post, above, also note the engineers recommendation but Sybarite omitted to mention what, if anything, he actually chose!

Beta shine through. Another comment comes through - some distributors focus more than others on the individual, so Beta shines, Volvo etc all less so.

The other comment that comes through is that replacing like with like, or as close as you can get, minimises (obviously) many issues. But if you are replacing as a result of 'premature' ageing I had thought there might be adverse comment on whatever was there originally. We have Volvos 2020s, 2 of them, and I would certainly be discouraged in replacing like with like (or the 'D' range) simply because of the sheer inconvenience of working on the seawater pump. This is a problem, possibly specific to a multihull, as side access is simply not available as the hulls are too narrow.

But the comment was made, few have enough experience of different engines to pass objective comment, maybe Javelin excepted.

Jonathan
 
Neeves said:
I would certainly be discouraged in replacing like with like (or the 'D' range) simply because of the sheer inconvenience of working on the seawater pump. This is a problem, possibly specific to a multihull, as side access is simply not available as the hulls are too narrow.
Click to expand...

This is puzzling - both water pumps on our D1-30 are on the front.

The oil filter is on the starboard side, but it's possible to fit a remote kit to place it somewhere more convenient - I have, because our engine (a repower) is hard up against a bulkhead on that side.

Pete
 
The water pump is on the front of the 2030, same side as the oil filter and fuel filter. The attachment bolts for the pump, which is obviously engine driven, are behind the pump, hidden by the feet by which the engine is bolted to the bed. When you need to change the seals, for the pump, you need to remove the bolts - and they are basically inaccessible from the front. I have been advised that many mechanics actually unbolt the relevant foot - which should never be necessary but implies its not just me that finds it inconvenient.

We too have attached a remote oil filter, we bolted it near to the relay as accessing the oil filter meant lying on top of the engine and hanging head down. It did not matter what one tried to do - taking it off was very messy. Engines are most uncomfortable to lie on and hot if you've run it to make the oil more manageable. Having the oil filter on the other side and 'right way up' - much more sensible - edit great minds think alike :) close edit

Jonathan
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top