Engines in second hand boats,guidance and obsevations

[Wansworth]

The worry with buying a secondhand boat from a non engineering background is what observations can I make and what conclusions can I reach when inspecting anengine and all the ancillary bits.

 

[Zagato]

With inboards i have been fortunate enough to buy boats with recent new engines but have still spoken to the engineer who has serviced it. With outboards i just sell them and buy new... i wouldn,t buy a boat with an older, unknown engine. I have not needed to.

 

[LittleSister]

They might well suit you for your intended use, but I found petrol outboards a pain in the neck for sail cruising - thirsty; can't carry enough fuel for voyaging in a small boat; poor to none battery charging (might well be different on more modern and bigger outboards); most of them not geared/propped to suit a sailing boat rather than a small tender; prone to theft; if transom mounted prop keeps coming out of the water in any amount of waves/swell, and the one boat I had an outboard in a well and so avoided that problem, I couldn't turn the outboard to aid manoeuvring and the llid had to be kept open otherwise it'd choke on its own exhaust fumes; the weight is high up and right at the end of the boat - exactly what you don't want, many are not that easy to start. Did I mention that in many harbours there is no petrol anywhere near the water, and I used to have to trudge or taxi miles to find a petrol station that might or might not be open when I arrived. The upside being you can easily remove an outboard to take to a repairer, or to the tip, and you can just bolt on a new one.

A bad inboard is a liability, as replacing it will be a huge proportion of the value of the sort of boats you and I might own. But on the other hand, a good diesel inboard is a boon - ultra-reliable, easy to start (at the push of a button), very economical, gives ample electrical output, is easy to service, and if maintained will give many decades of good service. There is diesel dispensed at the waterside of almost every harbour.

In order to try to ensure that any diesel inboard in a boat you are interested is a good 'un, I suggest -
- ensure it is a model for which spares are still available,
- does it look cared for (a bit of missing paint and/or rust is not in itself a sign of neglect or abuse)
- ask to see it started from cold. Check it is actually cold by putting your hand on it before it is started, if they've told you it's cold and you find its not, walk away.
- It should start easily (though not necessarily instantly) on the first spin of the starter.
- it may be initially a little smoky on start up, but this should almost completely disappear within, say, a minute.
- it should stop easily.
- having run and stopped it should restart again almost instantly.
If you buy it, maintain it!

With my last boat purchase, anxious about the potential scary cost of replacing the elderly engine, I considered getting a formal engineers report, but I gained the impression without expensive (and slow) extras like engine oil analysis etc. it would be hedged with caveats and couldn't be relied on as any sort of guarantee. Instead I asked about and found a recommended local engineer, who for a very modest sum, started it and, using his long experience, just gave me a verbal indication of his impressions of its condition. In my case - he thought it looked 'looked after', it started easily, ran nicely, sounded fine (despite typical previous generation diesel clattering, was slightly smoky after start up but in his view not at all badly for its advanced age and not indicative of any problem. And so it proved in use - very reliable.

 

[Wansworth]

They might well suit you for your intended use, but I found petrol outboards a pain in the neck for sail cruising - thirsty; can't carry enough fuel for voyaging in a small boat; poor to none battery charging (might well be different on more modern and bigger outboards); most of them not geared/propped to suit a sailing boat rather than a small tender; prone to theft; if transom mounted prop keeps coming out of the water in any amount of waves/swell, and the one boat I had an outboard in a well and so avoided that problem, I couldn't turn the outboard to aid manoeuvring and the llid had to be kept open otherwise it'd choke on its own exhaust fumes; the weight is high up and right at the end of the boat - exactly what you don't want, many are not that easy to start. Did I mention that in many harbours there is no petrol anywhere near the water, and I used to have to trudge or taxi miles to find a petrol station that might or might not be open when I arrived. The upside being you can easily remove an outboard to take to a repairer, or to the tip, and you can just bolt on a new one.

A bad inboard is a liability, as replacing it will be a huge proportion of the value of the sort of boats you and I might own. But on the other hand, a good diesel inboard is a boon - ultra-reliable, easy to start (at the push of a button), very economical, gives ample electrical output, is easy to service, and if maintained will give many decades of good service. There is diesel dispensed at the waterside of almost every harbour.

In order to try to ensure that any diesel inboard in a boat you are interested is a good 'un, I suggest -
- ensure it is a model for which spares are still available,
- does it look cared for (a bit of missing paint and/or rust is not in itself a sign of neglect or abuse)
- ask to see it started from cold. Check it is actually cold by putting your hand on it before it is started, if they've told you it's cold and you find its not, walk away.
- It should start easily (though not necessarily instantly) on the first spin of the starter.
- it may be initially a little smoky on start up, but this should almost completely disappear within, say, a minute.
- it should stop easily.
- having run and stopped it should restart again almost instantly.
If you buy it, maintain it!

With my last boat purchase, anxious about the potential scary cost of replacing the elderly engine, I considered getting a formal engineers report, but I gained the impression without expensive (and slow) extras like engine oil analysis etc. it would be hedged with caveats and couldn't be relied on as any sort of guarantee. Instead I asked about and found a recommended local engineer, who for a very modest sum, started it and, using his long experience, just gave me a verbal indication of his impressions of its condition. In my case - he thought it looked 'looked after', it started easily, ran nicely, sounded fine (despite typical previous generation diesel clattering, was slightly smoky after start up but in his view not at all badly for its advanced age and not indicative of any problem. And so it proved in use - very reliable.

Thanks,more or less reinforces my thinking.The best engine so far in my boat search was a Spanish Sole diesel nicely presented and apparently sorted by. Sole mechanic in Coruna the engine was on theinfamousDiamio that of the narrow side decks?