New engine for Warrior 35

[Newboy6458]

Hi Guys.

Looking to replace an elderly BMC Captain 1.5 in my Warrior 35 project.
New is probably not an option on my budget. Have sourced various secondhand and reconditioned alternatives, from 30 hp Yanmar to 50 hp Perkins, with Ford and Volvo in between. Not seen anything secondhand in Beta though.

Trawling through the threads has been informative. Basic hull details are 35" LOA, 26'3" LWL, 10'6" Beam, 5' Draught, 5.5Tons Displacement, ( of which 2.3Tons is ballast ). Long keel design.

Looking at the accepted wisdom (?) of 4hp per ton, this gives a nominal 22hp needed.
Would this be at the gearbox or the prop?
I believe diesels like to be worked reasonably hard, so a Yanmar of about 29hp giving out 22hp would be at about 76%.

I would be thinking about a kiwi prop.

Am I missing something here?

As always any comments or suggestions most welcome.

 

[stav]

I am no engineer but your logic seems good to me. Many people quote quite low HP but then I guess experience for factoring in punching into a headsea is the real question. But I mostly posted as have you seen the lombardini on flebay? 30hp 117 hrs? No connection and no idea if it is any good. I have heard stories of new engines being wrecked on first start up so caveat emptor.

I must say though I am more of a rebuild person than a fit new/different. I would much rather spend time greasy than covered in glass clothe and epoxy/polyester.

Good luck with it.

 

[scottie]

Don't use current logic to understand original choice of engine as all has changed in supply situation
The BMC 1500 and to a lesser extent Perkins 4/99 were the just about only option for automotive base units to produce an alternative to the custom build marine engines in the 1960/70 era so this produced a lot of over powered boats at that time and by current standards under powered ones

 

[joha]

I have a Voyager 35 (1990) same hull as the Warrior and she has a Volvo 2003t fitted as standard then (43hp) I believe the standard fit before they fitted the Volvo was a 42hp Mercedes. The 2003t in mine drives her well with some to spare and is actually quite economical which did surprise me I have had the boat 3 years now and the engine goes well never had any problems considering the boat had been on the hard for 5 years before I got it. The Volvo mechanic who services it reckons these engines are not as bad as some people make out and are actually very strong units but changing the oil regularly helps.

John

 

[Tranona]

As always any comments or suggestions most welcome.

It is not just the HP you need to consider, but the size and type of prop you can swing. You may find you do not have enough space to swing a Kiwi prop, which incidentally will not compensate for a lack of HP. You will need a minimum of 28hp to achieve hull speed and ideally a prop around 16" with a 2.5:1 gearbox, but I suspect you will be limited to a smaller prop so will need a lower reduction ratio. You are unlikely to find a modern engine (Yanmar, Volvo, Beta etc) of this size secondhand that are any good, and you will need to do substantial modifications to fit as they are all much smaller and different mountings than your existing engine.

Unless you can afford to go the whole hog and replace with new you are better off fitting another BMC 1.5l engine and you will find it much easier sourcing a second hand one - or ideally a reconditioned one. You can then use the same gearbox and stern gear.

 

[Colvic Watson]

Go to Thornycroft's site, they'll sell you a bottom to top rebuilt BMC 1.5 for about £2000. A well regarded company, you save buckets by keeping your alternator, starter, gearbox.

 

[TQA]

Go to Thornycroft's site, they'll sell you a bottom to top rebuilt BMC 1.5 for about £2000. A well regarded company, you save buckets by keeping your alternator, starter, gearbox.

That would be the route I would go. No need to change mounts shaft exhaust etc. While the BMC 15 diesel is not one of the worlds wonder engines it is a great workhorse.

 

[srm]

I would be thinking about a kiwi prop.

I looked at A Kiwi prop for my Voyager 35, (same hull moulding). Two problems, smallest prop would not quite fit the rudder hull apperture and would not absorb available power from my 1.8 ford engine. However, my shaft may have been bored a bit high as lots of clearance below blade. Talk to the Kiwi people, very helpful, and they may be able to advise engine spec if prop will fit.

 

[Newboy6458]

Thanks guys, some good stuff there.

 

[Mermaid-Jon]

If you're looking to have your BMC rebuilt, I would speak to Calcutt Boats 01926-813757 or see www.calcuttboats.com as they are well known around here for BMC support.
best regards
Jon

 

[pcatterall]

Go to Thornycroft's site, they'll sell you a bottom to top rebuilt BMC 1.5 for about £2000. A well regarded company, you save buckets by keeping your alternator, starter, gearbox.

+1
That's the sort of thing I would look at assuming that the original engine did what was required and is now just too long in the tooth.