My 26′ S2, Messing About, has an unreliable 10HP outboard. I have been giving some serious thought to buying a diesel, so I asked the community for advice. As ever you guys came up trumps. Thank you. Here are some edited highlights:
What should I buy?
Some enigne makers are making quite compact diesel sail drives. Seems it might be ideal for that kind of boat? Robert
the new Harbor 25 has a nifty
little inboard mounted outboard engine. Must be a heck of a lot
cheaper. Ask a LOT of questions B4 you buy. Dan
How much will it cost? Well the answer is how long is a piece of string
a new 20 HP diesel will run you 20,000. Michael B
The boat I race on is a Bristol
35.5 and the owner put in a new 30hp diesel for around 11,000. Another
crew member has a Pearson 30 and he put in a new diesel, probably
around 20hp, and I think it ran him around 8,000. Scott
I plan to buy a marinized Kubota
engine from Sound Marine Diesel LLC called a Beta Marine. The quote for
the engine, panel, wiring transmission and mounts is $9,200 USD.
Installation quote is approximately $3,500 USD. Dan
my friend Jasper does the best
research of anyone I know. he’s got an old (1958) Chesapeake 32 and
last year his westebeke gas blew a head gasket. over the winter he
decided on a Beta Marine Diesel. I think all in, including new shaft
and prop and electronic control panel it’s close to 10k, Thomas Armstrong
Should I do it?
No. Stick with the outboard. It gives you enough power. Don’t waste your money on this. Brian at Morgan’s Marina. (I absolutely love Brian’s honesty. I am a customer for life now)
1- How long do you plan on
keeping this particular boat? If you’re keeping her like skin then
maybe going with an inboard diesel would be worth the time and $$$$
investment. I’ve found used at an affordable price in my area and even
new at a reasonable price.2- If you’re not keeping her until your age/health grounds you, then
maybe the best thing is finding a good used (or spring for new)
outboard with a bit more power. That way you don’t spend time fighting
to install a new engine and all the wiring etc. and you can be back out
on the water faster.Having worked on my boats diesel engine I know that I’d rather be
sailing than crawling around in small spaces with prickly fiberglass
trying to retro fit a diesel engine! Debbie
Thanks to everyone who contributed. It’s going to cost me more than my boat’s worth and as I doubt we’ll keep her for more than 3 years I think we will tough it out with the outboard.
Yeah, that engine looks too big for you boat anyway 😉
Diesels, so I’m told, love to be run and run and run … are hard to stop so long as they have clean fuel … but they don’t so much care for occasional intermittent use. So, if you were a commercial boater or were fighting six-knot currents every day or expected to get in thousands of hours under power, the diesel would be lovely. Of course, weight, balance, eating up room in the boat, cutting holes in the hull, monitoring through-hulls, bedding the engine properly, aligning the shaft, adjusting the shaft seal, winterizing tank, etc., are additional issues. That seems like a lot of complexity for a twenty-six-foot boat.