Beneteau - Perkins vs. Yanmar

[MSN2Travelers]

I am looking at a number of Beneteau 351/352's, 1994-1999 model range. There appears to be very little difference in basic layout and equipment between these boats except the engine.

1995 appears to be the last year Beneteau used the Perkins. Is there any reason why I would want to avoid boats with the Perkins vs. boats that have a Yanmar?

[Jeff_H]

Personally I am a big fan of Yanmars. They are very reliable, the parts are comparative affrodable and readily available. Information is easy to obtain. My experience with Perkins is that they are generally okay engines but everything is a little less easy.

Jeff

[mitchbrown]

I feel the same as Jeff, I have a yanmar and I feel they are a very dependable and well designed engine. They can potentially last 10,000 hours or more given proper maintenance.

The perkins i have no experience with but i have read probably a million posts over the years and haven't really heard anyone complaining about them. Perkins has been making marine engines for a long long time and I wouldn't shy away from a boat because it had one in it.

Mitch

[MSN2Travelers]

Thanks for the info so far. Maybe I should have been a little less vague about the engines themselves. The Perkins is a model M30 (sometimes listed as Perama-M30) while the Yanmar is a model 3GM30F.

I saw a single post that said you should run away from any boat that has that Perkins (lawn tractor) engine and a few others that say the prefer the Yanmar over the Perkins because it is easier to get parts.

Anybody out there with a Perkins M30 engine, in any boat, that would say it is a piece crap and I should set aside the cash to buy a replacement Yanmar?

[Kimberleigh]

Have just completed two Marine Diesel Engines courses at the Annapolis School of Seamanship where we worked on a Yanmar. Have spent the last 2 days troubleshooting a fuel problem on my Perkins 4-108 (circa 1984). A few comments on the Yanmar, which we had on our last boat as well. Simpler layout, easy to find and reach fuel line bleed screws once you know where they are, easy to access the air filter. A little harder to access the water pump impeller but doable. I have heard that it is very easy to get access to Yanmar parts in most of the world. I prefer the Yanmar for working on.
However, if your engine is still in production, that won't be an issue. I don't know about the newer Perkins but mine leaks oil quite a bit. Suggest you have a look at the manual online and find the commonly maintained point like the bleed screws and see where they are located. Depending on the installation in your boat you may not be able to reach all of them without removing something else. On my engine the one for the injector pump is behind the oil filter and inaccessible unless I take off the oil filter.

Maybe search online for Transatlantic Diesel (a rebuild company in Virginia which also carries parts for older engines) and compare prices of major parts -
that may help you with your decision.
Good luck in your hunt!

[svHyLyte]

Having owned both a Yanmar for 16 years and now a Perkins 4-108 for 9 years, I have found both are good engines with proper maintenance. While the Yanmar may be somewhat easier to work on, in some respects I prefer the Perkins because they are ubiquitous world wide powering everything from generators, to pumps, to tractors and parts can almost always be obtained. They are also very sturdy. Farm applications reportedly see as much as 10,000 hours although, of course, the environmental conditions are somewhat different, eh?

FWIW...