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Thinking of Losing My Inboard

8K views 58 replies 31 participants last post by  christian.hess 
#1 ·
I have a 28' full-keel double-end, and doing a full refit interior/exterior. I was thinking of losing the 10HP Yanmar to buy some extra space and going with an outboard. I do sail in open water off shore, and would like to do some crusing in the undetermined future.

Bad Idea?
 
#2 ·
Only a bad idea to the degree that you may be concerned with the lack of ability to have your prop remain in the water if you are relying on breaking an inlet under power. At some times you may wish to have the engine power in short period waves and at these times the outboard might not function well. If you can expect to cruise only with reliance of sails or in protected water with the best of weather; then, this plan might be suitable.
 
#16 ·
Double enders do tend to hobby horse much more than wide transom boats, making the OB much less usable. ---
capta - Why do you say that? I sailed a 26' double ender for years and did not notice more hobby horsing than a comparable length boat with a "normal" (lol) transom.
Sorry for the thread hijack.
 
#8 ·
An inboard engine on a boat that size is a real godsend when it gets nasty. 10HP is pretty low HP for a boat that size & weight. I'd consider getting a closer to 20HP diesel.
That is probably the original engine for that boat.
or get an Atomic 4 gas engine; much cheaper.
 
#12 ·
You haven't said anything about the condition of the Yanmar. If it's got life left in it, no way would I remove it. If it needs some work, use the money that would have been spent to remove it and buy an outboard, to bring the Yanmar back into good condition. As the owner of a 26' boat with a Yanmar 1 gm--who considered boats of the same size with an outboard--I am so extremely happy with the Yanmar.
 
#17 · (Edited)
The Yanmar is in good shape. It still runs like a little sewing maching, uses about 1/2 liter/hour. It could use some maintenance. Since I'm redoing everything, I was going to pull it and do a complete rebuild and upgrade the alternator. It's only a single cylinder, so should be inexpensive to work on.

Still, with 26' LOD / 28' LOA, since I have the interior torn-out, I was kicking around what I could do with that space if it was available.

As I haven't done any true crusing, and very little foul weather sailing - I wanted the thoughts of those with more experience.

It sounds like I would regret pulling it, big time - and if I do anything different, I should mount a small outboard for a time, and test how it performs before I do anything radical like pulling the inboard.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I posted in the thread linked earlier with my thoughts. I seem to be in the minority of people that have an inboard boat with an outboard and actually like it, despite it's flaws.

That said, I'm not sure I would remove a functioning inboard in favor of an outboard unless you really needed the space (e.g. LONG passages). Our decision to mount an outboard was completely based on cost-benefit, I wasn't willing to drop the money required to put an inboard back in, because it wasn't worth it. If we already had one in that worked, we would have left it and used it. We would take over a 70% hit on the install of a new or used diesel, so it just wasn't worth it.

It also depends on the type of sailing you do and where you are. I have talked to a lot of people on the matter and gotten completely different answers from people with different needs and experience levels.

Also, you could experiment with it for a while and see what you think. Why not buy a mount and motor, leave the diesel in, and try it for a while? If it doesn't work, you can fill the holes and sell it. If it does, you can buy a better motor and sell the inboard. As I mentioned in the previous thread, our boat has an 8000lb displacement and we use a 6 HP 4-stroke that ran us around $1500 new, we saw used ones of the same type for around $800.
 
#15 ·
We have an 8000lb Irwin that we will take on week long trips. Trying to solve the "Where to store the dingy outboard" dilemma, I bought one of those lifting motor mounts and now have the option to run with the inboard 8HP yanmar or the 8HP Mercury dingy motor, or both if we're in a hurry. For where we sail, the Mercury would probably be fine 70% of the time. The other 30%, in any kind of swell it's challenging to keep the prop in the water.

Having said that, I'm not sure what I'll do when the diesel goes. The boat is not worth what it would cost to repower.

Rob.
 
This post has been deleted
#24 ·
He seems to like it:
Re-powering Jean-du-Sud
Also presents an alternative method regarding placement.
As much as having one less potential leak in the hull around a prop shaft, I'm torn. Nothing like a burly diesel for when things get testy. Also keeps fuel issues down to just keeping it clean. Gas brings about additional fire hazards. It comes down to the individual. You can make it work either way.
 
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#28 ·
If I can chime, Don't do it. I did do it on a 28 foot fin keel. It worked OK, but there are severe limits to its practicality. It was fine in flat water, not so much in choppy. Although the diesel was nearly 300 lbs, the 120lb outboard hung off the stern left her trimmed down at the stern by a few inches, kept my rudder stuffing box under water, and caused a small drip. Having a decent sized crew member walk to the bow to grab a mooring line would raise the prop enough to basically end forward propulsion. My OB has a 10 amp alternator, next to useless given the limited run time. Not to mention above deck fuel tank and wiring was messy. I was saving for a repower and had an OB hanging around, so it didn't cost much, and it let me use the boat, but as a permanent solution the cons outweigh the pros. On a double ender, I don't see an easy way to install a mount, without an expensive engineering project. And just to start another controversy, I found the Beta 14 to be the least expensive diesel option. IIRC, the rebuild on the 1 cyl Yanmar was $5300, and the Beta was $5700 with a 2 year warranty, or some such.
Lou
 
#30 · (Edited)
$5300 seems steep. Did you have the rebuild done at a marine shop?

I've done a few automotive engines (gas). I was going to have the Yanmar (head, block, crank, & piston) professionally remachined (w/ new valves seated), doing the breakdown and reassembly myself from a full rebuild kit - replacing other components (impellers, oil pump, etc) as necessary. I haven't reviewed the manual yet to write-up a game plan.

Something I'm missing, is this harder then it seems on a marine engine?

By the way, does anyone know the Kubota equivalent of a Yanmar 1GM10 for parts sourcing?
 
#31 ·
Hi,
I live in Australia and have a 28' cruiser, it originally had a 20HP Panther Diesel, the previous owner removed it and put a 15HP Mariner 4 Stroke Big Foot Outboard on her.
I, personally, don't feel the motor is big enough, the river I cruise floods frequently, and even though extra HP wouldn't make the old girl go any faster, some extra oomph would be really nice in the flood times.
The other issue, which I will rectify in the future, is steering, now the thrust is behind the rudder, not a lot of maneuverability. I don't want to remove the steering from the rudder, as when not using the outboard, still want to be able to steer, looking at a dual cable setup to attach to motor and rudder.
As the motor is a long shaft, there is a lot of leg in the water, and I have not had an issue with the prop coming out of the water, but in saying that, I haven't been in the big blue either.
 
#32 ·
The rebuild was from the local Yanmar dealer. It was a YSM 12, an older 1 cylinder. Parts are available, but expensive. I've done gas engines, including DOHC Alfa engines, so I figured a 1 Cyl couldn't be that bad. After pricing parts, the labor wasn't bad, and it would be done in two weeks, rather than numerous weekends. Even around here winters aren't that long. As mentioned, the Atomic 4 is a good option, as long as reconfiguring doesn't expand the job too much. Several marine engines use Kubota as a base, so parts shouldn't be a problem. My boat was lost in Sandy, and I found a duplicate with a "recently" rebuilt YSM 12, so I ended up finessing that issue.
Good luck.
Lou

UOTE=Kielanders;1110625]$5300 seems steep. Did you have the rebuild done at a marine shop?

I've done a few automotive engines (gas). I was going to have the Yanmar (head, block, crank, & piston) professionally remachined (w/ new valves seated), doing the breakdown and reassembly myself from a full rebuild kit - replacing other components (impellers, oil pump, etc) as necessary. I haven't reviewed the manual yet to write-up a game plan.

Something I'm missing, is this harder then it seems on a marine engine?

By the way, does anyone know the Kubota equivalent of a Yanmar 1GM10 for parts sourcing?[/QUOTE]
 
#34 ·
some diesels are dead cheap to rebuild, some have parts availabilty issues and some are darn stupid to fix price wise(volvo)

I just took the decision to dump my palmer p60 inboard gas engine, not cause I wanted to I think they are great, but because I had no way of replcaing a part deemed extinct...

especially overseas where there was absolutely no way of replacing or fixing this part.

I previoulsy had an atomic 4(on another boat) which was simple, dead reliable and easy to service...I dont even have that option now, so I am left with a nice gas tank...clean bilge and no inboard...prop and shaft.

time to either cobble up and electric diy setup or use a 15hp outboard on a bracket...

Im also a firm beleiver in the kiss principle, unlike most common theories around, guys who need more horsepower and huge inboards are those that coastal cruise more and use marinas more...simply because you need to or have to motor into these places either by marina laws or other...

offshore sailors can make do with a solar panel and an outboard easily every new port...I have done it and been on boats that prove this...

when you sail 1-3k miles at a time only to anchor on a nice cove or atoll, or sheltered bay...your inboard is a very very far away thought...not even needed if you think about it...

ps. I will say this, I loved my yanmar2gm when it worked...on a small sailboat however it suffered though, first from corrosion and exposure to the elements, second from too much movement and bad motorsailing from the angles, and thrid I always always had to clean the filters when cruising almost every other day...either water from condensation or dirty fuel even after filtering with a baja filter wasnt enough...

I honestly spent more time working on the engine than checking sails or doing sail maintenance..which if you think about it is ridiiculoous on a sailboat.

lastly almost every port where we anchored at 90% of the boats that where there where either doing something related to engine work or repowering jobs, they ALL had work to do even if the engine was new and they all consumed huge amounts of maintenance when compared to other parts of the boat...think sails, mast, basic rigging, etc...

again sailboat being the key issue here...

peace


cheers
 
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