Pacific Seacraft 25 repower

[WeMet]

Hello,

I'm on the verge of buying a 1978 Pacific Seacraft 25. In addition to the general angst of buying a 30 year old boat, I'm particularly worried about its 30 year old yanmar diesel (8HP). Has anyone replaced one of these, and if so, how much for the new engine? Is it something I can do, or would I need to hire someone?

If anyone can think of any other potential problems to look for (outside of the obvious), please post here.

Thank you.

[JohnRPollard]

HI WeMet,

I've always liked the PSC 25. They are neat boats. Are you looking at a Mark 1 or a MArk 2 (with bowsprit)?

My suggestion regarding the little Yanmar is to have it carefully checked during survey (you are having a survey, right?). If it is running well enough, perhaps you could hold off on replacing/rebuilding it for a while until you get to know the boat better and prioritize your upgrades.

If it turns out the engine does need replacement, the good news is a reasonably handy person can manage an engine swap. Especially one that involves a smaller (i.e., lighter) engine like this one. Yanmar still makes a one-lunger (single cylinder) diesel, so you could go with a direct replacement with the later version of your engine (1GM10).

Or -- and this is probably what I'd do -- you could bump up to a small two cylinder like the Betamarine 10 (Beta Marine US Ltd. Distributors for Kubota based marine diesel engines and generators for sailboats, yachts and trawler boats.) or Betamarine BZ482 (Beta Marine US Ltd. Distributors for Kubota based marine diesel engines and generators for sailboats, yachts and trawler boats.) or a bit larger Yanmar's 2YM15. The advantage with bumping up to a two-cylinder is more, smoother power, and the ability to have the engines cooled via heat exchanger rather than raw water. Cost-wise, I'm guessing about $5-7K for these smaller engines brand new.

There is another Sailnet member named Brandon (I think his screen name is "Snider"?) that just bought a PSC 25 a month or two ago. He is deep into a refit. It might be worthwhile to track him down and exchange notes. Best of luck to you.

[WeMet]

Thank you a TON for the information. I really like the idea of popping a new 2 cylinder in there... I wish it didn't sound that easy... that kind of job is usually inversely proportional to the ease of saying it. Anyway, a HUGE thank you for the help. I'll track down the other nut who's taking this on and see if he has any suggestions.

[JohnRPollard]

Happy to help!

Here is a link to a recent thread started by Brandon:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/genera...eck-joint.html

You won't be able to send him a Personal Message until you have 10 posts. I would suggest that you post a reply on the thread linked above and I bet Brandon will respond. He is pretty pumped about his new boat so I would expect he'll be a good resource.

[snider]

You are right John, I am REALLY DEEP in a refit. Coming along nicely though. I'm finally done with the demo (I think!) And have started putting everything back together. Those engines are pretty hardy. Check the hours. Mine only has 766 hrs on it, which is barely broke in It was running when the owner put the boat up ten years ago so I think I'll get it going ok. Make sure you can turn it over, and even if you can't it may be salvagable. I used to get small engines for free that were seized, pour some oil in the cylinder and let it soak for awhile, put a wrench on the crank and give it a turn. It'll either run afterwards or you'll be sure it's done! Good thing about the one banger is you can start it by hand. I ran into a lot more work than I expected, but I was kind of expecting that if that makes since. I'm happy so far. There is a PSC 25 group on yahoo you can search out and join. Tons of useful info. If you would like to talk shoot me a message and I'll give you my number. If I can't get my engine running I'm going to take the whole deal out and go engineless, maybe get an electric or gas outboard if I really need it.
Brandon