SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

I started ripping out the carpet headliner in my O'day 272 yesterday.

9K views 26 replies 12 participants last post by  UnnecessaryJibe 
#1 ·
Let me know what you think! Still have a ton of work to do.

 
#2 ·
Nice!

I watched this and episodes 1-3. You both look like you're having fun!

I suggest that you may want to replace your traveller at some point. DO NOT do what I did and try to rebuild with Nico-Fico parts from Rig-Right (those guys are pirates) but instead go straight to Garhauer.

I suggest that you buy a set of fids, and learn how to splice double braid. It isn't hard, and it will make your lines and running rigging look better.

The Westerbeake is likely a marinized Kubota tractor motor. $1K for a alternator is NUTZ!! The boat most likely came with a Motorola 50 Amp alternator. I upgraded my Motorola to a Leece-Nevil 90 Amp for about $300.

I have looked at ripping out the carpet used on the ceiling (the hull's inner surface). I would like to use some kind of wood, but I was concerned about how big the project would be, and I don't have half the carpet that you have.

Good luck!!
 
#3 ·
Nice!

I watched this and episodes 1-3. You both look like you're having fun!

I suggest that you may want to replace your traveller at some point. DO NOT do what I did and try to rebuild with Nico-Fico parts from Rig-Right (those guys are pirates) but instead go straight to Garhauer.

I suggest that you buy a set of fids, and learn how to splice double braid. It isn't hard, and it will make your lines and running rigging look better.

The Westerbeake is likely a marinized Kubota tractor motor. $1K for a alternator is NUTZ!! The boat most likely came with a Motorola 50 Amp alternator. I upgraded my Motorola to a Leece-Nevil 90 Amp for about $300.

I have looked at ripping out the carpet used on the ceiling (the hull's inner surface). I would like to use some kind of wood, but I was concerned about how big the project would be, and I don't have half the carpet that you have.

Good luck!!
First off, thank you for watching! We're having tons of fun so far.

About the traveler, what about it needs replacing do you think? Generally curious because I've thought about it before. I know I'd like to have a traveler that was easier to adjust.

I definitely want to learn to splice double braid! It doesn't look took hard I just haven't had the time. I'll do it one day I'm sitting at anchor with nothing else to do.

We've kind of decided we're going to remove and sell the Westerbeke... I know it's an unpopular opinion but I don't feel the diesel is right for the 272, that's another conversation though, lol. I've posted about removing it here and got a ton of differing opinions.

Ripping out the carpet is definitely a BIG job. I thought it would go much more smoothly but I was severely mistaken!

Thanks again!
 
#4 ·
That headliner shouldn't be an issue if things are dry. I have fabric in mine and it is fine. Looks lke the 272 has that wonderful deck penetration chainplate design like is on the 25. They can develop serious leaks and that structural wood starts to rot. Keep an eye on that. As for swapping out the traveller, you might consider the Lewmar traveller system. Can use existing holes as the bolts are in a track. I used Harken as that is what was on my boat and spent twice as much.

Lewmar Mainsheet Traveler Kit - Black
 
#8 · (Edited)
First, I want to commend you on showing the good and the bad as you two go through these projects. It's nice that you're willing to share your experiences knowing they might invite criticism.

Glad to see you had a dust mask on but if you don't own one already, please buy a respirator, a stash of cartridges and keep them handy so you'll wear it. You own a boat now and it sounds like you intend on doing upgrades/repairs yourself (both on the O'Day and the 'next boat'). It's a small investment ($20 - $30) with a big payoff and there are so many places you'll need it (sanding, painting, pulling carpet, grinding, sanding...).

You bit off a lot with the headliner, my skin itches just watching you go at it! You could (very carefully) try a heat gun using a low setting at first, and keep it moving quickly to see if it helps soften the glue at all. Adjust temp/speed as necessary keeping in mind there's epoxy underneath and stay away from the deck hardware. Try a small spot first to see what happens and don't light anything on fire. Haven't tried this myself on carpet liner, but maybe spray an area with Goo B Gone to saturation, let it sit for awhile and see if it helps. Depends on the adhesive used, but it's pretty effective with some glues (I'd move the cushions out of the area too). Could try a very sharp 2" chisel depending on how desperate you get. As you peel back an area, the chisel may help separating the leading edge of the carpet as you pull. Something like this:

Buck Bros. 2 in. Wood Chisel-120109BC - The Home Depot

I like you're idea on the epoxy paint provided the area is prepped correctly (sanding and possibly fairing the surfaces). At a minimum, it will cheer the place up a bit and get you back sailing quickly w/o having to look at the raw glass/epoxy. It would also allow you to build off of that later with a different solution if you choose (different headliner material, glass furring strips to hull and install planking, etc). Keep in mind that head/hull liners help with sound abatement and a little protection too, it's not all cosmetic. I'd expect a pretty good hall or echo effect in the boat w/o doing something to deaden the noise. Here's an example of lining the hull with wood planks (they also insulated but you'll get the idea).

The Frugal Mariner: Insulating your boat

Tough call on the Westerbeke, but I can see your point. If your plans are to eventually move up though, bringing it back to life would be a nice way for you to learn your way around marine diesel engines. Your next boat will undoubtedly have a diesel and Eherlihy is spot on about the resale value too. Costs aside, parts are more available than you might think. We have an '87 W13 on our boat and so far haven't had issues getting what we've needed. Some original parts are out of production, but to date Westerbeke has identified alternate part numbers that are compatible. Had luck with this site too if you can't find it locally (no affiliation):

Sailboat Supplies, Engine Parts and Boat Parts

Good luck and look forward to watching your progress.
 
#10 ·
There's so much good information here all I can do is tell you how much I appreciate the input! I'll probably use it all at some point. Haha, thank you!

Quick question to everyone, do you really think an O'day 272 with a 2016 tohatsu 9.8 4 stroke outboard (keep in mind the 272 was designed for an outboard, the inboard was an option) would really be worth less than a 272 that's exactly the same, but has an original running westerbeke diesel and no outboard? Just curious. I feel like a 30 year old diesel is worth less than a brand new 4 stroke outboard, but I could be wrong on that.

Thanks!
 
#9 ·
I know this may not be a popular choice but, if it were my boat, I wouldn't bother with paint. Instead, I'd replace the carpet with sheets of cork. My reasons are because cork is naturally mold-proof and offers some of the sound insulation you forfeited when you removed the carpeting. Yes, non-cored fiberglass hulls are relatively noisy, even at anchor.
 
#17 ·
I believe that the Westerbeake motor that you have is based on a Kubota tractor engine. I suspect that you have a M-12, a 24.4 ci, 10HP engine based on the Kubota Z-400 block. YOU need to find out. Marine diesels are NOT that complicated, and if you can spin the crankshaft, it is probably salvagable and rebuildable. You only need to find someone that knows how.

However, if you want to repower, Beta Marine engines are also based on Kubota Tractor engines. You can buy parts for them from Beta, or Kubota dealers worldwide. Beta specializes in engines to repower sailboats (talk about a niche). Beta does not publish pricelists, but I suspect that a complete engine could cost as much as $6K. A friend of mine replaced his Volvo MD7 in his Sabre 28 with a Beta 14 last year and is VERY impressed and happy with it.

Yanmar makes GREAT engines and transmissions. However, they are built from the casting up as marine diesels. The word "marine" means that parts are 2x-10x more than a comparable tractor part.
 
#19 ·
Yes a running diesel is better and more valuable than the outboard, but given this is not your last boat, it's really not worth the $6k for a new one. But, if you can fix it for $1k, well, I would probably do it. And then you will have great 9.8 hp Tohatsu as a back up, AND a dinghy motor.

But given the previous owner had this option too, I'm guessing a $1k fix won't cut it. Did he ever tell you what was wrong with it?
 
#22 ·
So I just posted this on another thread of mine but I figured it was appropriate here too. Funny how this thread about ripping out my carpet headliner turned into a discussion about keeping the diesel, lol.

Ok guys, so here's an update on the situation. All this "fix the diesel and keep it" talk got me to go back and take a better look at the engine. I also read as much as I could about marine diesels and looked up and downloaded my engine's manual (My engine is a Westerbeke 10-2). The verdict? It's not worth keeping, and here's why:

1) The engine is totally seized. I naively thought it wasn't seized because I could turn the propeller in the water by hand, but it didn't occur to me that the transmission was just in neutral, so of course it turns, duh. I put a big wrench on the crankshaft and nothing. Not one budge. I also removed the glowplugs and tried again, still nothing.

2) Somehow I totally missed that the engine has no starter...

3) Alternator is missing (which I actually did know).

4) There's so much corrosion and the motor looks to be in such bad shape that I doubt those are the only issues.

So I want to remove it, unless rebuilding it myself one day is an option (which I've been told you can't rebuild a seized engine, but correct me if I'm wrong here.)

Just for your reference I attached a few pictures so you can see what I'm talking about. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks guys.
 

Attachments

#26 · (Edited)
So I just posted this on another thread of mine but I figured it was appropriate here too. Funny how this thread about ripping out my carpet headliner turned into a discussion about keeping the diesel, lol.

Ok guys, so here's an update on the situation. All this "fix the diesel and keep it" talk got me to go back and take a better look at the engine. I also read as much as I could about marine diesels and looked up and downloaded my engine's manual (My engine is a Westerbeke 10-2). The verdict? It's not worth keeping, and here's why:

1) The engine is totally seized. I naively thought it wasn't seized because I could turn the propeller in the water by hand, but it didn't occur to me that the transmission was just in neutral, so of course it turns, duh. I put a big wrench on the crankshaft and nothing. Not one budge. I also removed the glowplugs and tried again, still nothing.

2) Somehow I totally missed that the engine has no starter...

3) Alternator is missing (which I actually did know).

4) There's so much corrosion and the motor looks to be in such bad shape that I doubt those are the only issues.

So I want to remove it, unless rebuilding it myself one day is an option (which I've been told you can't rebuild a seized engine, but correct me if I'm wrong here.)

Just for your reference I attached a few pictures so you can see what I'm talking about. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks guys.
Thank you for the pictures. However, may I suggest using a photobucket/flikr/picassa account to host them? Sailnet's picture hosting $u<k$...







The transmission alone is worth something to someone. It appears to be a Hurst BW-50

It has already been well stated the numerous reasons why an inboard is better than an outboard. I would look into a Beta.
 
#25 ·
On the plus side, your transmission is working!

Tohatsu it is then!

There's always a good reason to why something wasn't repaired.

Don't go too crazy on this boat. Use it to learn what you like and don't like. It will serve you well when you upgrade.

And thank you for documenting your work. It's always great to learn new things at others turmoil!
 
#27 ·
Thanks for the input again guys, if I do anything I'll probably purchase a used diesel, but not for a long time and only if all the other projects on the boat are done. I'd mainly do this to gain the experience of working on a diesel because our next boat will definitely have one. We're pretty happy with the outboard at the moment.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top