Rebuilt diesel

[Harry Black]

I am looking at buying an Alberg 30. It has the Atomic gas engine.Does anyone have an idea of what it would cost to buy and have installed a 20-25 hp diesel, even a rebuilt one?

[skipmac]

A friend recently repowered his Westsail 32 with a Beta. I think it was around 30 hp or a little more. Don't recall the exact price but north of $10K. A Beta 20-25 HP with transmission is about $8,000 new.

A lot will depend on finding an engine that will fit without major modifications to the boat. Beta Marine can make custom engine mounts that might solve the problem.

Cost to install a rebuilt will depend on what kind of deal you find on the engine. If a professionally rebuilt probably 25-30% less than new.

[Target9000]

For a 20-25hp Beta... If you do all the work yourself, I'll ballpark it at 10k. We repowered with a 38hp Beta and spent almost 14k. You run into a lot of little incidentals when you pull a motor that add up.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Target9000

You run into a lot of little incidentals when you pull a motor that add up.

I think the incidentals rule applies to pretty much anything you do to a boat.

[Target9000]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I think the incidentals rule applies to pretty much anything you do to a boat.

Like standing in a cold shower tearing up 100 dollar bills.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Target9000

Like standing in a cold shower tearing up 100 dollar bills.

And only hundreds because the government no longer prints anything bigger. You just have to tear them up in bundles instead of one at a time.

[S/V Alchemy]

I'm replacing a Westerbeke W-52 with a Beta 60 in my steel boat, and am nearly finished (which is good as I launch at the end of April).

There have been a lot of variables, but you can scale to your Alberg. Being a whole new engine (about $11K, or not much more than for half the hp, note), I've popped for various steel fabrications, a new Variprop, a new Aquamet 22 prop, a new AquaDrive CV, new adapter plates, a new PSS, a Shaft Shark, yada, yada, yada. I'm also paying a friend whose done this job before to help out, and it's saved me time in figuring out the process and in getting it right on the first try.

We've not even touched on the changes to the fuel system, the purchases of a FilterBoss and the loads of labour involved, including the construction of an in-pilothouse engine gantry/chain fall to make "flying" the engine a one-hander job, and loads and loads of research.

I've also had to solicit help from Polecat operators to hoist old engines out and drop new ones (gently) in.

Nonetheless, if this costs me only $22K (or twice the cost of the purchase) from the decision to disconnect a working engine in need of rebuild to the turning of the key on the new engine, I will feel not only fine with things, but as if I got some sort of price break because I did a lot of the work and research myself, and resorted to outside help only when I had researched enough to know when to bring in outside help because it would save time (hiring the friend who had done a very similar steel boat repower with Aquadrive and feathering prop upgrade) or when I lacked the equipment or the skills (big ol' stick welder to affix 1/2-inch steel to the hull) to do it myself.

I speak from experience (still ongoing) of a years-long refit process, and from not having had, by dint of what I hope is loads of research and a clear evaluation of what I am really capable of doing myself, much in the way of bad surprises.

You can read about it in more detail in my blog starting with

The world encompassed: Another nautical milestone passed...or is that "mile buoy"?

So even if you exhibit a Scottish gene as I do, count on this as being twice as expensive and take three times as long as you've planned. Unless you install them for a living, or care to pay someone to do the whole thing, in which case count on four times the price in half the time.

Good luck!