Budget for engine replacement

[pwillems]

Hi All,

I am currently finally at the serious end of choosing the boat that will take my family cruising. One in particular has caught my attention, and at first glance, my main concern is going to be that the engines are getting a little long in the tooth at close to 4500 hrs.

Now... sorry for the newbiness of my question, but should one (or both) of these engines need replacing, what ballpark figure should I be budgeting for each one?

Specs are:
Yanmar 3GM30FCE (27hp) with saildrives.

Thanks.

[travellerw]

I priced both a Nanni and a Beta 30hp with new saildrives (to replace a Volvo). The price was $12,000 for the Nanni and $13,000 for the Beta.. These are very ballpark numbers and I'm guessing a little low once everything is said and done. If you drop the saildrive, then you can save $3000-$3500(ish).

I'm guessing a direct Yanmar replacement will be more money.

[travellerw]

P.S. 4500 hours on a properly maintained Yanmar is peanuts.. Personally I would call "long in the tooth" 8500 hours.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by pwillems

Hi All,

I am currently finally at the serious end of choosing the boat that will take my family cruising. One in particular has caught my attention, and at first glance, my main concern is going to be that the engines are getting a little long in the tooth at close to 4500 hrs.

Now... sorry for the newbiness of my question, but should one (or both) of these engines need replacing, what ballpark figure should I be budgeting for each one?

Specs are:
Yanmar 3GM30FCE (27hp) with saildrives.

Thanks.

Hey 4500 hrs is only just run in, not long in the tooth.

[Stumble]

I am more pessimistic with the hours honestly. A diesel that is run constantly will go for ever, but most boats actually have a lot more starts and stops than they do engine hours, and they are far more damaging.

At 4500 hours I would budget for replacement, but not expect to do it yet. But this budget needs to come from a shop. Replacing engines can be far more expensive than just the cost of the engines. Depending on the boat I have seen engines where the best way to replace them was to cut the hull of the boat open, and drop the entire hull section out. This is not a job I would want to guess on without knowing the layout.

[ozsailer]

Hello PWillems,
I am about to install new 40HP Yanmar saildrives in our Cat. Big difference is I have over 8700 hrs on our motors. Seriously if you motors are not using any oil, running well and not causing you any issues why are you considering changing them.
From my research 10 000 hours is the rough working life of my engines. There were signs that the engines would need some major work in the future but I expected that we would get this years cruising out of them before we considered replacing them. Fate stepped with the local Yanmar dealer having exceptional specials on new motors. It was to good an opportunity to pass up and we will recover some of our costs through the trade of our motors.
If the motors are running well and they have not let you down I would be keeping them as in normal conditions they should have the same amount of hours left in them as have been used already.
Not knowing where you reside it is difficult to advise on cost due to differing levels of sales, taxes and costs in different countries. Here in Australia I would estimate that it would cost you between 12 and 15 thousand Aus dollars installed if it was a straight changeover with no or little modifications. Price is for a saildrive and would be cheaper just for the motor and gearbox. Also assumes that you current prop can be used on the new motor.


Greg and Sue
SV Sunshine

[Terra Nova]

I would RUN away from a boat with a Sail-drive. More so with 2 of them.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

I would RUN away from a boat with a Sail-drive. More so with 2 of them.

Op please understand this is one persons opinion. It certainly would not reflect the majority of people.

There are 10s (possibly 100s) of thousands of boats with saildrives. Saildrives have proven they can be reliable and low maintenance. Pretty much every charter boat on the market has a saildrive.

Search the forum as this has come up many times. You will see mostly the same people having a problem with saildrives while many owners report years of trouble free use.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Terra Nova]

You are poorly informed.

[a64pilot]

For what it's worth, it's very common to replace one engine in a multi engine aircraft, theory being you want them spaced out so that both don't hit TBO at the same time, it's easier on the wallet to buy an engine every five years as opposed to two of them every ten.
But I agree on the if they are not burning an excessive amount of oil, why replace them? You may have 5000 hours left, and being as you have two, you don't have to run them both always, often one is enough.
Now if they were OLD and replacement parts were unobtainable, then that's different.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

You are poorly informed.

I have no interest in taking this thread off topic, but please backup your statement with links to support your opinion. Anyone can throw an opinion out on a forum, but it has no value without a substance. Do you, or have you actually owned a saildrive and if so which one.

Myself and many other cruisers I know actually own saildrives and have first hand experience. Both of my saildrives have over 4000 hours on them and have never had an issue besides maintenance.

[Terra Nova]

There's lots of info out there on these. Do your own research.

[travellerw]

Ok so three extreme examples of a saildrive that failed due to SOME VERY EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES, does not mean all saildrives are issues. It very obvious in those pictures that stray current was the issue, not the saildrive.

I will ask again, HAVE YOU, OR DO YOU OWN A SAILDRIVE?

It doesn't really matter.. OP do the research, and come to your own conclusion. I did, and ended up buying a boat with *GASP* 2 saildrives and have not looked back...... and I'm out!

[vivabob]

I replaced my shot Volvo's with Yanmar 3JM4CE 3-cylinder, 39HP engines. The engines cost around ten grand each with everything included. Had them shipped from Florida to Guatemala for another grand each after customs, etc. Of course then there's the little problem of getting them into the boat. For me that was a four grand/one month ordeal, but that's in Guatemala. Worth every bit of it when all said and done. Good luck.

[Scout 30]

You guys are really hijacking this thread.