What the heck is Westerbeke?

[Blaine]

I had an 8kW Westerbeke genset on a motoryacht for six years and it ran like a Swiss watch.

[mholtzberg]

I have chartered 2 Catalina 350 sailboats and they were 1 year difference in Manufacture date. One had a Westerbeke and one had a Yanmar. Exact model and HP unknown. Unknown was the prop situation pitch, blades, etc. and general hull condition. The Westerbeke pushed the boat much faster and easier and this was according to GPS. This was also taking into account the tides.

[sailnow2011]

Originally Posted by BothFeet

I've been combing the "Cats for Sale" ads for years now and am VERY close to just throwing a dart to pick my boat. Today I saw something I liked but the engines are "Westerbeke". I have NEVER seen that before?!?!? Any Westerbeke engine owners out there or even anyone with knowledge to share?

Thanks!
Jumping in with,
BothFeet

They have been around a long time.
Old timers call them westerleak, not sure why.
They are upfitters, taking engines from road cars, tractors, ect and making them "marine" with a manifold and water cooling bits.
We have one, its not bad.

[reed1v]

Popular boat engines back in the 60s and 70s. Good reputation, regardless who actually made the blocks. We had one that appeared to be made by Isuzu. A lot of small diesel boat engines carry labels that have no relationship to who actually made the engines. Kind of like the 1950s-1980s Rolls that were Buicks surrounded by British tin or the old Datsun cars that had BMW tooled engines.

[Smourt]

A Perkins, a basic engine that anyone can work on. Watch out for the rear rope seal leak

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Smourt

A Perkins, a basic engine that anyone can work on. Watch out for the rear rope seal leak

Not to mention that perkins parts can be found virtually anywhere in the world. It is the engine of choice if you had a choice for a small sailboat. Reliable, and as you say, simple and repairable by the home mechanic.

[skipmac]

As some have mentioned, Westerbeke buys blocks made by other companies, Mitsubishi is one of the common sources, adds the marine parts like the heat exchangers, exhaust manifolds etc. paints them red (Westerbeke is Dutch for red, that's funny) and sell them for boats.

In my case I have a W58 which I learned after a few hours of detective work, is exactly the same engine as a Perkins 4.154 series 200 which is also based on a Mitsubishi block.

Unfortunately Westerbeke doe indeed take advantage of their name to mark up the replacement parts 200-300%. Fresh water pump painted red $240-$280. Identical pump painted Perkin blue $100 or less.

Bronze water pump">raw water pump from Westerbeke over $300. The pump is made by Sherwood and available for less than half that from a dozen different suppliers.

I have no complaint with quality of a Westerbeke engine, just their policy on marking up parts.

[kellyp08]

What is a Westerbeke?

IMO one of the best Marine Diesels out there. They are reliable, simple engines. I've had 3 boats in my life that had Westerbekes and never had a problem with any of them. Westerbeke's are made right here in the good ol' USA. If they have fuel, air and compression - they'll run.

[aluijten]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

That is what everyone thinks, but in fact Westerbeke means red in Dutch...

Say what?

If anything it's more of a Flemish name, but the Dutch word for red is "rood".

And you can't buy Westerbeke in Holland as well

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by cabo_sailor

I am trying to repair a Westerbeke 46.. Finding parts has been difficult. Mine is based on a Mitsubishi. A head gasket for the Mitsubishi is around $55 Westerbeke will sell me one for approx $300. Unfortunately, some of the parts I would like are only available from Westerbeke, and besides the obscene price, I'm told they are no longer available.

While it was running it ran well, no complaints there However, personally, if I had to repower, I would go with either Beta or Yanmar. My W46 is a 1989 model.

Rich

Case construction equipment builders use the W46 basic block in a number of their machines. The Mitsubishi # is something like D4QS. It has been posted on this site in the last year.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by aluijten

Say what?

If anything it's more of a Flemish name, but the Dutch word for red is "rood".

And you can't buy Westerbeke in Holland as well

It's an American joke. Probably incomprehensible to someone actually from the Netherlands.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by kellyp08

What is a Westerbeke?

IMO one of the best Marine Diesels out there. They are reliable, simple engines. I've had 3 boats in my life that had Westerbekes and never had a problem with any of them. Westerbeke's are made right here in the good ol' USA. If they have fuel, air and compression - they'll run.

Actually the engine is not made in the US but Japan. The includes all the main parts: the engine block and all internals, fuel system, starter, fresh water pump, etc. Only the raw water pump (made by Sherwood), exhaust system, heat exchangers, oil and transmission coolers are supplied by Westerbeke. No doubt they are good engines. I've owned two boats with Westerbekes including my current one that is 30 years old and still ticking but all based on Japanese blocks.

[Virginia Lee]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

I cruised with a Westerbeke 4-107 for 16 years. Over that time I replaced the heat exchanger and water pump, but it served me well. Before I repowered with my current Yanmar the rear seal was leaking a fair amount of oil. I repowered because I was underpowered with the 4-107 on my 26,000lb ketch. My cruising speed has gone from 5 to 6.5 kts. I did not give up the Westerbeke because it was an unsatisfactory engine,- just not right for my vessel. Keep in mind the HP for the Westerbekes are rated before the transmission and the HP for the Yanmars are after the transmission. My 40hp Westerbeke was likely down to 30hp with powereing my large Paragon transmission. My Yanmar 4JH3E rates 56hp after the Kanzake transmission.

No complaints from me with the Westerbeke, but evaluate your power needs well.

I also have the 4-107, which is a marinized by Westerbeke (and then painted red) Perkins. And yup,we've had the usual heat exchanger maintenance problems (no different than any diesel), and yep, the rear seal leaks. Means oil absorbing rags in the engine pan and occasional pumping of oil, but it's not that bad. There are now differently constructed rear seals available on some of the rebuilts. I love the reliability of ours - 1978 vintage - plan to keep it forever. The only other problems have been related to dirty fuel and an air leak causing surge & die (required an injector replacement that wasn't cheap).

[aluijten]

Originally Posted by skipmac

It's an American joke. Probably incomprehensible to someone actually from the Netherlands.

Ah you mean it's a cheap engine or more specifically a engine for cheap people

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Actually the engine is not made in the US but Japan. The includes all the main parts: the engine block and all internals, fuel system, starter, fresh water pump, etc. Only the raw water pump (made by Sherwood), exhaust system, heat exchangers, oil and transmission coolers are supplied by Westerbeke. No doubt they are good engines. I've owned two boats with Westerbekes including my current one that is 30 years old and still ticking but all based on Japanese blocks.

Suspect most of "japanese" engines nowadays are made in China. My Honda engines are, so are most of M's engines(so if your driving a Chrysler product, its probably mostly made in China). About the only US diesels are Detroit and Cummings(which are about the same thing).