If you were to buy a new 45 HP diesel...

[Oohla]

...for a 40 foot monohull what would you buy and why?

[sailormed]

Beta.........because I like orange

[CAELESTIS]

The biggest Yanmar that fits.

[Captain Bill]

Definitely Beta. Nice simple mechanical Kubota engines with parts available anywhere. Yanmar has a regional parts distributorship arrangement where you can only buy parts from distributors in your region. Sometimes you have to wait for parts just because someone from outside your region that has them is not allowed to ship them to you. It's a ridiculous arrangement from a customer point of view. Often these distributors do not even stock parts that are considered maintenance items. I once was told I would have to wait three weeks for prop shaft seals that are supposed to be replaced every two years to be shipped from Japan even though the distributor in the adjacent region had them in stock, but was not allowed to ship them to my location. I've already talked to Beta Marine about repowering my boat. I also know several people with Betas and they love them.

[Compass790]

Another vote for Beta or Kubota based for reasons Cap'n Bill stated, also MUCH cheaper parts prices than yanmar particularly if you can find the tractor equivalent engine.
I have a Yanmar so I'm a little bitter after having been quoted NZ$ 630 for a conrod to go in an 8hp engine

[tom jones]

capn bill we're also looking to replace our Lehman 90 in our 45ft Brewer cutter rig and am impressed with the Beta. I was surprised that their 50hp will easily replace my 1985 90hp any idea where you plan to purchase your Beta. Have you found any used/remanufactured Betas on the market. good luck Tom in Ft Myers
tj5035@gmail.com 443 454 4871

[Uncle Bob]

Another vote for a kubota based marine conversion, there a number of suppliers and for the already stated reasons they are just good value!

[Suijin]

Give Stanley at Beta Marine in Arapahoe, NC a call and talk about what you need. He will ultimately steer you to your local distributor for the purchase/installation, but he'll answer all your questions in a no-nonsense, helpful fashion.

Beta (or Stanley) will do all sorts of things to help you with your installation. Want the oil filter on a certain side/corner of the engine, with the filter logically bottom up so you don't spill oil all over your engine bed? Done. Want a pump for changing oil? Done. Engine mount adapters so you don't need to rebuild your beds and mounts? Done.

I spent some time in Oriental NC at a yard that does a lot of repowers. They love Beta for a variety of reasons. They are also a Yanmar dealer so it's not just about what they can sell.

My Kubota block in my Universal M50 is 33 years old and has great compression. I buy my parts at NAPA. And the base motor is about 80% of Yanmar costs. Personally I don't think it's really something you need to think that hard about. Never met a Beta owner who when asked if they would do it again did not answer "Absolutely".

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by tom jones

capn bill we're also looking to replace our Lehman 90 in our 45ft Brewer cutter rig and am impressed with the Beta. I was surprised that their 50hp will easily replace my 1985 90hp any idea where you plan to purchase your Beta. Have you found any used/remanufactured Betas on the market. good luck Tom in Ft Myers
tj5035@gmail.com 443 454 4871

I actually talked to the guys in Arapahoe NC. There's a local yard that has a diesel mechanic that installs them. My kids live in Raleigh, so when the time comes I plan to have the boat hauled out at the yard and go visit the kids or at least send the admiral to go visit the kids while I keep an eye on things. I've known a couple of guys at the shop for more than 10 years and they do good work. I sometimes go to Maine in the summer and stop to see the kids on the way south in the fall. So it's not really out of my way. I'm not aware of any used ones. Stanley will steer you to a local dealer in Ft Meyers.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by tom jones

capn bill we're also looking to replace our Lehman 90 in our 45ft Brewer cutter rig and am impressed with the Beta. I was surprised that their 50hp will easily replace my 1985 90hp any idea where you plan to purchase your Beta. Have you found any used/remanufactured Betas on the market. good luck Tom in Ft Myers
tj5035@gmail.com 443 454 4871

Hi Tom jones.
Ohhhh if it was only that easy! That big old ford is one of the better industrial to marine conversions, a heavy, low speed ,steady reliable performer with a crankshaft that can drive dual alternators, emergency bilge pumps, watermaker pumps etc, few of the other contestants for your replacement can run much off the front pulley and as good as the Beta engines are it's unlikely that a 50hp will swing your existing propeller unless you can get a deep reduction gear ratio or are lucky enough to have a Maxprop or similar. Unless your old Lehman is a total write off it might be wiser to consider a rebuild but otherwise, good luck with your repower, I'm also a Beta believer.

[HeinSdL]

I have a Yanmar, 57 hp, almost 20 years old, absolutely trouble free and very simple to maintain. So I like the Yanmar brand but regardless of the brand I would choose a simple engine, natural aspiration, simple injection system, as little electronics as possible. And I would choose based on how well the engine matches the engine room layout (water pumps, filters, etc within reach). I also like my SD40 saildrive, needs to be looked after, but works exactly as advertised.