Installed a new Beta 38 in X, a
Santa Cruz 50. We are anchored in Malakal Harbor,
Palau (on the edge of nowhere in the western pacific). Ordered the
engine by
email from
California. Paid by e-check. Arrived in four weeks by container ship via
Hawaii and
Guam. Beta 38 with a TMC60
gearbox. About $10,000 plus $250 freight. $5 duty. Borrowed Sam's pickup truck to fetch it from the port. Plopped it into a friend's
dinghy with the help of a half-dozen local friends. Hoisted out of the
dinghy and down the
companionway in an afternoon. While waiting the weeks for it to arrive here I converted the 30 year old Pathfinder 50
diesel (VW) to a
mooring, cleaned the 30 years of crud from the
engine box, painted and varnished, made all the hoses and wires pretty, etc.
The gotcha's were:
* The speed and shift controls from the
Edson pedestal are backwards from the Beta idea. But a little fooling around with the Beta Morse mounts
solved that nicely.
* Rubber
marine hoses are really hard to find here. I tried to be prepared but the Beta information on hose sizes is wrong. No big deal. Maybe the next island has some 22mm (7/8") hose.
* I had planned the engine mounts pretty carefully. Ordered some
parts. made some others. But it turns out the rear mounts use M10x1.5 screws, but the forward M10x1.0 (fine thread). Grrrr, M10x1.0 is a trick to find among the coconut palms.
* Discovered while hooking up the
alternator that the PERKO
battery switch is either BOTH or OFF.
Battery 1 and 2 are shorted inside. That explains why my start battery was often run down. Bugger!
* The Beta
Exhaust is 2". The silenced/water
lift unit
looked like 2" but turned out to be 1 7/8". Hah! But a toiletpaper tube, ducktape,
fiberglass and
epoxy solved that overnight. Made a sweet
fiberglass tube adaptor by moulding over the built-up tube.
So we be rockin' here. And the Beta is way smoother than that VW. I no longer need to chase all the pots and pans around the
galley after starting the engine.