Looking to buy a boat but a lot of rust on the engine!!

[jackiemelni]

Hey mates, im looking to buy a sailboat and the one i very liked it got a rusty yanmar engine.
Is it something i should be concerned? The brocker said its very low hours on its age like 1,500H on original yanmar 1985 and got a lot life in it, just wire brush it and paint do the job.
Should i walk away from this thing? Its a 20k sailboat...

[Jim Cate]

From the wide distribution of the rust one could reasonably wonder if the whole engine was submerged. Are there any other signs that she might have had a LOT of water inside at some point?

If so, I'd be pretty leery of her!

Jim

[Reeve21]

Does it run?

Looks like it may have had quite a bit of salt water on it which is not a good sign. I have a 25 year old Yanmar, and thanks to good maintenance by the prior owner it has no rust. So I would not consider what I'm seeing in the pics to be normal.

This may be a 20k sailboat that needs a 20k for a new engine and related work.....

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

From the wide distribution of the rust one could reasonably wonder if the whole engine was submerged. Are there any other signs that she might have had a LOT of water inside at some point?

If so, I'd be pretty leery of her!

Jim

Yeah nahh i didnt saw any signs of the boat gone under water, the upholstery and wood looks old and needs oily attention but no signs of old wet wood.

[Peeew]

Even if it hasn’t been flooded ( which seems likely) the condition does not indicate that it has been well cared for.

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by Reeve21

Does it run?

Looks like it may have had quite a bit of salt water on it which is not a good sign. I have a 25 year old Yanmar, and thanks to good maintenance by the prior owner it has no rust. So I would not consider what I'm seeing in the pics to be normal.

This may be a 20k sailboat that needs a 20k for a new engine and related work.....

Yeah that is what it feels like. I dont want to get into a project this size, i have enough budget to get a boat going to the carib but not for restoration.... This one feels good by the space it has but nothing els about it 🫤 only the rigging and the sails are 2 years old which is nice 😅

[Hesti]

Whenever you have to work on the engine, screws might not turn willingly but might possibly break off. The alternator and the rest of the engine electrics might cause trouble due to corrosion. The engine feet also show corrosion - basically, at that age, you can just replace them but the original Yanmar parts are close to 1,000.- for the 4 of them (at least here in Germany). So - even if the engine itself still has life left, chances are you will need to invest between 1,000.- and 2,000.- in the near future for new feet, new alternator, possibly new pump (could be the cause of the rust if it leaks), ...


If you want to keep the boat many years, the required investment might be justified.

[skipperpete]

What Hesti posted is exactly correct, the engine mounts are shot and I’ll bet that the raw water pump, alternator (why’s the belt off?) damper plate, front and rear crankshaft seals, probably the starter motor, oil feed pipe and almost certainly, just about nut and bolt on that excellent little engine need replacing. By the time you add all this up and extract the engine to do about a weeks work (assuming it’s in good condition internally), it’s starting to be an expensive project. From my point of view I wouldn’t hesitate to do this job if the boat was worthwhile but, A. I really like 3GM’s, B. I have a lot of old Yanmar parts and C. My labour is free and I enjoy rebuilding engines, particularly Yanmars.
As an afterthought …… if you can’t easily manually rotate the engine through 3 full revolutions and hopefully feel compression , this raises the bar to about double the height regarding the amount of time and money it’s going to cost to make it into a respectable trustworthy shipmate.

[Fore and Aft]

JackieMelni one thing that impressed me was the genuine Yanmar filter. But when I zoomed in on it the date says 31/3/22. So that's about two years since the last oil change. Which is probably the last time the owner or mechanic even looked at the engine. The rusty engine mounts are so common on Yanmars. I have no idea why Yanmar insists on using the cheapest paint possible for their engine mounts. The rest of the rust is a bit of a shocker, the rust around the coolant cap (radiator cap) is a worry? Normally it's a fill and forget item, maybe topped up occasionally. You shouldn't be filling it so often that it overflows and starts rusting around the cap. Even if it does overflow while filling most normal people would wipe the area dry. I like the GM Yanmar series, but it would be a 50/50 guess how long this motor lasts. When you zoom in on the photos there is no sign of flooding. I have seen worse brought back to life, but if you are going to pay for the work to be done then I would look at another boat.
But if you get the boat cheap enough then a Dulux rebuild would make the engine look a hell of a lot better. All you need is a wire brush and a can of your favourite engine paint.
Cheers
https://www.repco.com.au/car-care-pa...127/p/A4410394

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

JackieMelni one thing that impressed me was the genuine Yanmar filter. But when I zoomed in on it the date says 31/3/22. So that's about two years since the last oil change. Which is probably the last time the owner or mechanic even looked at the engine. The rusty engine mounts are so common on Yanmars. I have no idea why Yanmar insists on using the cheapest paint possible for their engine mounts. The rest of the rust is a bit of a shocker, the rust around the coolant cap (radiator cap) is a worry? Normally it's a fill and forget item, maybe topped up occasionally. You shouldn't be filling it so often that it overflows and starts rusting around the cap. Even if it does overflow while filling most normal people would wipe the area dry. I like the GM Yanmar series, but it would be a 50/50 guess how long this motor lasts. When you zoom in on the photos there is no sign of flooding. I have seen worse brought back to life, but if you are going to pay for the work to be done then I would look at another boat.
But if you get the boat cheap enough then a Dulux rebuild would make the engine look a hell of a lot better. All you need is a wire brush and a can of your favourite engine paint.
Cheers
https://www.repco.com.au/car-care-pa...127/p/A4410394

Thank you buddy, this was the first boat I was looking at, I will follow the rule not to buy the first boat you see. I will check more boats in better conditions. Tomorrow i go to Tampa area to see more options there.

Cheers everyone for the replies!!! Appreciate it.
Love the boating community!

[Fore and Aft]

Jackiemelni looks like you have plenty of options in Tampa. These two below look like good deals. The near new Yanmar diesel in the Freedom makes it look really attractive.
Cheers

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Jackiemelni looks like you have plenty of options in Tampa. These two below look like good deals. The near new Yanmar diesel in the Freedom makes it look really attractive.
Cheers

Cheers mate, ide love to go for them but im not planing on cruising just in FL. I want to get a boat big enough for 3 people with 3 cabins and go sailing to the Caribbean.

[Don C L]

A rusty engine makes me wonder about the general use, maintenance and care for the whole boat.

[MicHughV]

I took a good look at all the photo's. My 2c is that the engine bay has seen a lot of salt water. The engine mounts are quite rusted up as are various other parts. Completely submerged, probably not, but it has certainly taken a " bath" in salt water.

I would have pulled the dipstick while I was there, never know what you'll find there. Also check any other fluids, coolant, etc. If the boat has a clear fuel/water separator, another check to look for contaminated fuel, etc.

Don't stop your visual inspection there. Check the stuffing box, clamps, belts, wiring etc, etc. All this can bite you in the butt of you don't know what you are looking at.

The general condition of the engine room/space seems to indicate very little maintenance, as most owners tend to keep the engine room/space relatively clean. This one looks like a dump.

The price of the boat speaks volumes as well. Don't be led by the nose by the asking price. $20K does not buy a lot of boat. I'm curious to know how long this boat has been on the market. A boat with three cabins is generally speaking way north of a $10OK. Three cabins on a 30' usually means a v-berth up forward, and smallish single berth under the cockpit and a table that may have to be dropped to make another berth or a long settee. Three private cabins is out of the question.

If it were me, I'd move on, but if you're gung-ho about the boat have a good surveyor give it a go over. Yes, this will cost you, but will save you a lot of money in the long run.

If you are planning to go the Caribbean, you'd need a check list several pages long, A reliable motor is a key component as you'll be using it a lot more than you think.

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by Don C L

A rusty engine makes me wonder about the general use, maintenance and care for the whole boat.

Same, had so many red lights for care. Between the anchor hatch and the top deck was a broken fiberglass and the balsa was visible, i touched it and it was squishy... Just about under the windless, one or two of the chainplates on the deck got sealed with 5200 looking so bad like the owner put load of sealing around the chainplate it just looked so shitty job.
All the gellcoat was oxidised, the wood inside needed care, the engine look like dumpster, and just messy cabinets....
Ill keep searching for another 34-36 footer in better condition.