Diesel Retrofit

[sails25]

I have a 76 Ericson 35 with a rebuilt atomic 4 that is about to go bad. Does anyone know which diesel is the best repalcement for the MKI? My engine is under the dining settee.

 

[gareth harris]

You should be able to find a fairly long discussion of this in the archives with a lot of good information. One owner of the same boat put in a 20HP diesel, and found it gave him the power he needed, despite most books telling you that is not big enough for the boat. There are currently no engines in production with more power that will fit in the space, the Betamarine BD-1005 has 28HP and is designed to fit on A4 beds, but needs the seat above to be raised a couple of inches, there is a Yanmar 3 cylinder that needs something similar. Universal and Westerbeke have made 4 cylinder engines in the past which were a good fit, but finding a used one is not easy.
There is also information on replacing the fuel tank, prop, shaft, stuffing box, and cutlass bearing, which you may need depending on what originals you have on the 1976.
I have had to replace my salon anyway after hurricane damage, and have recut to fit a bigger engine.
Gareth
Freyja E35 #241 1972

 

[diamondjim]

I would put a plug in for the Kubota 3 cylinder diesels. These blocks - or more modern versions - are Universal and other brands. The generic engine would be the D-750 to the D-905 (newer version).
Questions to ask yourself: Can you do some or all of the work?; Is cost a consideration? Is time not a problem? If you can do it yourself try looking at E-bay for these engines. I did and saved at least $5,000. If you are not afraid of GOOD used equipment, you can repower your boat for a fraction of the cost instead of going the "marine way" and get the same or better results.
In your case, you are replacing a gas engine for the diesel which would require some very good measuring and planning. Also would make a great winter project.
Why Kubota engines? The parts are everywhere and the engines are very tough, simple, and made extremely well.
Let me know if you would like more info.
Good Luck,
<> Jim