replace an atomic 4 with a diesel?

I have to replace my atomic 4 s what isssues will i run into with replacing it with a diesel? what diesel should i get? Used of course

Choices and Options

Per your bio here you have an E-27.
I have a friend that made this same upgrade many years ago when his original A4 died.
He installed a Yanmar one cylinder, which looked rather petite in the engine bay.
:0
He said later, after bucking head seas for a day going up the Washington coast, that he really should have put in the twin, and had the advantage of 12 or 14 hp rather than 9.
It reached hull speed with no problem in smooth water, but lacked oomph for head seas and head winds.

In your situation, if you are tempted by a used diesel, try and find a twin cylinder from Yanmar or Universal -- there are often some for sale as folks move up to larger engines in their older 30 foot boats. OTOH, one of the reasons that sailors replace those old diesels is that their engines need a full rebuild, and are... in fact... OLD...

It's a many faceted problem. You will also need to change out engine controls and quite likely the fuel tank.
Best chance for success if you know a good mechanic or shop that you can trust to help you find and carefully vet a replacement engine.

Or just write the check for a new Betamarine with a (Gasp) warranty ......

Anyhow, keep us posted and best of luck to you.

Loren

My E-26 has a twin cylinder four stroke diesel Westerbeke w10-two with a 12" fixed three blade prop which is just about right. I would not want to lose a single horsepower or foot pound of torque, but I have never really been in a situation where I couldn't do what I needed to. I can do about five knots without over revving the engine too much. she will go faster but I start leaving a big wake and blowing some smoke at that point.
It uses about a third of a gallon per hour and I have a ten gallon tank so the math tells me I would get 30 hours of motoring and maybe 150 miles although I have never run it that long in one go so its just a guess.
Alan has a single cylinder two stroke diesel in his E-26 and he says it works nicely as well.

rickcrane said:

I have to replace my atomic 4 s what isssues will i run into with replacing it with a diesel? what diesel should i get? Used of course

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Have you considered repowering with another A4? You could get a nicely rebuilt one from Moyer Marine and it would be relatively trivial to swap it out with your old one. Heck, you can even get *NEW* A4s through Moyer, I understand, since they are actually casting their own new blocks for these now.

Realize that with a diesel you are not only going to have the cost of the motor but most likely some significant modifications are going to be needed. For one thing, the geometry of the engine/transmission/prop shaft/strut, etc. is not going to be correct. The fix for this could be straightforward but often is not. You'll need a new prop and perhaps a new prop shaft. You'll likely want to replace the fuel tank. You will need a new muffler setup. And a new primary fuel filter arrangement. You'll need new shift controls and engine panel. And so forth.

Replacing your A4 with a new one involves yanking out the old one (which you'll have to do no matter what) and plopping in the new one. Done. Everything bolts up to the new one just like before.

There's nothing wrong with a properly maintained A4. It's at least something to consider.

BTW: My boat is an Ericson 26-2 which, as Randy mentioned, has a 1 cyl. Yanmar diesel (1GM). It's a good little engine and pushes my boat between 5 and 5.5 kts. But it would be too small for your E27, which is a heavier boat. (It's barely adequate for my 5200# boat.) If you are set on going with a diesel, I'd recommend a Kubota-based engine (Universal or Beta) or a Yanmar. I'd avoid Volvos as the cost of aftermarket parts is dear. Something like a Universal M-18 or M3-20 would probably do quite nicely if the dimensions worked out. I had an M-18 in a Newport 27 I owned years back and it was a great little engine and pushed the boat quite well.

Atomic 4 to BetaMarine BZ482

The PO of my E27 replaced his A4 with a Beta Marine BZ482 2-cylinder 14hp diesel. I have rejoiced the fact that the decision was made for me, as it were, by the prevPO to do so. This motor is a workhorse based on a Kubota motor. It happens to be a shoe-in replacement for the A4. I guess what I respect most about this arrangement is the accessibility of everything on the motor. My work was done in Connecticut, but there is a network of certified mechanics qualified to do an install on both coasts. The BetaMarine USA honcho for the East Coast is Stanley Fiegenbaum who might have been seen at the various boat shows. He leads a very supportive owners group. Visit their website and you'll see why I like this little gem of a motor.
Uh oh, Sun's over the yardarm and it's a Saturday...

James Skok said:

The PO of my E27 replaced his A4 with a Beta Marine BZ482 2-cylinder 14hp diesel. I have rejoiced the fact that the decision was made for me, as it were, by the prevPO to do so. This motor is a workhorse based on a Kubota motor. It happens to be a shoe-in replacement for the A4. I guess what I respect most about this arrangement is the accessibility of everything on the motor. My work was done in Connecticut, but there is a network of certified mechanics qualified to do an install on both coasts. The BetaMarine USA honcho for the East Coast is Stanley Fiegenbaum who might have been seen at the various boat shows. He leads a very supportive owners group. Visit their website and you'll see why I like this little gem of a motor.
Uh oh, Sun's over the yardarm and it's a Saturday...

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James,
Although my suggestion to the original poster was to consider dropping in a rebuilt A4, I must say that if one *were* going to repower an E27 with a diesel, it would be hard to beat your setup. That is a super sweet little engine! And best of all for you, it was done *before* you bought the boat!