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Repowering an E-27

JohnE

New Member
Howdy,

I'm considering the purchase of an E-27 with the Atomic 4. The whole boat is on need of work, the motor more so than the rest. What options have others looked at for repowering? My ideal scenario would be a diesel replacement. I don't have any idea of money yet, but I'm guessing that it will be financially unfeasible to go this route. I was hoping to buy a used A-4 and install it as an interim solution to buy me a year or two, but haven't found any locally (New Hampshire). Recommendations, thoughts, good/bad experiences?

Thanks in advance,
JohnE
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
A good friend of mine repowered his E-27, several years ago, with a one cylinder Yanmar. He ended up with enough power, a much lighter boat, and I believe the fuel consumption was around a quart an hour, maybe a bit more. He did all the work himself. The old A4 was sold cheap to a rebuilder. The new diesel looked tiny (!) in the engine compartment. If you get serious about this, contact me off list and I will give you his email address. He made at least one long coastal (off shore) trip that I know of, after the conversion.
As to the all-important money part of the equation, I believe it pays off if you plan to keep and use the boat actively for at least 5 years. (YMMV)
Also, gasoline-powered boats cost a lot less to purchase up front, which helps you. If you plan to keep this boat 8 to 10 years, it's a no-brainerr, imho. As to the rest of the running gear, you will likely need a new/different prop, and the tank may need replacing. If the original tank was steel, it may be near the end of its useful life anyway. My friend kept the original shaft seal, and repacked it. Note that a new engine will come with a spiffy new panel, also.
Loren in Portland, OR
 

jwolfgra

Member II
Good Luck on the Repower -

I recently did a repower on my E29, I believe it's essentially a stretched E27. I put in a BETA Marine BD722 Diesel and couldn't be happier. This is a Kubota Based 3 cyliner Diesel, very smooth, fuel effiecient, 100 lb's lighter than the A4, 1/3 gallon per hour, and higher top end than the A4 provided.

I'm pretty sure you would be more than adequately served by the BD522, which is a 2 cylinder 13 hp version of my engine. I suspect you're going to pay around 5k for the engine.

It is a potential do it yourself job, but there is some heavy work involved. Here's my thoughts in bullet points:

1. Get the old A4 out, the coupling may be frozen which is a bear to undo, Don Casey's book has some good tips on how to get it free.

2. Get the engine out, the A4 is a good 300 pounds. You can rig a topping lift to your boom, rig a block and tackle where the topping lift is connected and lift it out. Or, pay for a lift at the boat yard crane. Pay for the lift is safer.

3. You're going to need to raise your engine bed to get the shaft angle correct. The two shaft transmission set's the diesel up higher. In my boat, we took white oak stringers and lagged them to the existing stringers which seemed ok. We throughly soaked with Smith's penetrating epoxy, put a heavy epoxy based paint on them, and bedded in 3m 5200, then bolted. They are not going anywhere.

4. Mount the new engine mounts to the stringers. Lots of little movements and adjustments..., this is the most important part. The replacement engine is light enough that you can slide it around by hand.

5. You'll probably need a new shaft coupling to fit the bolt pattern. I upgraded to a 1 inch shaft, it's a tight squeeze throught the shaft alley, but it fit in my strut and was well worth it.

6. You'll need to about double the pitch in your shaft, the diesel has a 2/1 reduction gear.

7. I recommend new control's, Morse has a very nice single lever unit that fits in smoothly.

8. Get the best fuel filter you can get, I recommend racor turbine series.

9. You'll need to rig a fuel return line. Actually, you need to replace all fuel lines. Very important to get your fittings real tight and solid, an air leak will kill the Diesel like you shot it.

10. The engine comes prewired. Install the panel and plug and play.

Hope this helps.
 

JohnE

New Member
Thanks for the responses!

My next step is to ask for a survey to evaluate the rest of the boat. I'm good with mechanical stuff, but not familiar with boat purchasing in general. I need a pros advice on the rest of the package.

Thanks again!
JohnE
 
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