saphira36
Member II
Hi all, wife and I are proud new owners of an Ericson 36 here. We picked her up with a non-working engine (Universal M-30/5424). We have gotten the engine to turn over and almost start but before we got the air purged from the fuel lines (replaced filters first thing) noticed that the exhaust elbow was almost rusted through. No problem, hopped on Westerbeke's site ordered gaskets, elbow, flange, etc. and it'll be here... late May... maybe.
The price we got her for reflected a non-working engine so we're not concerned, but not being able to get parts IS concerning. This is just the first of it. If anything happens to the exhaust manifold for instance then it's game over (unless we pay who-knows-how-much for a custom build manifold).
So really a re-power of some sort seems like it's in order. Cheapest good route on the diesel scene looks to be a Beta 30. From what I'm seeing these can be had new for $6-7k. However, EVERY thread I've read about a re-power says $20-25k so I guess there's something I'm missing? We can do this sort of work at our docks (already checked) and have a marine hoist we can use, etc. I've worked on several motorboat engines, worked on/swapped lots of car engines, so I'm comfortable with all that as well. Like I said, the only thing I'm not comfortable with is having to wait 2 months for 1 part to make it work (maybe).
Alternatively we've thought about going Electric. We're on a lake and really just fair weather sailors so primarily it's just for getting in and out of the marina. We're also BoatUS Gold members so if it all goes wrong we've got that to fall back on. Similar to the diesel re-power threads people say "Electric re-power costs just as much as diesel!" but on this point I've done a fair bit more research and sure if you go Oceanvolt or something like that you can spend all you want. However, Thunderstruck has a 10kw kit (ironically on back order until June) for $2k. Adding in Lead Acid batteries, BMS, Charger, gear reduction plate, sheet metal, battery cables, CANBUS adapter, etc. we're up around $5k. Upgrade to Litihium Ion and it jumps to $6.5k. Both options are for 4x12v 100ah batteries wired in series. If we determine that 100ah doesn't give us enough range then it's fairly simple to wire in another set of 4 in parallel to double our range. I'm pretty sure we could fit as many as 12 in the space currently occupied by our 50gal diesel tank. Every night we'll bring her back to shore power for unlimited recharging. Oh, and we can get around the 10kw kit back order by stepping up to the 18kw/72v kit and running it at 12kw/48v for ~$700 more.
Any boat is a lot of work (and money). Our thinking is that we'd rather spend our time keeping up the gel coat, teak, sails, lines, clutches, winches, blocks, plumbing, bottom job, etc. and less time on oil changes, fuel filter changes, fueling up, alternator belts, and wondering how much THAT slightly odd sound from the diesel is going to cost (and when).
So, I'm open to your thoughts. I'm also curious if we were to go the Electric route if we could get a significant amount of money from our diesel (not seeing my M-30's on Ebay presently).
Thanks!
The price we got her for reflected a non-working engine so we're not concerned, but not being able to get parts IS concerning. This is just the first of it. If anything happens to the exhaust manifold for instance then it's game over (unless we pay who-knows-how-much for a custom build manifold).
So really a re-power of some sort seems like it's in order. Cheapest good route on the diesel scene looks to be a Beta 30. From what I'm seeing these can be had new for $6-7k. However, EVERY thread I've read about a re-power says $20-25k so I guess there's something I'm missing? We can do this sort of work at our docks (already checked) and have a marine hoist we can use, etc. I've worked on several motorboat engines, worked on/swapped lots of car engines, so I'm comfortable with all that as well. Like I said, the only thing I'm not comfortable with is having to wait 2 months for 1 part to make it work (maybe).
Alternatively we've thought about going Electric. We're on a lake and really just fair weather sailors so primarily it's just for getting in and out of the marina. We're also BoatUS Gold members so if it all goes wrong we've got that to fall back on. Similar to the diesel re-power threads people say "Electric re-power costs just as much as diesel!" but on this point I've done a fair bit more research and sure if you go Oceanvolt or something like that you can spend all you want. However, Thunderstruck has a 10kw kit (ironically on back order until June) for $2k. Adding in Lead Acid batteries, BMS, Charger, gear reduction plate, sheet metal, battery cables, CANBUS adapter, etc. we're up around $5k. Upgrade to Litihium Ion and it jumps to $6.5k. Both options are for 4x12v 100ah batteries wired in series. If we determine that 100ah doesn't give us enough range then it's fairly simple to wire in another set of 4 in parallel to double our range. I'm pretty sure we could fit as many as 12 in the space currently occupied by our 50gal diesel tank. Every night we'll bring her back to shore power for unlimited recharging. Oh, and we can get around the 10kw kit back order by stepping up to the 18kw/72v kit and running it at 12kw/48v for ~$700 more.
Any boat is a lot of work (and money). Our thinking is that we'd rather spend our time keeping up the gel coat, teak, sails, lines, clutches, winches, blocks, plumbing, bottom job, etc. and less time on oil changes, fuel filter changes, fueling up, alternator belts, and wondering how much THAT slightly odd sound from the diesel is going to cost (and when).
So, I'm open to your thoughts. I'm also curious if we were to go the Electric route if we could get a significant amount of money from our diesel (not seeing my M-30's on Ebay presently).
Thanks!