Lloyd, I've had two different Volvo diesels on past sailboats and I
was not terribly impressed with either one. Parts and repairs are
expensive and reliability/durability was nothing to write home about.
Frankly, the most dependable and long lived sailboat aux I ever owned
was the Atomic-4 gas engine on my old Cal-34. Very reliable, very
easy to repair when it wasn't, and lots of power at 30hp. Motor
sailing at slow cruise it would run almost two days on 30 gallons of
gas.

That said, the A-4s are of course no longer available new, and many
folks are allergic to gas engines.

The small Yanmar diesels are popular here on the east coast.

============================================

On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 15:17:23 -0700, "Lloyd Sumpter"
wrote:

Hi,

As soon as I sell the appt, I'm repowering Far Cove (36ft sailboat).
The existing engine is old, tired and underpowered. 21hp is NOT ENOUGH for
a 36-ft boat!
However, I don't have a lot of space, so I need something that's about
the same size, but hopefully more power, and also hopefully as quiet,
smooth, and reliable as the ol' M25 has been!

Options I'm looking at:

1. Universal M25XPB: 26hp, pretty much exact, drop-in replacement.
Basically the same engine, bored/stroked a bit to get an extra 5 hp.

2. Westerbeke 35D: 31hp, 3" longer. Have to build a new engine cover, but I
THINK I could shoehorn this in. I think this is the engine the new C36's
have.

3. Volvo MD2030: 29hp, slightly larger. Probably an easy fit, size-wise,
but I would expect mods to engine mounts, exhaust, etc.

Comments? In particular, would the Volvo be quieter/smoother than the
Universal or Westerbeke? Any other options/mfrs I should be looking at?

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36