On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 16:31:55 +0000, Thomas Wentworth wrote:

A friend has offered me his old Pearson Vanguard 33' sailboat. It is in
good shape.
But, it needs a new engine. It has the original Atomic 4 gas.

What diesel engine would be the best replacement? How much do the diesels
cost? How much work is it the replace an old Atomic 4 in a 1968 year
sailboat? When replacing the engine, does the shaft, fuel tank etc also get
replaced?

Any other info???


Thanks,,, Tom

Check out Atomic Four Engine Service, in Richmond. He can rebuild the A-4,
or offer an "equivalent" diesel, probably a Universal. I put in a new
diesel in my Catalina 36 a few years ago: of course, it was replacing a
diesel, so the tank stayed, but I had to rebuild the stringers (you might
have to anyway, they may be rotten...), put in new fuel lines, new
exhaust, new prop... Cost me about CDN$10K, but I did almost all the work
myself. Here's a link to the story:
http://www.bcboatnet.org/Tech/engine/index.html

I DO believe replacing a clapped-out gas engine with a shiny new diesel
WILL increase the boat's value, but possibly not completely offsetting the
installation cost.

Lloyd Sumpter
http://www.bcboatnet.org