If the current you are experiencing is higher than your hull speed. No amount of extra power is going to help. However if your are fighting wind on a lee shore. more power may help a lot.
Is 11 HP too little for a 30?
- Thread starter Dave Isaacs
- Start date
In the 90's we owned a C-30 with a Yanmar YSB-12, 1 more HP than 5411 or virtually identical, it worked but was pretty anemic. I installed a field cut-off for the alt, to take it off line when we needed to, and this gave a bit more power. I also went to a properly sized three blade prop from the two blade. Properly sized meant we could attain max rated RPM, digital tachometer confirmed, and this took a re-pitch to get just right. After going from the two to three blade the boat was perfectly usable, even in Maine with our 11' + tides. Usable does not mean fast however...
A buddy who owns a boat yard had a customer walk out on a stored boat in the middle of a re-fit. After his lawyer cleared the sale of the boat, I purchased the new, still on a pallet & yet to be installed Universal M3-20B. I got the engine for $1650 after I sold the boat for him to recoup the owed yard & storage fees.
The M3-20B certainly would not have been my first choice, but a brand new engine and gear for $1650.00, well, you just jump on it and ask questions later. Even the difference between the YSB-12 and M3-20B was night and day.
I suspect the 5411, propped right (many boats are not) is still a decent engine for that boat, but not if you want to go fast...
A buddy who owns a boat yard had a customer walk out on a stored boat in the middle of a re-fit. After his lawyer cleared the sale of the boat, I purchased the new, still on a pallet & yet to be installed Universal M3-20B. I got the engine for $1650 after I sold the boat for him to recoup the owed yard & storage fees.
The M3-20B certainly would not have been my first choice, but a brand new engine and gear for $1650.00, well, you just jump on it and ask questions later. Even the difference between the YSB-12 and M3-20B was night and day.
I suspect the 5411, propped right (many boats are not) is still a decent engine for that boat, but not if you want to go fast...
I have a 1981 TRBS with the 5411 with a 2 blade prop (owned since 2005).
In calm conditions it gets the boat to 6 knots. In moderate/heavy wind on the nose with 1-2 foot chop it goes about 5 knts. I have motored the boat in conditions of 25-30+knt wind/2-4 foot chop on Northern Chesapeake Bay and in the Delaware River with no issues. We used to routinely motor from Northern Chesapeake to Riverside NJ (>90 miles) 2x/year via the C+D Canal in currents exceeding 3knts.
The engine is simple, reliable, and parts are easily accessible on line. As it is a raw water cooled system, having a Racor filter put in line is worthwhile.
I have not felt the need to replace the engine despite hundreds of miles of motor sailing in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware.
If the boat you are looking at is in otherwise good shape (including the engine), would not necessarily consider this a "no go" or urgent upgrade. It is a great boat.
COB
Running Late
In calm conditions it gets the boat to 6 knots. In moderate/heavy wind on the nose with 1-2 foot chop it goes about 5 knts. I have motored the boat in conditions of 25-30+knt wind/2-4 foot chop on Northern Chesapeake Bay and in the Delaware River with no issues. We used to routinely motor from Northern Chesapeake to Riverside NJ (>90 miles) 2x/year via the C+D Canal in currents exceeding 3knts.
The engine is simple, reliable, and parts are easily accessible on line. As it is a raw water cooled system, having a Racor filter put in line is worthwhile.
I have not felt the need to replace the engine despite hundreds of miles of motor sailing in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware.
If the boat you are looking at is in otherwise good shape (including the engine), would not necessarily consider this a "no go" or urgent upgrade. It is a great boat.
COB
Running Late
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One add if you opt to buy the boat/keep the engine as it is a bit of anachronism compared to most newer engines:
The 5411 uses a raw water system that employs a thermistor to regulate flow into the cooling circuit based on engine temp (maintained about 145-150F max temp). This means you should see a trickle of water or mist separated by intermittent "belches" of water from the pipe as the thermistor opens up and lets a bolus of cool water into the circuit and expels warm exhaust water into the lift muffler and then out the exhaust pipe. With the original system, this doesn't start until the engine comes up to temp and the thermistor opens up. In cold water, the thermistor closes again and only a small trickle or mist is expelled until it comes back to temp (yielding another belch). This freaks out people used to immediately seeing water expelled from the pipe when the engine is turned on.
Bring the engine to temp and watch the temp gauge (which will fluctuate to a max of 145 or so) and the back of the boat and you can see how this works.
The engine should not go above temp-if it does, it is likely either a thermistor problem or a block in the circuit (assuming the raw water intake is open-something that is easy to forget to do!). If the boat is a salt water boat (probably not in Ottawa), it may be worth having someone check the flow through the cooling system independent of the thermistor as salt build up can occur that may necessitate flushing or replacing the manifolds (available on line and easy to replace). Another common culprit are impeller bits from the water pump that are relatively simple to flush out as well. More info at:
http://downeasteryachts.com/wp-cont...Model-30-operation-and-maintenance-manual.pdf
As noted by many above, it is not a racehorse. It is adequate for the boat in most conditions and is a pretty simple engine which has distinct advantages.
Running Late
The 5411 uses a raw water system that employs a thermistor to regulate flow into the cooling circuit based on engine temp (maintained about 145-150F max temp). This means you should see a trickle of water or mist separated by intermittent "belches" of water from the pipe as the thermistor opens up and lets a bolus of cool water into the circuit and expels warm exhaust water into the lift muffler and then out the exhaust pipe. With the original system, this doesn't start until the engine comes up to temp and the thermistor opens up. In cold water, the thermistor closes again and only a small trickle or mist is expelled until it comes back to temp (yielding another belch). This freaks out people used to immediately seeing water expelled from the pipe when the engine is turned on.
Bring the engine to temp and watch the temp gauge (which will fluctuate to a max of 145 or so) and the back of the boat and you can see how this works.
The engine should not go above temp-if it does, it is likely either a thermistor problem or a block in the circuit (assuming the raw water intake is open-something that is easy to forget to do!). If the boat is a salt water boat (probably not in Ottawa), it may be worth having someone check the flow through the cooling system independent of the thermistor as salt build up can occur that may necessitate flushing or replacing the manifolds (available on line and easy to replace). Another common culprit are impeller bits from the water pump that are relatively simple to flush out as well. More info at:
http://downeasteryachts.com/wp-cont...Model-30-operation-and-maintenance-manual.pdf
As noted by many above, it is not a racehorse. It is adequate for the boat in most conditions and is a pretty simple engine which has distinct advantages.
Running Late
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