Repowering the 2001 Beneteau 361

Guan

.
Jul 18, 2011
138
Beneteau Oceanis 361 Vancouver
Well guys and gals y'all maybe glad that finally I'm fed up with Vancouver's lack of Marine mechanics and decided not to be scammed yearly.
YES...at 1800 hrs Westerbeke 3B30 will junked and replaced with??? Beta Marine 30?
If so I will hopefully bother y'all less with engine problems! My sincere gratitude to all with did spend time answering all my woes.

Any suggestions for engine and Caveat in the repower process.
Repower will fully be done by the Distributor.
 
Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
1800 hours is young engine to replace unless it was damaged beyond repair. Interesting thread on best diesel engine: (2) The Best Diesel Engines? | Sailboat Owners Forums and lots of others you can read by doing an internet search on th same subject. Have read that Beta's are very good but I only have experience with Yanmar on 3 sailboats over the years. Good plan to have the distributor replace it.
 
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Oct 29, 2005
2,355
Hunter Marine 326 303 Singapore
The best engine is one where its common in area you're at and parts easy to come by.

Ken Y
 

Guan

.
Jul 18, 2011
138
Beneteau Oceanis 361 Vancouver
1800 hours is young engine to replace unless it was damaged beyond repair. Interesting thread on best diesel engine: (2) The Best Diesel Engines? | Sailboat Owners Forums and lots of others you can read by doing an internet search on th same subject. Have read that Beta's are very good but I only have experience with Yanmar on 3 sailboats over the years. Good plan to have the distributor replace it.
tks.
 

Guan

.
Jul 18, 2011
138
Beneteau Oceanis 361 Vancouver
1800 hours is young engine to replace unless it was damaged beyond repair. Interesting thread on best diesel engine: (2) The Best Diesel Engines? | Sailboat Owners Forums and lots of others you can read by doing an internet search on th same subject. Have read that Beta's are very good but I only have experience with Yanmar on 3 sailboats over the years. Good plan to have the distributor replace it.
small items but difficult repair personnels here. so maybe new engine will be less taxing. thanks again.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
The best engine is one where its common in area you're at and parts easy to come by.
Parts yes, common? maybe not. Betas have a great reputation but they are not so common, yet.

Consider parts availability from tractor stores compared to marine stores. Kubotas/Universals and Betas allow this, Yanmar, Volvo and others not so much.
 
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Nov 6, 2006
9,885
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Parts and familiarity.. A Beta is a "marinized" Kubota so parts for the engine/block itself are easily available.. A Universal is also a marinized Kubota but Univ has not been very forthcoming in sharing info.. The beta comes with some decent gear (a real alternator, for instance) and has an oil change pump .. Yanmar is a fine tough engine as well but Their parts and dealers are very closely regulated by the parent company..
 

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
3,374
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
I've had very good results with all the engine brands mentioned. If I were in your shoes, I'd look for the least cost option - Yanmar, Universal, Kubota, Beta - hard to go wrong. All the above concerns are totally valid. You have your homework to do. I'd get the least cost, most readily available to you in your location.

Are you going to sail the world? Or sail in your region of the world? That answer may also be part of your decision.

dj
 
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Apr 8, 2010
1,942
Ericson Yachts Olson 34 28400 Portland OR
FWIW Betamarine engines are the most common replacement diesel in our YC. I replaced our OEM Universal M25XP, in 2018, with 2300 hours. It was running OK albeit with some oil usage but needed a full teardown & refurbish. By the time I (roughly) calculated the cost of the tear down, new torque plate, replacement for the old Hurth 50, new panel and wiring harness and new exhaust system I was over halfway to the new engine cost. I put in a Betamarine 25. Lots quieter w/less vibration. it's just a more modern design in many ways.
Yanmar was 2nd choice, after talking to local mechanics, and the only thing that several well regarded mechanics all agreed on was "ABV"-- Anything But Volvo ! :(

Edit: if the OP wants message me, I will provide log-in instructions for my blog with narrative and some photos of the engine change for our 34 footer. (The blog section requires a no cost log in, altho the rest of the Ericson site is open to viewing by visitors.)
Further trivia, newer engine designs seem to have a somewhat smaller footprint due to being newer designs, on a comparative HP basis, and this was a pleasant surprise for us.:D
 
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MitchM

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Jan 20, 2005
1,011
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
There are a number of threads on this and other sailing forums about the added costs if you replace the oem diesel w another manufacturer’s product . Some changes of brand require reworking the shift mechanisms, engine bed, exhaust system transom exits, etc. and some manufacturers drop the engine in then build the cockpit over it so it s tough to fit a new different larger engine in. I found these things out the hard way many years ago when i re eingined and upgraded from an old oem farymann to a yanmar 2 gm 20f.
 
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