1976 C&C 25 Vire 7 Engine maintenance - How to reach??

Feb 13, 2025
1
C&C 25 hamilton
Hi,

I just purchased a 1976 C&C 25 with a Westerbeke Vire 7 2 stroke gas engine, which will not start.

My question is, this thing is wedged in so tight in the hull cavity, I can only see the front face. Not sure I can even get a hand past the sides.

How do you owners do maintenance on this puppy?

Thank you!
RBWS
 
Nov 6, 2006
10,211
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Looking at the little fella, it looks like your best option might be to pull it out and do a major cleanup/service.. It weighs about 150 pounds so two people should be able to handle it along with a little lift rigged to the boom .. Make sure the topping lift and the lift rigging can handle that load.. I would first look to see if it has spark at the plug. The engine probably has a points type ignition and in a boat environment, points are probably corroded. To get at them, the front housing and flywheeel may have to come off; if you can get that cover off without pulling the engine out, that'd be good.. after that, a compression check and carburetor cleaning as well as making sure that the fuel supply line is clear and flowing. I've never seen one of those so I am going on the pictures from Westerbeke.. Good luck! A good small engine mechanic familiar with two stroke engines can probably help..
 
Sep 24, 2018
4,488
Catalina 30 MKIII Chicago
I had a two stroke OMC Saildrive. Few mechanics would touch it. I was surprised that there was another two stroke similar to the saildrive.

I did a quick search and found this site that sounds like an excellent resource.
vireengines.com

Use good oil. It'll substantially reduce the smoke and smell less. Amsoil 100:1 was the best I've found