Westerbeke
We bought our H-34 new in 1982, and when delivered in the spring of 1983 had a choice of a boat with a Westerbeke or one with a Yanmar. I chose the Westerbeke for several reasons. 1) Glo plugs for pre-heating the engine before starts. This engine starts on the first turn in the coldest weather we see on the Chesapeake. Last weekend while the C&C across from my slip ground (same vintage, but engine unknown) through several attempts before it reluctently caught and ran; I preheated for 10 seconds and started right up. 2) Electric fuel pump. Loose prime on the Yanmar, and it won't start until you do the fuel system bleed drill. I owned a Yanmar and it caused grief several times for that reason. Imagine bouncing around in rough weather and having the fuel system suck up some air causing the engine to stall. Been there, done that. This is simply not an issue with the Westerbeke. After changing fuel filters just turn the key and it starts. In the Hunter 34 installation, we discovered that the engine will continue running even if the electric fuel pump is disabled. You get the best of all worlds for fuel system reliability. Yes, the impeller is a pain. You must remove the pump to replace it. That means removing the alternator and removing 4 bolts from the pump. This unhandy, but there is no other way. It is a real pain to reach the bolts to remove the cover, and ispection is accomplished with a mirror. On the other hand, I have always been able to choose the time and place to inspect and replace the impeller. On my boat the pump leaked and was replaced by a new design from Westerbeke. Access is no better. My engine is approaching 1500 hours. I have replaced the impeller twice, the raw water pump once, and the exhaust elbow. Except for the elbow, reloaced by a professional, I have maintained the engine myself. It still runs like a champ.
