Pros & cons of the Universal 5411

[Dave B]

I'm in the market hoping to buy a Catalina 30. Is the Universal diesel 5411 (11 HP ?) stong enough? Are there any benefits to this engine over a higher horse power diesel engine?Anyone know where I can find an early '80s model for sale in the Northwest other than the brokers and 48 degrees?

 

[jamie]

5411

Hi Dave I have a 30 with a 5411 and really have had any problems but i do watch the tide charts for some of the narrow passes in b.c.The engine is a kubota and are really well made so I have been told by all the mechanics but a lot are raw water cooled and eventually they fail.I suppose if you are head on to some real weather one would wish for more power,3blade prop may help the situation some.Try looking in the boat journal(b.c.)your money goes a long way here.

 

[Bob]

Check the Archives

Check out the archives, there are a lot of previous postings on this question. The consensus is that they're underpowered, but I have one and it works fine in the SF Bay and Delta. It really depends on whether or not you'll spend a lot of time fighting strong currents, headwinds or seas. I'd opt for the bigger Diesel given a choice but wouldn't reject an otherwise great boat with a 5411.

 

[Richard Gresham]

Search options

Just purchased a 87 30'. The best place I found and used regularly for 6 months of searching was www.yachtworld.com. The search engine was as specific or as general as you wanted. As far as the engine goes I would perfer the larger....Good luck!

 

[Todd Osborne]

5411

My 1981 has a 5411

 

[jamie]

c-30 for sale

I Just reviewed the latest west coast yacht journal and there are a few in there for sale buy owner.Also there is a yacht broker here in nanaimo b.c ,passage yachts and they have avery good web site and they have 3-4 and as I said before your yankee dollars goes miles and miles in canada as a matter of fact we were looking last weekend for boat in the states and found that compareable boats net of the exchange and taxes were more costly.If I can help jdecker@bclc.com

 

[Dave Ullrich]

Barely Adequate, but a Great engine

We've had our 1983 Cat. 30 since new. It's got the raw water cooled 54-11. Unless you are trying to pund into heavy seas or high wind, the engine is adequate. We cruise at about 5.3 knots and top out at about 5.8 with the standard 2 blad prop and fin keel. But being a raw water cooled engine, she is beginning to signs of needing a ring job. If the engine needs rebuilding, I'll just pull it and put in about a 15 hp. I think 15 would be perfect. The 11 has the fuel advantage. The previous poster is right about the low consumption. But I seems to burn even less, about 1/4 gal per hr at cruise speed.