Repowering vega

[reefmagnet]

I installed a Yanmar 2GM20 in "Erendira" (Vega 2947) last September, and I
love it. It's lighter than the Volvo by about 100 lbs. (45 kg.), and has
plenty of power for a 27-footer. I also installed a starter battery, and a
single bank of two 6-volt, 225 Ah house batteries. Nice setup. Got rid of
the old stuffing gland, and replaced it with a conventional box, too. That
took care of having to find the very rare mechanic who is willing or can
work on the Combi setup.

Steve DeMont
Technical Writer
408.275.1080 hm. office
408.275.1843 fax
sdemont@...

 

[Brian Hofler]

Some discussion seen lately about suitability of the one-cylinder
Yanmar for the Vega. Tony Skidmore of Victoria B.C. installed one
in his beautifully re-manufactured boat, and proceeded to single-hand
around the world.

My personal opinion is that the 2-GM would be better. It fits. It
would provide plenty of power for hull speed. One could use low rpm
for comfortable cruising. I say this because we installed the Volvo
2001 which is single cylinder and of similar power to the Yanmar, and
spent a year cruising. At first we got 5.5 knots or a little
better. Later it had some problems and was rebuilt, and we are lucky
to get 5 knots motoring. It was nice to get 6.5 knots when we needed
it, with the MD 6A which we had before.

If anyone does install a one-cylinder engine, starting fresh, he/she
might consider installing a flexible coupling between the
transmission and the shaft. There is a nice Swedish one built by
Scatra ("Scatra CVA"). We put one in and it was super for lack of
vibration, smooth as a little sewing machine. The one-cylinder
engine could bounce around all it wanted on very flexible mounts, and
none of this transferred to the shaft, which is where much of the
vibration normally comes from. Should help the bearing also.
Incidentally it is cutless bearing at the back of the shaft, not
cutlass bearing.

Somebody was asking about cranking. I could start the old MD 6A
with a crank. One of the reasons I chose the one-cylinder Volvo for
replacement was because it had a crank. However I could never use
it to start the engine, the high compression of the modern engines
made it just too hard. Even with the first mate working the
decompression lever, it just stopped turning when compression was put
back.

Cheers, John, Salt Spring Island, B.C.

 

[reefmagnet]

Hi Lauri,

I repowered with the Yanmar 2GM20 (18 hp) motor. I'm very happy with it. The
motor cost (with tax) $7000.00, plus another $2800.00 to have it installed.
I felt it was better to have the yard do it than me. I like the extra horse
power, especially when I'm fighting a 4 to 5 knot current in S.F. Bay.

Good luck,
Steve DeMont
"Erendira"
Vega 2947

 

[reefmagnet]

Hi Walt, Judy,

How's things? Are you guys still in Mexico? I moved my Vega up to Alameda
last June. Been sailing all over the Bay.

By the way, I still have that bucket of parts you left. If you need them,
let me know.

Steve DeMont

 

[reefmagnet]

Dear friends,

I would like bring up a basic topic again.. the old MD6A should be
fixed this spring, but an expert advice has been to consider
repowering because of the expenses! A tentative round at dealers
today produced two offers at about the same cost, Yanmar 1GM (9 h.p.)
and the Beta Marine(13.5 h.p., the one offered by the British Vega
club). The latter may have some advantages, but I suppose both have
their supporters - would some repowerer like to comment?
Another question concerning the diesel oil tank: in our Vega (#2059,
vintage -73) the tank is of plastic, which apparently has not been
the case in all Vegas. What is more, I am afraid ours has some
leakage and should be fixed rightaway. I gather some had tanks of
stainless steel, correct?

cheers
Lauri
Vela #2059

 

[reefmagnet]

I repowered by Vega two years ago now with a Beta 13.5hp which I bought
through a Vega Ass'n of Great Britain a special they were offering. I had
it shipped to me from their plant in Scotland. Was a lot of work replacing
the Albin 0-21 since I did it all myself with average mechanical skills. it
took 3 times as long as I though but I have a great satisfaction in
successfully completing the task. Some of the things I like about my Beta
are:

Size and feet configuration made installation an easy fit in the Vega's
engine hold. Weight @180lb(87kg) makes handling with mainsheet tackle easy.
Minimal modifications to engine bed. Very easy shaft alignment.

Sufficient reserve power in heavy weather. Will actually push the boat at
7.1kt under calm conditions,well above 6.5kt "hull speed". I typically
motor @6 to 6.3kts, however. Very low vibration and noise for a diesel.
Has heat exchanger for freshwater cooling in salt water unlike Yanmar 9,
should result in better longevity.

Highly economical. Took week trip in which I had to motor 23hrs under calm
conditions, mostly at about 6kt. Used slightly less than 5gal. diesel, less
than quart an hour.

Since the basic block is a Kubota diesel, was able to get replacement
filters easily through my local Kubota farm implement store.

Cost was $4500 for diesel including shipping and duty(probably about $5000
if bought through dealership here), plus about $1200 in new tank, shaft,
prop, morse controls, exhaust, etc. Believe about $500 to $700 more than
Yanmar 9.

Steve Wallace
V710, "Windhover"

 

[reefmagnet]

Hi, Walt, Judy and Steve:

You've seen my notes over the past few weeks: I'm the guy somewhat
desperately (foolishly - ?) trying to keep my MD6A going "forever". I
couldn't help react when I saw mention of 'my kind of repair parts supply' -
namely: "Bucket-of-Parts"....

Would you care to be a little more explicit? What does this proverbial
Bucket consist of? I may be interested.

Thanks.

Most Sincerely..............Ed Davis aka SaylerEd@...

 

[reefmagnet]

For Steve,
Almost had a heart attack.. I have Vega#1864....And
the name is also "Windhover"....My Vega is
Documented,has been for six years with her name
"Windhover"....My vessel has been named as such since
1973 by her original owner( I simply had the vessel
Federaly Documented when I bought her in 1995....She
was a Chesapeke Bay boat but now is berthed in
Beaufort,NC....Some coincidence..huh?????? Wayne Clay
S/V Windhover..#1864

 

[reefmagnet]

Lauri, Hi, we repowered Lyric (#120) with a Yanmar 2GM several years ago. I
can't say enough about Yanmar. It's a great engine. However it's probably
more engine than you need. When Albin repowered from the MD6 to the MD7 it
was to gain an extra 2 horsepower. Lyric had an Albin which was rated as 12
HP. I was told by the yard where I did the repower job on Lyric that they
had put a 1GM Yanmar into another Vega and the owner regreted it afterwards
as he felt it was underpowered. I don't think any one wants to be
underpowered. It can be dangerous. We reached a RPM level where the extra
horse power did no good what so ever. I estimated that we never used more
than 13HP. During our cruise down the California coast in winter and
spending a couple of seasons in Mexico we had several occasions where we
needed everybit of HP we could use.
Lyric had a gas tank in the portside locker. I believe it was made out of
monel. It was scrapped and we were just able to fit a Tempo 11.5 gal tank
aft of the packing gland. It was a very tight fit and did require some
modification to the tank fill inlet. For what it's worth our fuel
consumption was close to 2 quarts an hour, about twice what I was hoping
for. For general information Vega dimensions did have a few changes over the
the years. We bought a wrecked Vega as salvage hoping to repower with the
Volvo and use the plastic tank. Keel dimensions had been changed and the
bilge redesigned. Older Vegas have a bilge that is quite abit shallower.
Your bilge probably reaches to just about the bottom of your keel. When we
removed the fuel tank from the wrecked Vega we found that it was sitting on
a simple fiberglas box to elevate it about 8 to 10 inches or so of off the
bottom of the keel. When we went to place the tank in Lyric we found that it
was to wide to fit in our available space.
Hope this is at least somewhat helpful. Walt Brown
P.S. I don't know much about the Beta but it sounds good. The Yanmar was a
tight fit as far as length, height and width went. Of course the 1GM
wouldn't be as critical as the 2GM as far as length goes.
P.P.S. Yanmars are now being made in Germany instead of Japan. Anyone who
has recently repowered should be aware that the water pump impellors are not
interchangable between the Japanese and German engines.

 

[reefmagnet]

Dear Lauri,
As my Vega is the same vintage as yours (#2002 - 1973), I have had
some similar thoughts to you. I am rebuilding my MD6A right now. I
thought about the alternatives and connot justify the cost for
a 'solution' that would not be an improvement. The parts that wear
out on the COMBI and the stuffing box - seals, bearings, etc - are
all available off the shelf and cheaply. Parts for the shaft &
propeller are available through VAGB. Volvo parts are always
available, though expensive. Compare to the cost of new engine,
transmission, mods to the engine beds, shafting, stuffing box,
cutlass bearing and propeller - there is no comparison! The only
hitch is, if you do not do your own mechanical work, to find a good,
reasonable mechanic. The MD6A has always had enough power for me (and
we have some pretty strong tides around Nova Scotia). The COMBI, when
properly set up, is a joy to use (except when backing up - but then,
what sailboat goes well in reverse?). As to the fuel tank, I have
successfully repaired a small leak with epoxy. There is a good
article in the latest issue of EPOXYWORKS (Gougeon Bros.) about
bonding epoxy repairs to polyethylene. Drop me a line if I can be of
any further assistance...

Best regards,
Jim Legere
ALCYON # 2002