Which engine

[Mrs Humdinger]

I don't know much about Lister, Gardiner, etc, but would put my hand in for the Beta if you just want something that you just push the button and go. We have a 43 in our 65 ft boat, and it coped with coming up the Severn in a strong current. Also, the support you get from Beta is excellent. We've had occasion to call them a couple of times, and they have been really helpful. Even threw in a tour of their factory!

[steamraiser2]

Further to my earlier reply recommending a Lister I would also add that the 3 cylinder engine is an ideal choice. The four cylinder Alphas are too big and tend not to get enough load in a narrow boat. The three is just right. While I agree that the old BMC 1.5s and 1.8s were great engines in their day they are certainly obsolete now. Used to recondition them once upon a time but they are not popular now and really aren't commercially viable these days. I know that there are hundreds still running happily all over the system but I'll wager that there will be very few in ten years time. No the Lister does it for me if you need power in a small sized motor.

[alan_fincher]

Is the Lister Canalstar what Wrigglefigers has fitted to Cobbet? If so, I think that would do very well. It's attractive, three cylinder and modern enough not to need fiddling with

Nope,

 

That was the Beta "tug" engine, (think they are called JD3 these days ?)

 

As it's a slow revving engine, I assume it needs a largish prop on a deep draughted boat, so not an obvious candidate to go into a standard cruising boat.

 

Anyway wasn't OP looking for little noise ? I'm guessing part of the attraction of the "tug" engine is the noise it might make ?

[nb Innisfree]

Further to my earlier reply recommending a Lister I would also add that the 3 cylinder engine is an ideal choice. The four cylinder Alphas are too big and tend not to get enough load in a narrow boat. The three is just right. While I agree that the old BMC 1.5s and 1.8s were great engines in their day they are certainly obsolete now. Used to recondition them once upon a time but they are not popular now and really aren't commercially viable these days. I know that there are hundreds still running happily all over the system but I'll wager that there will be very few in ten years time. No the Lister does it for me if you need power in a small sized motor.

 

We have the 40 bhp LPWS4 in a 60'nb and though I agree with you on size we have a large alternator and anything smaller would hinder us on a river when on bulk charge in fact we use to have a 33 bhp 2.4 litre and that was a bit low on power at times, I suppose an alternator that can be switched off in rare circumstances would be ok. The other thing to consider is a more powerful engine equals more emergency stopping power. Can't win I suppose

[RLWP]

Nope,

 

That was the Beta "tug" engine, (think they are called JD3 these days ?)

 

As it's a slow revving engine, I assume it needs a largish prop on a deep draughted boat, so not an obvious candidate to go into a standard cruising boat.

 

Anyway wasn't OP looking for little noise ? I'm guessing part of the attraction of the "tug" engine is the noise it might make ?

 

Thanks Alan. I still think it would suit Mark and North Star. IIRC it has enough style in the shell to do it justice. And there's noise and noise. The gentle three cylinder thump is different to the general rattle of a BMC

 

Richard

[alan_fincher]

And there's noise and noise. The gentle three cylinder thump is different to the general rattle of a BMC

Is there any BMC noise you could call "general" ?

 

Surely the noise varies, depending upon which bits are fully/partially/un attached at any particular point in time ?

 

Actually I remain unconvinced that some of the modern engines are that much quieter, and often choice of mounts / drive / coupling, and general rigidity of engine bed, (or lack of it!) have as much to do with the final rattle, as the engine choice itself.

[Scooby]

Hi

 

Either of those would be good. All the modern engines are based on industrial Japanese engines so it will last years.

I have a Barrus 45 (Yanmar base engine) in my 57ft and have been very pleased with it. Not the Barrus Shanks - its based on a big Chinese engine.

Be sure to have two alternators, a water cooled manifold and an hydraulic gearbox in the spec. Barrus have a special two stat arrangement to heat the water faster

All are pretty quiet but go up on the recomended prop a bit (IMO?) Buy an hospital silencer and some engine room noise insulation and you'll be purrring.

There are some saving to be made on engines if you shop the net.

 

Alex

Ours is a barrus shire (yanmar) 45, (58 foot narrowbeam)we got the boat with 110 hours on the engine, all i have done is changed oil/filter air filter, and its now done 2300 faultless hours..seems good on fuel and fairly quiet...i would recommend it...has 3 alternators on it cos we have travelpower as well(normally 2), i have no idea when it comes to engines apart from finding the oil filter thats about it..

[Evo]

The engine is rather unreliable, leaks more than the US dioplomatic service, is noisy, vibrates like a gravel-sorting machine and is just taking up huge amounts of time.

 

It shouldn't do any of that...!

I guess though if you have an old tired 1500 BMC then the obvious replacement - and what nearly all the new boats of your length have - is a shiny blue 4 cyl Isuzu 1700 42hp. HMPlant used to do them, a couple of years ago I could of bought a direct replacement for our entire engine/gearbox setup for £2700 from the HM plant guys at an IWA show. I wish I had bought one as a spare now, however I didn't, Instead I changed our engine mountings to the same ones they use on the Isuzus and undid the locking ring on a plummer block bearing on my propshaft and turned my BMC into an Isuzu, in fact with our water exhaust ours is alot quieter than any Isuzu.

 

I still see the smaller Isuzu's for sale on Ebay, but the offers on the 42hp seem to have dried up. I thought about it and bottom line was if I lived on the boat and was running the engine 2hours a day everyday like some do then I would want a newer more efficient modern engine. As a holiday/weekend cruiser our BMC is fine and will no doubt outlast me.

[Albion]

Thanks Alan. I still think it would suit Mark and North Star. IIRC it has enough style in the shell to do it justice. And there's noise and noise. The gentle three cylinder thump is different to the general rattle of a BMC

 

Richard

 

Unfortunately, IMO, the JD3 (John Deere) engine isn't so much a thumper as a rattly-chatterer. They are perfectly OK as a propulsion unit but there is an overlying clatter that I find a bit irritating to the ear. The old BD3 (Ford) engine was better but you don't see many around now as they were getting long in the tooth when Ford finally dropped them (due to inadequate emissions ability as I was told when I worked for Lister who did the same core engine calling it the CK3).

Roger

 

It shouldn't do any of that...!

I guess though if you have an old tired 1500 BMC then the obvious replacement - and what nearly all the new boats of your length have - is a shiny blue 4 cyl Isuzu 1700 42hp. HMPlant used to do them, a couple of years ago I could of bought a direct replacement for our entire engine/gearbox setup for £2700 from the HM plant guys at an IWA show. I wish I had bought one as a spare now, however I didn't, Instead I changed our engine mountings to the same ones they use on the Isuzus and undid the locking ring on a plummer block bearing on my propshaft and turned my BMC into an Isuzu, in fact with our water exhaust ours is alot quieter than any Isuzu.

 

I still see the smaller Isuzu's for sale on Ebay, but the offers on the 42hp seem to have dried up. I thought about it and bottom line was if I lived on the boat and was running the engine 2hours a day everyday like some do then I would want a newer more efficient modern engine. As a holiday/weekend cruiser our BMC is fine and will no doubt outlast me.

 

That engine was specifically designed to be a drop in replacement for tired BMCs by the guys who ran HM Isuzu (Martyn Harris, Hedley Beavis and Bob Cantwell) who were colleagues of mine (Bob was actually my boss) at Lister for a while before they left to set up the marine division of HM Isuzu. They now, I believe, still run their own marinising business called Engines Plus http://www.enginesplus.co.uk

Roger

Edited December 14, 2010 by Albion

[Evo]

I knew I should of bought it all. I mean the HMplant salesmen offered me a fully marinised 42 with twin alternators, gearbox oil cooler, manifold, oil drain pump, brand new PRM260, and new engine mounts...for a staggering £2700. shit..shit..shit....!!!! what was I thinking.?? They are now double that price...!

[FadeToScarlet]

If you wanted a real top-of-the-range option, you could get a Bukh dv36.

 

It'll even run upside-down...

 

Overkill? Surely not!

[Chris-B]

Every "marine/marinised" engine in the Market place will have it's fans as well as detractors

What the op has to do is take onboard all the advice they cam and find the engine that suits them

Thus factor is usually based on recommendation , local installers preference, price, delivery dates, running costs ,warranty period & if it is a reengineering job will it fit

I would suggest that the op speaks to as many of the engine marinisers as possible to get a fuller picture

Whilst A may be cheaper to buy the service costs in they warranty period far outstrip B which was £xxx more expensive initially

Hope this helps

Chris

 

Oh and the 250 service interval is a combination of filter/clean burn& some re engineering by lister's on the 400 series