Planning for new Beta

[Frenchy]

Well, my 36 year old engine finally expired on launch day - seized. I don't know what happened - had plenty of oil and ran fine
a few weeks ago in my back yard. Thankfully, it happened right at the dock.
Now I'm planning to put in a new Beta 25, possibly with the 7 degree down angle transmission and would welcome
any advice. I'm going to cut out the old mild steel tubing and build up new beds out of fiberglass, possibly topped with
1/2" SS plate. If anyone with a CD 33 has done this, I'm hungry for details. For one thing, I'm hoping not to move
the engine intake seacock. Thanks - Jean

[Jim Walsh]

A bit of bad luck but it couldn’t have happened in a better place. I bought Orion in Bristol, back in 2006, with a bad engine and immediately replaced it with a Universal. With the reputation which Beta has garnered over the years I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase a Beta replacement. I know you will do an excellent job. Good luck.

[Frenchy]

Thanks Jim. I'll try. A new engine is something I've been thinking of. Fabricating the new engine beds
is one of the harder parts. I'm hoping someone has done this. Regards, Jean

[K Chiswell]

Jean,

I replaced the mild steel engine bed on our CD330 because I was uncomfortable with the rust. You can see some pictures on my website, https://www.banksandreedboatworks.com/w ... ctual-work

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.

[Frenchy]

Very nice, Chris. I like how you joined the two runners in front. It helps to keep the beds parallel and square.
You needed that bridge for the front mount, but I could incorporate that as well. I could even add another
cross piece in the rear and then cut it out once the new bed is fiberglassed in.
I suspect your engine is mounted a bit farther forward than mine, enabling a fiberglass stern tube. With the
new, smaller Beta, I may be able to put in a fiberglass tube as well.
One question: how did you bolt the mounts to the fiberglass? Did you drill and tap the beds or install
some kind of threaded insert?
Thanks for answering - Your pics helped clear up a fuzzy idea of what to do. Regards, Jean

[moctrams]

When I bought my Beta BD722 from Ben Thomas (CD owner member) he fabricated two SS engine beds. Why not contact Ben and see if he will do the same for you.

[Frenchy]

Thanks for the tip, Moctrams. I'll look into it. Right now, I'm impressed with Chris's design. - Jean

[K Chiswell]

Jean,

I just tapped the GP03. I did a trial run and could not strip it out, so I am comfortable with it. T-nuts from the back would have been nice but I was not confident enough in my ability to position the bed while glassing it in. If I was putting in a new engine I think I would still make the bed as one piece, but I would plan to cut out the athwartship stringer after it was glassed in the boat. It would be much easier to clean under the engine.

I looked into a new Beta for my boat when I was having some issues with my Universal. Even though the Beta is quite a bit shorter than my Universal the location of the rear motor mounts prevents me from moving it back. They are only 8" from the end of the transmission compared to 14" on the Universal. To move it back would put them where the hull curves up too high. Beta will make custom mounts, I did not look into the options, I decided to fix my engine. I did ask about dual alternators and because it was not stock the lead time went up tremendously.

Good Luck.

[Frenchy]

Mr. Chiswell, thanks. Yes, the position of the rear mounts on the Beta is exactly one of my concerns. I've
made up a wood template with the 7 degree down angled shaft but haven't tried it yet as the old M-30 is supposed
to come out tomorrow. Beta offers mounts 11.5 inch apart - I'll see if that will work. If not, it'll have to be a
special order high mount. Hopefully there will be room underneath. I'lll let you know how it works out. - Jean

[Tom Keevil]

We installed a Beta 25 without building a new bed. That was seven years ago, and everything is still fine. Those seven years included long trips to Alaska and northern BC, so there are a lot of hours on that engine.

We concluded that the rust was mostly superficial, and there was still a lot of good steel in the mounts. We installed it mostly ourselves, and were interested in minimizing the budget, and in not losing an entire cruising season. Beta made a set of custom mounts to fit the original bed. The rear mounts were straightforward. Here's a photo of the rear mounts (the engine is in the back of our Previa).

06 New Beta 25 Engine.JPG

The issue, of course, is the forward mount - putting a four-mount engine on a three-mount bed. The two forward mounts connect to a robust piece of steel that is bolted to the single mount location in the center of the forward bed. I admit that this sounded a bit dicey to me, but it works flawlessly. We needed a longer propeller shaft, since the engine is smaller.

05 New Beta 25 Engine.JPG

Here's a view of the forward installation. You can't see the center mount due to the raw water cooling alarm, but it is only one bolt.

15 New Engine in Rover.JPG

There is really only one disadvantage to this setup. Because of the large steel platform, it is difficult to access the bilge under the engine, so retrieving dropped nuts, sockets, etc, is a more difficult, though not impossible task.

I suppose it is possible that the old bed will fail at some point in the future, but the engine can be easily pulled out, and a new bed built at that time just as readily as doing it up front. This was certainly a lot cheaper and a lot easier, and the Beta folks seemed to know what they were doing. It did take longer than we had hoped, as the mounts were constructed back in England.

[Tom Keevil]

Continuing the post above, I forget to say that the muffler was an issue. The space is very constrained due to the rise in the hull, and the only one that would fit was this one.

194 New Muffler.JPG

We built a wooden base that we glassed onto the hull. Actually we did this over again the next year up in Alaska, since we didn't do it well enough, and it worked loose. We also added an anti-siphon valve after this photo was taken.

191 New Muffler Installation on Rover.JPG

We stripped the old Universal, and gave all of the parts to a friend who owns a CD330. He greased them all up, put them in plastic bags, and carries them in his bilge out into the wilderness.

13 Jeanie Dismantling Old Engine, Jul 2012.JPG

The engine is great, by the way.

[Frenchy]

Tom, those are great pictures. I'm amazed. That Beta would be able to duplicate the mounting configuration
of the old 5424 is stunning. And how you got that engine in the back of a passenger van without chewing
up the carpet is also head-scratching.
But anyway, the engine is beautiful - and I'll take note of the tight muffler space. I was hoping to use my old
(larger than yours) centek. We'll have to see. As for the beds, I'm committed to replacing. I don't want to
worry about them. It looks like I may have to order hi-lift mounting brackets for the rear as the hull does
sweep in too close to where the original position of the mounts would be. I'm hoping to post a few pictures
of the work as it progresses. Thanks for posting - Jean