Engine power

[Roger Madison]

I have a Cape Dory 30 Ketch that has a 12 HP, 1 cylinder engine. I have found that there is not enough power to push the boat in a strong current. I want to remove the old engine and replace it with a more powerful engine. I am aware that a heavy engine could alter the water line and handeling characteristics of the boat. Friends have told me to repower with an engine that will deliver 7+ knots. Could anyone please recommend a light weight engine that would deliver a 7 knot speed without altering the handeling characteristics of the boat. What size, type, make, model, etc..



rjmadison@juno.com

[Paul Hierstein]

I have a Cape Dory 30 Ketch that has a 12 HP, 1 cylinder engine. I have found that there is not enough power to push the boat in a strong current. I want to remove the old engine and replace it with a more powerful engine. I am aware that a heavy engine could alter the water line and handeling characteristics of the boat. Friends have told me to repower with an engine that will deliver 7+ knots. Could anyone please recommend a light weight engine that would deliver a 7 knot speed without altering the handeling characteristics of the boat. What size, type, make, model, etc..

Roger,
I once looked at repowering my CD30C. There was a good discussion on the subject some time back on this site. As a result of all this, I checked with Beta Marine in NC. They had a tremendous package on a Kubota based engine. I think your best bet is to call them and talk personally and in detail. They'll give you some great professional suggestions.
Hope this helps.

Sinsailorly,
Paul H.
Abre Alas
CD30C
Galveston, Texas





paulhstn@aol.com

[Ben Thomas]

Roger, Speak to Richard or Stanley at Beta-Marine 1-800-682-8003. I know from speaking to Stanley a while back that a cd30 ketch had just repowered with the BZ482 two cylinder 13.5hp weighs in dry with gearbox at 190lbs. additional weight with the hurth v-drive. Space may be a concern for the bigger engines due to the mizzen, although even the BD722 20hp is much smaller than the Volvo MD7A at 234lbs. I just re-powered with the BD722 in my cd30cutter the best upgrade since new sails!
Best regards, Ben



bt@benthomaslandscapers.com

[Larry DeMers]

You will not get 7kt. out of the CD30, unless you way overpower her. Hull speed is around 6.3kt. While you may get going somewhat faster than this with either sail or power, your hull speed regulates how fast you can go on average.

Where additional hp will become handy is trying to motor against wind and current. But you will gain far more by simply bearing off while motoring. That is, bring the boat off wind by 45 degrees and make frequent tacks while motoring. I can gain 2x my dead-into-the-wind speed by doing this, which speeds up my passage.

But you will not get a 7kt. speed on average from this boat.

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30c Sailing Lake Superior

I have a Cape Dory 30 Ketch that has a 12 HP, 1 cylinder engine. I have found that there is not enough power to push the boat in a strong current. I want to remove the old engine and replace it with a more powerful engine. I am aware that a heavy engine could alter the water line and handeling characteristics of the boat. Friends have told me to repower with an engine that will deliver 7+ knots. Could anyone please recommend a light weight engine that would deliver a 7 knot speed without altering the handeling characteristics of the boat. What size, type, make, model, etc..

demers@sgi.com

[Kevin Mulligan]

Take a hard look at the Yanmar 2GMF20, a two-cylinder 18 hp unit weighing in at about 250 lbs. (approx.) It cost me $5,600 for a 2002 model from Mastry Marine in St. Petersburg, with another $3,000 or so for installation. The job included muffler, new waterless shaft seal, $300 for bronze three-blade prop, new drive shaft and quite a bit of modification of the engine beds. The 13 hp Volvo that had been in my CD 28 was somewhat underpowered and wore out anyway upon purchase of the boat. I've seen previous postings of the same engine upgrade for the CD 30 as the weight increase over the 28 is minimal. After my installation I saw a comparable Westerbeke at a boat show which was a smaller package, equal hp and about $500 less. Good luck.
Kevin Mulligan
CD 28 #226, Skibbereen"

I have a Cape Dory 30 Ketch that has a 12 HP, 1 cylinder engine. I have found that there is not enough power to push the boat in a strong current. I want to remove the old engine and replace it with a more powerful engine. I am aware that a heavy engine could alter the water line and handeling characteristics of the boat. Friends have told me to repower with an engine that will deliver 7+ knots. Could anyone please recommend a light weight engine that would deliver a 7 knot speed without altering the handeling characteristics of the boat. What size, type, make, model, etc..