Since I seem to have started this repower thread, I'll tell you why we have decided to repower. As with any decision, I have multiple reasons that have influenced our choice.

Our Perkins Prima has 4200+ hours, and has had various issues in the year and a half we have owned the boat. Currently we have a overheating problem that we cant seem to completely cure. If I keep throwing money at it, we will probably eventually figure it out, but who knows. The wiring harness for the entire engine is old and brittle, and really needs to be replaced. The engine panel warnings are not working, the tach just went out, and a new panel is quite expensive. To rebuild the engine, fix all the other bits and pieces, is going to cost about 3/4 of the price of a new Yanmar. Part of the problem in the USA is the cost of parts and labor doing a rebuild.

We are about embark on a 10 year circumnavigation, and the thought of a reliable new engine with a warranty for 25% more $$$ than rebuilding an old one seems like a good deal to me. I also suspect when we sell the boat after our circumnavigation, we will get a much better price with a mid time Yanmar vs a 32 year old Perkins with 7000 hours.

I guess only time will tell if we are making the right choice, but I'm comfortable with it. Also, we should be back on the water in 2 or 3 weeks, but with a rebuild, we would probably loose most of the summer. In our case, we have spent the last year re-fitting the boat, are ready to go, and it is worth a few $$$ to not lose our summer of sailing.

Best Regards,

Steve and Liz Davis

Aloha SM72

Hauled out in St. Augustine, FL

On Thu, Jun 25, 2015 at 8:16 PM, seagasm@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

Frankly, I am at a loss as to why a person would change an engine in the first place. We have the Perkins TMD 22A Turbo and it runs like a gem. I can still reach the hull speed of over 8 knots and I can still power into a 30 knot + head wind and still make way comfortably. The engine has proved to be very reliable and economical to run. If you put two identical Amel's side by side, one with a Perkins/Volva 80hp and one with a Yamnah 110hp and ran them flat out, I doubt if you would see any difference except a larger hole in your pocket.

It is my opinion one would be better of spending the money and giving your existing engine a full overhaul. The Perkins is a very good engine and if the maintenance is kept up, like any engine, it will provide many hours of service. I know I can get parts anywhere in the world so why bother?

Just my two bob's worth.

Kind Regards

Barry & Robyn

Tradewinds III SM #171