[C38] Found a good engine here- Is it too big???

Sat Jun 18 15:11:38 EDT 2011

We had our 38 with the 5424 for 17 years and only one time did we need more horsepower.

We were coming into Tampa Bay very late at night from a cruise to Key West on an outgoing tide and wind on the nose.

We had to motor sail under the Skyway bridge with ship traffic in both directions.  We took what seemed forever to finally find a long break where we could come through under the bridge and get out of everyone's way.  We were probably showing about 5 kts against the outgoing tide but making almost zero SOG with breaking waves coming over our bow.  We tried to motor sail directly into the wind but the wind and waves overpowered us so we had to motor sail with triple reefed main and almost no jib.

One hour of being underpowered in 17 years wasn't too bad.  We rarely used over 2500 RPM's in all of those years.

Tom Troncalli

----- Original Message ----- 
From: S Orton 
To: Cat 38
Sent: 6/18/2011 12:14:16 PM 
Subject: Re: [C38] Found a good engine here- Is it too big???

Max,  Being an OLD racer, I would rearrange my options to weight, hours, price and then HP.  With my 5424 I cruise at 6 kts, with a 2 blade folding prop- this is flat water of the Puget Sound.  I really don't know what 60% more HP would do for you as you aren't going to climb your bow wave like the Mc Gregor.  Cheers, Steve O 

Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 09:31:22 -0600
From: maxsoto at gmail.com
To: listserve at catalina38.org
Subject: Re: [C38] Found a good engine here- Is it too big???

Well Joe, 
My 5424 is a Kubota, and the Yanmar on my previos boat was also using a Kubota block, I really thrust them, but believe me that has been impossible to find used engines like yours.. The only one that I saw was Rich's engine, which I really  regret not buying ....
So, I have to deal with whatever is the best option on the market...  Right know, all the options point to Yanmar, which is also a great engine... I will install the best option, by means of HP, hours and price, It could be Yanmar, Westerbeke or Universal, NO VOLVOS!!!  Parts are veeery, veeery expensive, and sometimes are really hard to get !!!!
When you told me last time we spoke that you cruise at 6.5, that's when I put my eyes on bigger engines....Do you know what was the size of the original prop that came with your boat? I assume that Macavity came with a regular fixed prop....
Will let you know what my findings are....

Regards,

Max

2011/6/18 Joseph Launie <jlaunie at cox.net>

Max,
    All I know about boat engines is that you have to add diesel to the tank from time to time or they won't run. The factory put a Universal M-35 4 cylinder in mine (hull 365 - 1990) It is turning a 3 blade max-prop and runs fine with about 32 horsepower. I run at about 6.5 knots at 2200 rpm and burn about .5 gal/hour. I have been told it is a Kabota tractor engine and parts are available around the world. My mechanic says Yanmar has the better marketing but Universal the better engine. Joe Launie/Macavity 

On 6/17/2011 3:04 PM, Max Soto wrote: 
That engine does take a lot of space, but nothing more than my current engine...  That's the good thing about larry's engine, is very small and weights about 150 lbs less than mine... 

Tom, I'm afraid that with a 3" exhaust, the thru hull and the muffler must be custom made, plus I will have to make the hole twice as big and lead a huge hose to the stern.......  Just a tought!

Regards,

Max

2011/6/17 tdtron at earthlink.net <tdtron at earthlink.net>

Hello Larry,

What a neat looking engine installation.  Very neat and clean.  Mine never
looked that good.

One thing I did notice is the open flame arrestor on the throttle body air
intake of the engine which tend to be noisy.

If you make an air tube to collect the engine intake air from aft in the
rear of the engine compartment, you will decrease engine noise considerably.

The next time you run your engine, just hold a piece of common home dryer
vent hose over the intake flame arrestor and point the open end back toward
the steering quadrant and you will see what I mean.

I think intake noise is probably the noisiest part of our exhaust muffled
engines.  If you make your intake long, you can have a fairly large tube
allowing for no restrictive loss of power and still get a noticeable noise
reduction.

By terminating the hose pointing aft you will send any residual noise away
from the cabin.  Any slight turns in the hose will help dampen noise also.

If you take me up on this suggestion, you will then have a "to do" project
for your obviously otherwise perfect boat.

Tom Troncalli

> [Original Message]
> From: Larry Malmberg <Larrypi at roadrunner.com>

> To: <saintpeg at earthlink.net>; Catalina 38 Listserve

<listserve at catalina38.org>
> Date: 6/17/2011 9:30:53 AM

> Subject: Re: [C38] Found a good engine here- Is it too big???
>

> WOW that engine take up some space, here is what ours looks like.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Larry Malmberg
> Team Hassle

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-- 
Max Soto
C38 #198 ESTANCIA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica

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-- 
Max Soto
C38 #198 ESTANCIA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica

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