I have been often able to benefit from the “real world” costs listed by others, and as I have done two rebuilds and a repower, I will list them here. All figures are in Canadian dollars, which for ease of conversion can be estimated at 85% of U.S. dollar figures.
Two rebuilds were of Atomic 4s, and each cost about $1,200. I sold one of them for $600. I did all the disassembly and reassembly, removal and installation myself.
I had a 1988 Westerbeke 52 in our current boat with a suspiciously low 1200 hours on it when I bought our present pilothouse motorsailer in steel in 2006. Waiting cerrtainty, and not faith, I obtained a price of $13,000 for a full rebuild. I was able to get a price of $11,500 for a brand new Beta 60 engine with a hydraulic transmission, soft mounts (important on a metal boat), a double power take-off and a few other desirable options. So a repower made more sense and we remain very happy with the Beta engine and, particularly, the price of consumables and spares, which have not only Kubota “tractor” options at lower prices, but even third-party options of high quality from places such as auto-parts stores.
However, extra costs included new engine stringers fabricated in steel for $1500, a new four-bladed Variprop for $4,500, an AquaDrive coupler for $1,700, a thrust yoke fabrication for that for $1,000, a PSS shaft seal for $300, an Aquamet 22 shaft for $700, a Racor fuel polishing system for about $1,500.
I, with the help of friends, did the removal of the old engine and the installation of the new one, which involved removing the roof of the pilothouse, the use of a small crane, and the design and construction by myself of an engine gantry capable of raising and lowering the diesel until we could obtain ideal alignment. So far, so good, but our boat is amenable (with the roof off!) to this sort of DIY approach. Had we a more typical “under the companionway stairs” engine bay, I would have been far less eager to take the job on.
Hundreds of hours of labour went into this job, but I have confidence in the installation to a degree beyond that of contracting out the job to others might inspire. Because, even in a sailboat, the diesel is so key to safe operation and amenities a well-sized alternator can power, I wanted the experience of installing ours to better grasp how to best service and maintain ours, because where we are planning to go as soon as this lockdown is lifted may not always have a mechanic nearby.
