This is the model engine my 85 Catalina 36 has. It was re-powered in 2005 by the PO. I looked and didn't find any re-work to the engine mounts.

Found a yard bill for 12.5k which included the transmission and instrument- panel.

I did rebuild my 25XP, it was a labor of love and necessity due to budget.

At the time about five years ago a Beta engine or the 25XPB in the crate cost between just under 8K for the Beta to about 10K for the Westerbeke/Universal. They both start with the same Kubota industrial engine core I believe. The install of either of these should not be an overwhelming undertaking. Both manufactures web sites have installation footprints and I bet they are identicle to your existing engine.

If you are at all handy, and with little help from freinds, you should not overlook the posibility of doing this yourself unless you do not know which end of a screw driver to hold on to, in which case you can get someone to do it for you while you balance their books or reprogram their computor.

If I were going to make that jump, I would also ask, will the M35 fit in my boat? More power is a good thing. Or how about a Yanmar, great engine, close to the same size, a full marine engine not a marinized industrial engine does not require an electric pump to keep it running, has no glow plugs and in a pinch can be hand started. Has anyone made this change?

The PO repowered his 1987 C36 with a M25-XPB. It is a terrible application for a marine auxiliary. The damn thing will not idle smoothly below 1150 RPM, and is really hard on damper plates and engine mounts. Check out the C310 Owners' website, since Butler & Co used that engine in those boats, and the vibration at idle is a well known problem.

He had ordered a Yanmar, but upon further investigation the yard told him it would require modification of the engine cowl/companionway ladder to get it in there. He cancelled that and went with the Universal/Westerbeke engine.

I owned this boat, in what now seems a previous life, and its M25-XP purred along at an 850 RPM idle, smoothly ticking over. The XPB will "run" below 1000 RPM (the published idle is 1000-1200), but acts like it wants to crawl out into the cockpit with you.

The XPB was not entirely a "drop in" replacement for the XP and the PO reported some issue with the engine mounts. I'm not on the boat, and can't recall what had to be done to get the new engine in there and aligned. The heat exchanger had to be shifted to starboard in its brackets to fit, resulting in its end cap rubbing up against the throttle and engine kill cable sheaths. The heat exchange zinc wound up nearly inaccessible (directly above the engine mount) and can only be changed with liberal application of the f-word.

Westerbeke used the deservedly much-malinged backwards facing Sherwood raw water pump, the impeller in which would be a real PITA to change anywhere but at the dock. One of its hoses must be removed, spilling saltwater onto the lower engine pully, when changing the belt because some rocket scientist figured it wasn't important to employ the Oberdoffer off to the side of the engine as in the M25-XP.

I was in a 3-way partnership in a 2005 310 before reacquiring my 36. With under 700 engine hours, we had already gone through two damper plates and an engine mount. That engine exhibited the exact same reluctance to idle as does the XPB in my boat.

Not being a bit fan of shifting the transmission at 1200 RPM, I reduce the throttle to around 950, grit my teeth while the engine rumbles around, shift and quickly reapply power to 1150 to get it to run smoothly. Makes for a jerky approach to the dock. The old XP could stay at 850 and shift back and forth effortlessly as needed to get into the slip.

As much as I have misgivings about rebuilt diesels, that might be a consideration, depending on what's wrong with the existing engine. Doubt one would save a lot of money and, to my way of thinking, sailboats are about beauty and relaxation, absent the worry of a rebuild going TU.

Had it been my call, I would certainly have tried to get a Yanmar (or something?) in there, even if it required downsizing the HP to fit. I have no experience with the Beta or other offerings, but would only go with the XPB if there was no alternative.

Can't remember the exact figure, but recall the yard bill being around $13k, including new transmission, dripless shaft seal and flexible coupling in 2008.

Hope this is helpful.

Jack

Yanmars have a great reputation for reliability but they are also notoriously expensive to buy parts for.

Also, they are philosophically different from a Universal/Kubota/Beta type engine. A Yanmar 3GM in a typical 36' boat cruises in the mid 3000's RPM vs. my old Universal M25 at 2250. That's like the difference going down the highway between my 1963 Chevy II 2-speed vs my wife's 2004 Toyota - I can tell you which one I'd rather sit in for 8 hours straight.

I probably have one of the oldest C36's around and my engine will be coming due for attention soon. I think I'll buy a used unit and rebuild it, then swap it out and sell my old while it is (hopefully) still running. Although the M35 sounds nice for the odd time I have to motor into a strong headwind, really the 21 HP M25 is plenty for this boat under most conditions.

Just food for thought, but I would seriously consider going to electric if at all possible. There are some turn-key kits out there.

When my diesel blows up, there's a 90% chance I'll transition to electric.

No more exhaust system, no OIL leaks, diesel leaks, or coolant leaks to track down, no seacock to wrestle with, no lift muffler, no heat exchanger or zinc's to replace, oh yeah, count me in!

Don't know how that would fit but Al Gore (who invented the internet) would love you for it!

[QUOTE=MitchMan406;12883]Just food for thought, but I would seriously consider going to electric if at all possible. There are some turn-key kits out there.

When my diesel blows up, there's a 90% chance I'll transition to electric.

No more exhaust system, no OIL leaks, diesel leaks, or coolant leaks to track down, no seacock to wrestle with, no lift muffler, no heat exchanger or zinc's to replace, oh yeah, count me in![/QUOTE]

There is that, but one would also have to figure out what the "need" for long term endurance would be for the boat use. You can't beat a diesel for long term motoring requirements.

i was at a boat show recently and there were some folks there selling an electric engine replacement, but first the cost was about the same as a diesel engine NOT including the batteries! they typically run on 48 or 72 volt systems. without some type of generator you could not motor over an extended period of time. not ready for prime time just yet!!!

The idea of going electric is intriguing, but the solution will likely be a hybrid...electric plus a genset. With a genset, the range is probably no more limited than the present engine fueled by a 25 US gallon fuel tank...and possibly offering much more range potential than at present.

I would love for an interested, tech savvy owner to do this and to write it up for JibSheet.

(BTW, where the hell is the next JibSheet??? Answer, soon it'll be here, I promise.)

At the end of a cold and breezy sail on San Francisco Bay when you finally dock and step down to the cabin with a cold windblown face and body and frozen fingers - I look forward in the warm cabin below that has been heated by the warm engine. It is always nice to know that you can get warm water out of the hot faucet as well. Definitely engine for me :)

Back when I was looking at an older boat, that needed a new engine. I did think about replacing it with an electric motor and a generator. Add in some extra batteries, a solar panel/wind generator to finish off the system.
As we don't motor much, the batteries would cater for our normal motoring and when we needed longer range capacity we would fire up the generator.

There are similar systems available, with advantages that include the diesel motor running at optimum revs all the time. And of course all the advantages of electric motors torque and swapping direction.

Maybe worth thinking about if you were looking at replacing the engine.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Ok - I can balance a checkbook - fix my laptop - and still run a screwdriver - Gear-head Geek? :D
So now that's off my chest - you might want to look at or email the poster of this thread - [url]http://www.c36ia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1566&highlight=crate+engine... as it appears that he recently did this job and could be a good resource. Our XP runs great and other than lacking a little HP (what sailor wouldn't like a "little" more power) and hopefully will last our lifetime with the boat. The low - relatively smooth idle is great for docking and an acceptable 5.5 knots cruise at 2400 rpm is ok too - so the XP would get my vote if that is an option.

[QUOTE=jmardiat;12966]Thanks so much for your feed back on the M25 XPB. Makes me think even harder about a Beta engine. Just wondering if anyone has repowered their C36 with a Beta. Your XPB experience is not one I would like to share.

Thanks again![/QUOTE]

One of our skippers replaced his M25XP with an M25XPA and is quite satisfied. It, too, though has the Sherwood pump, not sure whether it's located in the stupid place or off to the side (as it should be).

This seems to be an old post, hopefully someone will see it.  I recently acquired a project 1983 #51 Catalina 36.  To make a long story short the boat has not been used for over 3 years.  I've stripped the majority of wood panel, all need to be rebuild, (using a combination of plywood and seaboard panel) and replacing the main bulkhead, removed all the hoses, hot water tanks, and pumps.  You get the picture.  I'm in the process of removing the engine original M25 all the parts are totally rusted. 

I want to upgrade the engine, looking for recommendation.  I want a minimum of 30 HP.  Looking at the Beta 30, Westerbeke 30 or Universal M35.  Any suggestions. 

Thanks

Marc Paquin
Sarasota, Florida