westerbeke diesel sailboat engine

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• Westerbeke Engines

Cylinders: 3 Bore: 2.99 in. Stroke: 2.76 in. Displacement: 58.09 cu. in. Aspiration: Natural

Length: 29.30 in. Width: 20.00 in. Height: 20.40 in. Weight: 274.00 lbs.

Three cylinder, four-cycle smoothness...

Lightweight and Compact Designed by Westerbeke, pioneers in lightweight marine diesel engines, the 30C Three is a compact three-cylinder engine perfect for difficult installations. Weighing in at only 274 pounds, the 30C Three provides a power to weight ratio to be envied while requiring modest engine room space.

Powerful and Reliable The 30C Three is specially engineered to operate in a hostile marine environment. It is designed and built using experience gained in supplying over 1,100 whale boat engines to the United States Navy. The greater piston Bore of the 30C Three delivers more power without sacrificing smooth and quiet operation.

Easy Operation and Maintenance To minimize engine maintenance, the 30C Three is fresh water cooled and equipped with a simple control system. Easy access to all servicing points and a self-bleeding fuel system allows easy installation and routine maintenance.

Full Engine Instrumentation Option Westerbeke offers an optional admiral panel. The admiral panel includes, tachometer, hour meter, voltmeter, water temperature, and oil pressure guage. Westerbeke also offers an optional captain panel with tachometer, hour meter, and warning lights.

The Name You Can Trust The presence of Westerbeke in over 65 countries around the world provides customers with easy access to parts, service and technical support worldwide. Established in 1937, Westerbeke is committed to providing its customers with quality products and unequalled after sales support.

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Important Note: Technical information is provided on our website for your reference and convenience. Westerbeke recommends that your engine, generator or climate control system is serviced and/or installed only by an authorized Westerbeke distributor or dealer. Click here to locate the Master Distributor or Dealer for your area.

Buy and View Parts Below : Click each image for a larger view and detailed list of the parts for that section. If images do not appear under a "Complete Parts Lists" heading, please scroll down to access the parts related information available for this model.

Common Maintenance Parts

045042 - HOSE KIT 30B

037118 - SPARE PARTS KIT A 30B THREE

037119 - SPARE PARTS KIT B 30B THREE

Complete Parts Lists

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Westerbeke opinion.

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Hi, I am going to see a boat this weekend that has an old, 1975, diesel engine - Westerbeke 4-91 with 3200h on it. It appears to be in good condition and I think it had a good maintenance and some upgrades over the years. Since I am new to diesel engines I would like to know your opinion on the Westerbeke as the engines themselves, parts availability (let’s say in Caribbean and South America) and also on the age of this particular one. 3200h sound a lot but is it for diesels? I can’t say anything about compression or how it cranks since I did not have chance yet to see it. Many thanks Maxim.  

Maxim, to put you in the ballpark, I''d describe your issues to be... 1. Does Westerbeke still support the engine with parts? (Call them to find out) 2. If not, what level of remaining supply is there among parts suppliers - e.g. you might call TransAtlantic Diesel and ask them. 3. 3200 hours can be a lot for a diesel, tho'' many carry on for double that time or even a bit more. It depends on how well it''s been cared for (over its entire life, not just while in the hands of the last caring owner), how it''s been used, etc. I would definitely survey the engine along with the boat, if you get to that point. Over-temp, low compression, etc. issues - deservedly - would lend weight to your requesting a price adjustment. My impression is the Westerbeke was (and mostly still is) an old-time New England firm with strong technical competencies but conventional manufacturing and marketing behaviors. They have been dragged into more modern methods due to heavy competition but have successfully responded with a healthy line of products. OTOH the ''75 model, like my ''79, is probably a low-rpm, heavy, now probably not supported beast of limited further life. You''ll need to think of this when considering the purchase. Good luck! Jack  

Thanks Jack.  

You can check for parts at: http://www.westerbeke.com/parts/parts_kits_select.cfm?hk=2 We bought a 1986 boat with a Westerbeke W-33 with about 3300 hours. Engine sea-tested ok, but subsequent starting problems in the Fall led to the discovery of low compression and to a complete rebuild. Use $10,000 as a ballpark. Always get a compression test with an engine survy before purchasing(darn!).  

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What's the life of a Westerbeke 42?

• Thread starter mrpeterman
• Start date Jul 15, 2009
• Forums for All Owners
• Ask All Sailors

2850 hours on a Westerbeke 42 hp Diesel Engine. How much more can I expect out of this engine. It seems like a lot of hours for a boat that is 12 years old. Any thoughts?  

Stu Jackson

An Anology Your car engine operates at around 30 MPH average. that is a mile every 2 minutes on average. At 100,000 miles you would have been running it 200,000 minutes or 3334 hours. You usually run a marine engine at a higher power setting than a car as there is no traffic to slow down for or stop lights. So it is probably more like operating a car at 45-50 MPH. That would make 100,000 miles between 2222 and 2000 hours. I routinely take gas engines to 250000 miles. Diesels are more long lived if you take care of them so I'd say you are around 1/3 to 1/2 way through its life. FWIW  

Rich Stidger

Bad Obsession

Most diesel trucks drive well over 250,000 miles with no issues at all. That means that the engine is lasting well over 6,000 hours on the engine. Diesels are great beasts of burden because they love to work and they tend to be basic. A diesel that is run is much happier than a diesel that sits.  

lifespan of a diesel I have a honda eu2000i generator with 3700 hours, no sign of wear My dodge 3500 ram diesel has 355,000 yea its not a typo no sign of problems I have put a million miles on many big trucks with a lot left in them. with proper maintenance it could last your lifetime  

Joseph Shirley

And I also agree on the long lifetime of a diesel as long as it was made as a diesel and Westerbeke fits the bill. Take care of it and use it, it's got lots of life in it. Joe S  

Re: lifespan of a diesel On the other hand you can run them low on oil and ruin them in a few hours.  

Paul Cossman

I have just over 5,000 hours on my 18 year old Yanmar 62 HP 4JH2-TE. I do all the regular maintenance, plus oil changes a bit sooner than required, and no significant repairs as yet. Compression is still good, and everthing seems to be fine. I'll just keep running it until something indicates otherwise, but I hope to get another 5,000 hours out of it before rebuilding.  

Ross said: On the other hand you can run them low on oil and ruin them in a few hours. Click to expand

Franklin said: Or have the oil filter gasket ring bust and destroy the engine in 5 minutes. Click to expand

Hermit Scott

Brian m h23.

So, if I want to ruin my arch enemys engine, i should sneak under it in the middle of the night, take his oil filter off, put a second gasket on, and crank the filter back on? This sounds like the next "sugar in the gas tank" !  

With proper care and maintance these engines will run 10000 to 25000 hours.  

amen to proper care and maintenance---my westerfreeek with only 100 hours or less since rebuild--shady rebuild--died when previous owner didnt add oil or check it and ran aground then muscled formosa off a 3 ft shoal....made a big hole in block--THAT is when to change engines---my yanmar in my ericson is dunno how old but on purchase i had a 600 hr overhaul done--she has less than 100 hours on and is awesome--diesels last forever if well cared for----i have heard of engines with over 4000 hours in good shape---and those with less than 100 hours blown to bits....be careful and forever is a goood number of hours or years for your engine------  

There are farm tractor engines that are 50-60 years old 5000-8000 hours showing on their clocks and still working for a living. Filters and oil are all they need.  

Mike Holibar

Given sensible maintenance practices and proper installation - ie alignment, air intake and exhaust flows, correctly sized propeller and good quality fuel supply, the pedigree of the engine could be a significant factor. Most of the modern light marine diesels were developed from engines designed for other applications such as automotive, industrial, agricultural and so on. Automotive diesels are subject to widely fluctuating loads and only spend relatively short spells at or near full power. OTOH marine diesels are subject to unremitting load. Engine manufacturers are aware of the low utilisation of pleasure boat marine diesels and also the requirement for better power to weight ratios. It is therefore not uncommon for a manufacturer to select an industrial engine, open up the fuel rack or fit larger injectors and hey presto your old industrial 10hp engine now has a pleasure boat rating of 15hp or something along those lines. Of course the engine will not last as long but at 150 hrs a year it will be quite a few years before any problems are apparent. I well remember a few years ago there was a v8 diesel sterndrive unit our company imported, the engine originally being a truck engine. Perhaps unwisley our company sold these into some commercial applications ,(small fast ferries) and they blew up with monotonous regularity. The marinising company eventually improved the product to where it would run for 500 hours at full load before blowing up and they announced that this would be the pleasure boat rating! As I recall the light commercial rating was about 30% less, and the engine was considered unsuitable for any heavier application such as driving a displacement hull. Ther are also some engines such as Lombardini Marine, whose marine ratings are the same as the industrial version (i.e not souped up) and these engines are good for 5000 hours (cam belt at 2500) before the maintenance schedule calls for an overhaul. At pleasure boat usage rates 5000 hours represents a lot of years and there would be a good chance that corrosion would do for the engine long before mechanical wear.  

IMHP Sailboat diesels dont live all that long on most boats due there LOW use by the vast amount of owners Sure they would run 10,000 hours if you did it like and OTR truck BUT running 15 minutes here and there does not lead to long diesel life  

tommays said: IMHP Sailboat diesels dont live all that long on most boats due there LOW use by the vast amount of owners Sure they would run 10,000 hours if you did it like and OTR truck BUT running 15 minutes here and there does not lead to long diesel life Click to expand

zeehag said: this is improper use of a diesel engine and does contribute to the demise in its youth Click to expand

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Any experiences with Westerbeke marine engines?

• Thread starter CMonster
• Start date 5 Dec 2012

We are considering repowering with a 55D Westerbeke engine. Does anyone have any experience with these engines? Boat is a Rival 41, taking out a Mercedes 72, sob.  

Well-known member

Believe it is a Kubota base engine as used also by Beta and Nanni. They have never made any impression in Europe, probably because they offer no advantages over similar engines from European based manufacturers. No reason why it should not be satisfactory technically, but if the boat is being used outside the US then a brand that has more European/international presence might be a better choice.  

Active member

CMonster: you might have more joy on one of the US forums, such as Sailnet: http://www.sailnet.com/forums  

CMonster said: We are considering repowering with a 55D Westerbeke engine. Does anyone have any experience with these engines? Boat is a Rival 41, taking out a Mercedes 72, sob. Click to expand...

As Sailorman says, I re-engined my Oyster Heritage with a 31hp Westerbeke 35D Three. The criteria was as follows: With a forthcoming Atlantic Circuit in mind, I was replacing a Volvo 2003 that had motored to the moon and back. Being very tight on space, I needed a 3 cylinder engine. Other installation considerations meant I needed a LH prop, thus a hydraulic gearbox. Not wanting another green monster, the alternatives were: Yanmar, Beta/Nanni, Lombardini and Vetus. The 3 cylinder Yanmar, was just about to go out of production, also it was horribly expensive. It's replacement was 4 cylinder. Also the agents I spoke to wouldn't change the gearbox. The Beta/Nanni offering would give me 27 hp, but wrung out of 900cc the engine producing the rated power at 3,500 rpm, not so good for longevity. no problem with supplying the hydraulic gearbox. The Lombardini is also a high revving unit. Which I'm not keen on. Both Westerbeke and Vetus marinize Mitsubishi engines. But Vetus didn't do the model I wanted. The Westerbeke gives 31hp out of 1300cc revs to 3.000. Spares are relatively easy to find as Westerbeke's are extensively used as generators in larger boats. Spares for the base engine are no problem as the unit powers all sorts of industrial processes. There are agents everywhere, just google! The Westerbeke has done 1900 hours since I installed it, Not fault free though. The raw water pump needed rebuilding at 1300 hours, one of the flexible mounts needed replacing too. More seriously, the heat exchanger needed to be replaced, the anodes are a bit on the small side. Otherwise, it's been a good companion.  

When in the Caribbean I asked a number of engine repair shops what they least had to repair. Engine: Yamaha. Generator: Northern Lights with Westerbeke a very close second. Michael W seems to have problems with a Westerbeke generator. We ran one for two hours a day for six months a year for six years and only had to change the impellor twice, plastic bags sucked into the hull water inlet, and the solenoid once because the rivet holding it to the bracket had rattled loose.  

KellysEye said: When in the Caribbean I asked a number of engine repair shops what they least had to repair. Engine: Yamaha. Generator: Northern Lights with Westerbeke a very close second. Michael W seems to have problems with a Westerbeke generator. We ran one for two hours a day for six months a year for six years and only had to change the impeller twice, plastic bags sucked into the hull water inlet, and the solenoid once because the rivet holding it to the bracket had rattled loose. Click to expand...

I also have a westerbeke diesel engine in my boat, a pacific mason 33. It has done around 1900 hours, two Atlantic crossings and still going reliable and strong. I'm currently based in Spain and can find spares in Barcelona easily.  

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