W58 or W60 repower

[Stella Maris]

Hi folks,

We recently bought a 424 and plan to repower her. We’d like to use a rebuilt version of whichever came in the boat, to minimize the question marks about the engine mounts, position, alignment…etc. I know some of you all will say I should repower with a newer motor, like a Cummins or Yanmar, and I respect that, but I’d like to keep my options open as much as possible. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to figure out which engine came standard in the boat, which is currently about 800 miles from me.

So… Which engine is it? Is it the W60, based on the Leyland 2.5, or is it the W58, based on the perkins 4-154. Is it possible that both motors were offered at different times? I can’t imagine that this would be the case, but do they both more or less fit in the same planform?

Thanks for any help – Chris
Stella Maris
Hull 200

[Rich Harris]

Mine was the Perkins based engine. Once the head went, I had to replace it since major parts like heads are rarer than hen’s teeth if not completely unavailable.
I swapped in a Yanmar and haven’t looked back.
What you do with the engine is completely up to you, but keep in mind that many parts are either not available or cannot be found at all. I weighed the cost of a rebuild with an iffy old engine (if I could have found parts) against new. The New Yanmar was a real shot in the arm financially but I have peace of mind.

[kalinowski]

We recently replaced the aging W58 in our 1980 424 ketch (#135) with an electric system. It’s perfect for how we use the boat, basically day sails and inter island as my boys live aboard and run their business while chasing women. No regrets.

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by kalinowski.

[Stella Maris]

Out of curiosity, Kalinowski, what happened to the W58? Did you part it?

Thanks, all, for the suggestions. I have a completely rebuilt 4-108 in my garage that I could also make work, but it would be a little underpowered for the 424. I’ve also had a 4-236 in a larger boat and just loved it. Older diesels have disadvantages, for sure, but rebuilt from the sleeves they are at least simple and straightforward. Not to mention a whole lot less expensive, as the cost difference could easily run to 15k. And Perkins parts are still pretty easy to come by.

I’m just weighing the options.

[Randall Riggs]

You wanna check out the Beta 60, a marinized kubota engine. Its a bulletproof diesel with parts available everywhere. It’s motor mounts will fit our beds and is configured to be put in backwards. You don’t want to buy a new transmission as ours is the best but will you need an adaptor plate. I prefer this engine due to the low operating RPM’s vs the Yanmar’s and affordability of parts vs Volvo-Penta. Good luck finding a bad review on it.

Randall Riggs
S/V Beluga

[Bryan Bywalec]

Doing some analysis on the Owner’s Registry it would appear that up to hull 125 had Westerbeke 60s, hulls 140-187 had a mixture and post hull 189 almost everything was a 58. However these are human reported stats and quite incomplete so take them with a grain of salt. The W58 is a good bit shorter and lighter according to Westerbeke’s website.

Our boat has a W58 which is currently humming right along but if she were to give up the ghost I’d also probably look at a Beta with Yanmar as a close second.

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Bryan Bywalec
S/V Pelican, Hull 209
Siren Engineering, LLC

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Stella Maris

[skipmac]

I have seen the 42 series with both the W58 and W60. My 422 is a 1984 and came with the W58 which is indeed a Perkins 4.154. The Westerbeke parts are really expensive and hard to find but you might do better with the Perkins versions.

If you’re interested I have a W58 block that came out of another 424.

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