[alberg30] Westerbeke

[Peter Amos]

Tom, the information I have from Westerbeke recommends cruising revs at 80% of maximum. For the M320 B this is about 2900rpm.If you look at the web site performance graph for this engine, 2900rpm gives only10-11hp at the prop. This may be enough for lighter boats but our A30's are reassuringly substantial and my personal opinion is that a few more hp would be useful. My prop is a 3 blade 12x8 I think from the original Atomic 4. I also find that below 900rpm it runs very lumpy which makes idle speed uncomfortable.This may be common to all diesels. I read somewhere that at low revs the fuel metering is not accurate enough to give equal injections to all cylinders.I would be interested to know if 4 cylinder marine diesels suffer from the same uneven running problem at low rpm.
 I have no complaints about the fit in the engine compartment.It seems that the mounting feet are about the same as the Atomic 4. Tait Tait has the liner of the later models and it does not cause a problem.  Have a close look at the starboard view on the web site to see the location of the dipstick. First time I did an oil check it took an hour to get it back in! I suppose that sort of problem arises with engines not specifically designed for boat installations.
If you could get performance figures and dimensions of the comparable Yanmar that would be a useful comparison.

Peter Amos
Tait Tait #478

P.A.Amos at tesco.net.u.k
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