I have a fjord 27ft cruiser which i use mainly on inland waters what engine would you recomend bearing in mind i may want to go out to sea for a bit of fishing, i am thinking about a beta 25hp, comments please, thanks in advance, Ted.
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I dont know these boats at all. I did find the Fjord 25/27 boat club and these boats are all planing hulls with Volvo gasoline inboard / outboard engines. If this is the correct then you are going to make dramatic changes to the boat to accept one of our engines and the small diesel engine wont bring the boat on to the plane.
Hi Stan, it's a semi displacement hull, not looking to plane it, the bmc1500 did virtualy what i wanted but going through a narrow channell against a 5mph tide it struggled a bit, but i am not sure what hp a bmc 1500cc is, it's about 25yrs old so its old spec, perhaps a modern 25 or 35 would cut it through the water. i am asking several people this question to get an overveiw from every one so wont hold you to ransome, i would just value your opinion i realize its difficult to give an opinion if you dont know the boat. Thanks in advance. Ted.
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The BMC 1500 was anywhere between 25 and 33HP depending on whose specs you believe. I know from experience that the BD1005 (Beta 28) performs as well in displacement sailboats as the old 1500 and often slightly better. Thus to get better you would need to go up the BV1305 (Beta 35) which is a very smooth running and quiet 4 cylinder engine. If propped correctly, you should have a useful increase in power over your old engine when it was new.
Hi Stan, Thanks for your thoughts it's exactly what i had in mind and another old experienced mariner said the same, (not that i am suggesting you are old), so we must be on the right track, will be intouch to let you know the outcome. All the best, Ted
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I have finally had fitted a Beta 38 in my fjord 27 it is so quiet and smooth i am realy pleased, I have a 15x13 prop which on my old 1500 BMC gave 4mph @1000rpm but on the Beta ,4mph seems to need 1400rpm have only tried it briefly it may be tide & wind may have been against me, conditions were bad but i was dying to try new engine out, will have more of an idea next time i try it. do you think i have the right size prop on? i have room for at least another 1" on diameter. Thanks in advance,
Ted
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Congratulations. I know that you will be very happy with your new baby. Without knowing what gear ratio you have I cannot give you any idea on prop sizing. I suggest that you try it and see how the boat performs. Also, what gear ratio did the BMC have behind it?
This all depends on the type of prop that you have. If your prop has 65% blade area ratio, you are correctly propped (assuming 2.5 tons and 24' waterline). If you have a prop with 50% blade area ratio, you will need one inch extra pitch.
Now as far as props are concerned, on 65% BAR, a 16"diameter by 12" pitch three blade is a more efficient propeller than a 15"x13" three blade with the same theoretical results. I suggest that you talk with a local prop shop to determine which will best suit your boat and needs.
Thanks Stan, as you say i will try a suck it and see aproach first and take it from there, thanks for all your advice, i will get back when i have something to report. Ted
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