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CapeDory28 · 08-09-2022, 07:46

Hello everyone thank you for letting me join . I purchased recently at Cape Dory 28 cutter. The boat has a Volvo penta MD7A i’m hoping to replace it with a Yanmar 1GM 10 or two cylinder Yanmar Engine. Hopefully someone on here has done that swap on a Cape Dory 28. My concern is the engine fitting on the mounts.

OldManMirage · 08-09-2022, 14:32

What's up CD28. Great boat, I used to have one. I thought about replacing the Volvo too but the darn thing was running good and they are so simple and easy to work. Parts are harder to get but usually can be found. Personally if you are set on replacing it I would recommend the Beta Marine diesels.

What is the name of your Cape Dory ? Are you sure it's a cutter ? They don't normally come that way. They do have a "club-footed" jib with a small boom that makes it self tacking.

Post a picture, let us know. Mine was a great boat, there are several videos of her on my YouTube channel with some of the projects I did.

CapeDory28 · 08-09-2022, 18:55

If I knew how to post pictures on here I would have lol.
It does have a club foot jib. As far as the name goes I haven’t decided yet I’ve been thinking about “Luna de Noche” or “Solo Lobo”

MicHughV · 08-09-2022, 19:10

I have been inundated by blood, sweat and tears over that Volvo MD7 engine on a past boat.

You need to get the spec sheet of the two engines and make a wood mockup to compare the two. This will let you know, about engine support spacing, whether the existing beds are wide enough, long enough, high enough, etc. distance from stuffing box to back of gearbox, which side the muffler is located, etc, etc...

In other words make a wood mockup of the Volvo engine, and set it on a wood replica of the engine bed, then remove the MD mockup and replace with the Yanmar mockup and see what modifications you will need to address.

CapeDory28 · 09-09-2022, 05:17

Thank you

OldManMirage · 09-09-2022, 06:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by CapeDory28

If I knew how to post pictures on here I would have lol.
It does have a club foot jib. As far as the name goes I haven’t decided yet I’ve been thinking about “Luna de Noche” or “Solo Lobo”

Lol, ok Lone Wolf ! No, I like it, definitely different.

The reason I asked about the name is I wondered if it was my old boat. She was named Mirage. She was a 1980 model.

I would just say again that if there's nothing really wrong with the Volvo I wouldn't put the money into a replacement unless you've got it to burn. They are not bad engines and last a long time.

MicHughV · 09-09-2022, 06:41

My Volvo MD7 was raw water cooled, and after a period of time, the water passages around the cylinders get clogged up with salt residue, etc, and need to be reamed out.
This involves removing the cylinder head.
The MD7 engine is no longer made, so finding parts is sometime a problem.

I removed the cylinder head from my MD7 several times to ream out the water passages and always re-used the original cylinder head gasket, and never had a problem with the engine.

My only issue with the MD7 was that it had these curious rubber compression fittings for the water inlet line, which, try as I might, I could never get to fit properly, so there was always a slow drip.

The MD7 engine is a beast of an engine, that's for sure. I once had salt water find it's way inside the engine from top to bottom, but after draining the water, and flushing with new oil, it cranked right back up again.

CapeDory28 · 09-09-2022, 19:27

It is one big heavy engine

gonesail · 09-09-2022, 23:35

you might also get some support from the capedory.org site. a guy there is repowering a CD25 with a beta engine.

MicHughV · 10-09-2022, 05:08

Yep, that Volvo MD7 is an old time engine. Mine came with a massive flywheel, which I removed one time and was stunned by the weight of it. My engine could be hand cranked, as it had a decompression lever on the cylinder head. I tried it one time, and by jove, I could start it that way.
But, yes, heavy.

CapeDory28 · 10-09-2022, 06:06

The name on the boat is intrepid it’s a 1976

CapeDory28 · 10-09-2022, 06:07

It is a massive flywheel. I have the crank to hand start it

MicHughV · 10-09-2022, 10:39

Even though that engine has a decompression lever, it requires some ooomph to crank it. You've got to get it moving, before you can flip the decompression lever back down. Works better with two people, but I've managed to do it on my own.
Try it yourself.

Most people have a love/hate relationship with Volvo marine engines. Parts are usually very expensive, etc.
But, at the end of the day, it's a very robust engine, and can likely run forever.

As mentioned elsewhere, unless there is a big problem somewhere, I'd probably lean to keeping it. It's a pain in the rear end to swap engines, besides the cost of the new engine, you'll have to change or modify a number of things.

gonesail · 10-09-2022, 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicHughV

As mentioned elsewhere, unless there is a big problem somewhere, I'd probably lean to keeping it. It's a pain in the rear end to swap engines, besides the cost of the new engine, you'll have to change or modify a number of things.

agree. do the maintenance .. keep it running. those betas are not cheap