Engine Developments

I'm in the process of buying a new secondhand engine for the new boat. It's a Volvo Penta M2010D - a 10HP, single cylinder diesel with saildrive, control panel, wiring and engine/saildrive mount.

The 10HP gives me the old standard of approx 2HP per ton of displacement and should be plenty for my needs. My old boat, Miss Molly I, had roughly double the displacement and a 7HP Volvo Penta diesel, and that was enough to push her along nicely in most conditions (heading into largish Pacific waves slowed her down quite a lot, but we still made headway). 10 HP with the new boat should be ample.

Newer engines come fitted with an alternator for battery charging as standard, and that'll be quite an advantage. The old Volvo Penta MD1B on Miss Molly I had a combined starter/dynamo, which did indeed function to charge the batteries, but an alternator will do the job more effectively - I also intend to fit solar panels, so should be able to have a larger service battery, giving longer between-charging times.

I'll keep you posted on further engine developments.