Thanks for your reply, Martyn. It is nice to correspond with someone who has the same boat as we do. We definitely looked at the Kubota based Beta Marine engine but I was unable to get the local distributor to match the price of the Yanmar when we were purchasing it… It was $2500.00 US more than the Yanmar.
We have been running the 20 HP 3YM20 since April now and with 22 hrs on it, it is working exceptionally well. A vast difference from the tired and worn out (seawater eaten) Volvo Penta 18 hp that was in the boat when we bought it.
Our neighbor in the slip 3 down from us repowered with a 30 HP Beta 2 years ago and it is a fine engine as well.
We went out for a 4 hour sail yesterday on the gulf side of Florida and had a grand time!
Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. My personal email is b_planchot@hotmail.com if you would like to message directly.
Happy Sailing!!
Brad