Westerbeke Mechanic... MD/VA area

AllTideUp

Member
May 6, 2013
194
Northern Virginia
Boat Info
2003 SeaRay 380 Sundancer
Engines
8.1s - 370HP
Hello I'm looking for the contact info for the Westerbeke mechanic in the Virgina/Maryland area. I know his first name is George, but I can't remember his last name or where he works.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
 
Don't know George. There are several good mechanics in the area. If you give Pat O'Hara a call at Fort Washington....Pat's Boat Shop......(301) 292-6200.....he will point you in the right direction. He used to distribute for Westerbeke and knows every mechanic in the area.
 
I met a guy by the name of "Slim" at the Baltimore Boat Show who works at the Baltimore Boating Center. They say he is very good with Westerbekes. 410-687-2000.
 
I think you are looking for me George Smith Clean Marine Electronics Inc.
 
well, didn't think it was this long ago that I asked this question but yes it is probably George Smith Thanks!

I actually ended up getting the generator to work now, but below are the details.

Symptoms:
Westerbeke 4.5kw only generating ~60v while running. When running sounds normal, operating speed seems normal.

Fix:
Replaced the capacitor in the rotor/stator end by taking off the vented cover at the end of the unit, capacitor was located in the upper left corner behind the vent. Make sure to remove and note which wires were connected (there are 4 total wires, but only 2 are connected, others are used for different voltages, etc). Discharge the capacitor unless you want to add some SPARK to your life. There is a bolt with a flathead on the outside of the compartment and a hex nut on the inside, loosen that some but no need to take it off. I'd hate to drop that nut into the stator/rotor. slide the capacitor out, slide new one back in, tighten the bolt/nut, put the wires back on the capacitor, and replace the vent cover. Start her up..

Now I back to normal whoo hoo!!

next task: replace the pulley on my governor. Looks like its worn some so it is a little loose on the the shaft. Hopefully its as easy as just removing the pin and putting the new pulley on with a new pin.

If I get to a point where I can't fix it, I'm sure I'll give George a call.
 
The pulley shaft has bearings that sometimes wear out. As long as the shaft isn't damaged new can be pressed on.
 
Speaking of govenors. I have a 7.0 2001 westerbeke. Three years ago I had a loose pulley. Had a shop make a sleeve to create a tight fit. Worked great. Today, I need a new govenor as the oil has metal flakes in it... you can hear the bearing whine slightly. Fresh oil helped but not a fix. Got lucky, I hope, found a govenor for $700 on Ebay, less than 200 hours. Normal, get ready... $2000 bucks for new!
After I swap out, I am going to attempt to rebuild my original govenor since they are ridiculously priced!
 
The pulley shaft has bearings that sometimes wear out. As long as the shaft isn't damaged new can be pressed on.

I don't think its the shaft or the bearings as I couldn't feel that part move at all and it seems firm, however the Pulley attached to the shaft did wobble on the shaft so I ordered a new pulley and a few pins to attempt a replacement. I think the Pin can just be hammered out, slip the old pulley off, slip the new on on and replace the pin with a new one. At least I hope its that easy....

Speaking of govenors. I have a 7.0 2001 westerbeke. Three years ago I had a loose pulley. Had a shop make a sleeve to create a tight fit. Worked great. Today, I need a new govenor as the oil has metal flakes in it... you can hear the bearing whine slightly. Fresh oil helped but not a fix. Got lucky, I hope, found a govenor for $700 on Ebay, less than 200 hours. Normal, get ready... $2000 bucks for new!
After I swap out, I am going to attempt to rebuild my original govenor since they are ridiculously priced!

Glad you found one! I tried looking for them as before i found the pulley being loose, I though the governor was going bad. My Gen had about 1500 hours on it and I saw that the governor was supposed to have an oil change every 250 (i think). well that had never been done so I decided to change it. Later in the season it started making noise and I figured it was because I actually changed the oil and should have just left it. But now that I found the loose pulley I guess the wheel just wore out.
 
Opened the original 7.0 westerbeke governor up. Pretty simple guts. Found the bearing that was failing. Easy fix and available. Now to put it back together. One way to look at this. The bearing is about $15. So I'll have a $2000 spare part that cost $15.... LOL.
 

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Opened the original 7.0 westerbeke governor up. Pretty simple guts. Found the bearing that was failing. Easy fix and available. Now to put it back together. One way to look at this. The bearing is about $15. So I'll have a $2000 spare part that cost $15.... LOL.

Don't laugh...I did the same thing after finding the cost of a replacement. After the parts came together it took about an hour to rebuild. $15 to have the shaft cleaned up .40 for new bearings and .20 for new shaft seals.
 

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