Our 2013 Beta 60 is installed on the standard 55 Shore rubber mounts, and we see not trouble with them to date.
However, we drive an auxiliary shaft off the front end of the crankshaft, through an Omega flexible coupling. It allows only about 3/8" free axial movement, and we worry that as the mounts soften with age the engine may push too far forward and overload the auxiliary shaft bearings.
Keith at Beta NC suggested around 10 years life is normal for mounts. Ours are at year 6 of 6 month/year cruising
I plan to buy spare mounts to carry on board, and am wondering whether there are stiffer mounts available.
Would they be desirable?
Comments please from Beta and also anyone with relevant experience
Ideally, any accessory that is driven by the engine should be mounted on the engine. If the accessory is mounted separately to the hull it will want to "pull" or constrain the engine movement. This scenario will shorten the life of the isolator mounts. I'm still not really clear on your set up but I agree you should check the mounts more frequently and possibly replace sooner due to the additional loads on the mount as a result of the remote accessory.
Agreed on your ideal situation, but we had space issues and a previous installation to adapt to
The auxiliary shaft is in line with the crankshaft with a flexible coupling, and is well aligned, so hopefully the only load on the engine is the torque of about 2% of full engine capacity. It has been running since 2014
I am about to order spare mounts, but would like something stiffer than 55 Shore.
