Educate me on diesels

[markrinker]

My wife and I have owned four gas powered boats ranging from 18' to 25' before stepping up to our present diesel powered SeaRay 410. It is the ideal boat for the Great Lakes, with lots of power to spare and a hull that smooths out 1'-2' chop with ease.

To bring her back to Minneapolis and cripple her on Lake Minnetonka would be foolish. Same with river boating, unless long distance is the plan from Minneapolis to the Gulf or something...

1800 miles in the last year. Numerous times on plane for 2-3hrs at 2100rpm on autopilot. That is where diesels excel, IMO.

 

[Quint4]

We may have a winner....5 years, 1 month.

 

[Turtlesboat]

hahaha

 

[markrinker]

We may have a winner....5 years, 1 month.

Wow! That message showed up at the top of the forum...thought it was a current request? Same forum software but different settings than I am used to seeing over at www.thedieselpage.com where I moderate the Duramax forum. A five year old thread wouldn't appear page 1 - guess I'll start checking the dates!

Anyway. Diesels rock in boats that go the distance. If you are a cocktail cruiser, sandbar sitter, or idea of a cruise is to the next restaurant, save your $$$ and spend it on bling and bikinis.

Next spring The Lost Islander goes to Seattle. ( Anchorage, AK here we come...)

 

[rcon]

This question is for curiosity only, but given diesels are direct injected, can you just do a straight automotive -> marine transplant?

Fumes aren't an issue so earthing/ spark guard isn't as likely to be such a priority. There is certainly no fuel bowl.

This is entirely a curiosity question

 

[markrinker]

I'll let someone better versed answer this question, but would love to see a pair of V8 Duramax (Isuzu) diesels purring away in the engine bay!!!

http://banksmarine.com/ - the video is interesting, but doesn't get real in depth about what marinization they do. 3000-3800 RPMs!!!

 

[fwebster]

It is theoretically possible, but there are some expensive problems to overcome........fuel delivery profile is completely different for a marine than a highway application so a new fuel pump is usually required, the engine must gear drive a seawater pump, so the timing housing must accept an accessory drive, the cooling system must be designed and fitted to the engine and a wet exhaust system must be fabricated to remove exhaust and cooling water from the boat. Most folks who attempt this either buy a "kit" or use an industrial or agricultural engine. Somebody offered one for converting a B series Cummins from a Dodge truck (engine must be pre-electronic controlled, like about a 1995 or earlier and that adds a lot of weight for only 185 hp) and the kit was about $6500 when I last saw it offered so it doesn't turn out to be a bargain by the time you factor in the labor and cost of getting a good engine.

But the engine is only part of the problem. If you are contemplating repowering an older gas powered boat, you also have to worry about the transmission ratio and ability to withstand diesel torque, the shafts would need to be larger, the props would need to be replaced, the fuel system would need return plumbing added, a new gauge package would be needed, a gas generator would need to be replaced with a diesel equivalent, and the list goes on. I priced this change-over on a 1988 390EC in 1995, and converting it to Cummins diesels was quoted at $$75-$80,000.

 

[stephane]

I just love my small diesel and will never go back to gas no way!! it is safe, I have power, crazy range it cost me less than a 18 foot boat and everywhere I go everyone want to buy it......best off all I have it for years and I love it so much I dont want to upgrade it!

 

[Boatingnut]

That is not right...I have huff of blue smoke when I start and they clear up shortly afterwards....

You should see my slip neighbor with his 1990 420DA with 375hp Cat 3208s in there ... when he leaves we have San Francisco style fog all over the marina .. :lol: those engines were just recently fully tuned (pump settings and injector clean and test) up by Cat after he had a head gasket fail and they still smoke like hell ... good engines though ...