Question For Diesel 420/440DA Owners

[Freebird]

I've been contacted to deliver a 440DA with Cats (which I assume to be 375's) and was just wondering if any of you with this power could give me an idea as to your fuel numbers. I've run one of these before, but it's been a long time ago and on the river.

This move will be from the Lauderdale area to Tortola, and there won't be much time for getting a feel for such things. As I understand it, the owner hasn't used the boat very much and has little knowledge of it. Information as to cruising speeds at various RPM's would also be very helpful in planning this trip.

Thanks.

 

[fwebster]

Caterpillar 375 hp 3208's burn 12.0 gph/engine at rated cruise which is 2400 rpm. 420hp 3208'2 burn 13.4 gph/engine.

Most people doing deliveries run the engine off cruise rpms to cut down stress on the mechanicals and conserve fuel......@ 2200 rpm the 375hp 3208 burns about 9.6 gph/engine; the 420 hp burns 10.2 gph/engine.

I can't help you with speeds, other than to tell you to be careful trying to use any speed number Sea Ray publishes...they are based on new boats, 50 gal of fuel, no gear, no water, and a pristine bottom.

 

[Freebird]

Thanks for the input. No doubt I would want to be conservative in terms of cruising RPM, but as best I remember, the 440 will cruise around 18-20 knots at 2,000 with 375's.

I used to know a bunch of guys at the Sea Ray office in Knoxville, but not any more. Could be there is still somebody around who could give me some realistic numbers to expect, but we all know how these numbers can vary with each boat.

 

[fwebster]

Probably not at Sea Ray. The guys doing deliveries and running boats at the factories are either young or have recently moved into those jobs and weren't around in the early 90's.

There are several 420/440 owners on CSR if they see your question. You might try posting another question on speeds.......(the fuel burn numbers I gave you come from Cat's tables for the 3208 so I know they are right)...but list the year and model number in the header. Sea Ray confuses things for us since there are more than one 420DA and 440DA, but only someone who knew Cat engines were used in the 90-94 year models would pick up on which boat you were asking about.

Good luck with it..............

 

[Freebird]

Oh well, looks like I get to start from scratch in terms of figuring fuel burn on this one. Just got an email informing me the boat has 450HP 3116's which means it was obviously repowered since it's a '91.

I ran a 43' Hatt from Sanford, FL to Mobile, AL back in Novemeber with that same power (though it had been detuned), and it got great numbers. I'm guessing it might be a little hard to find another 440DA owner with this power, so I'll have to do some guesstimating until we get some time under our belts.

 

[fwebster]

Ok........there is no such thing as a 450hp 3116. The top power rating was 350hp.

I suspect you have a 1994-1995 440DA that came with the 3116's. You are further along than you thought. This is the predecessor to my 450DA and I've got 350/3116's. 2400 rpm burns 22.6 gph total and about 22 kts loaded. 2200 rpm is a sweet spot burning about 18gph and running 19-20 kts. You are ok down to 2100-2120 (14gph) and then she will get sloppy.

Have a good trip............

 

[Carver370]

Ok........there is no such thing as a 450hp 3116. The top power rating was 350hp.

I suspect you have a 1994-1995 440DA that came with the 3116's. You are further along than you thought. This is the predecessor to my 450DA and I've got 350/3116's. 2400 rpm burns 22.6 gph total and about 22 kts loaded. 2200 rpm is a sweet spot burning about 18gph and running 19-20 kts. You are ok down to 2100-2120 (14gph) and then she will get sloppy.

Have a good trip............

Or he could have a 91 that was repowered with 3126's @420 or 450 hp.

 

[Freebird]

I'm getting my information third hand, so there's no telling what's in there. Come to think of it, the Hatt I ran had 3126's... at least that's what I found in some notes. I can't keep my Cat numbers straight other than the 3208's which have been around forever.

Could be the guy just dropped a digit, but he definitely said they were 450HP.

 

[fwebster]

3126's were not available in the 440DA....biggest engine option was the 425 hp 3208 unless she was repowered.

 

[Freebird]

As best I remember, this is a '91 model, so I'm sure it has been repowered. Hopefully I can come up with exact details beforehand, otherwise it's going to be more difficult to plan this trip not knowing ahead of time.

Probably not a huge difference in fuel numbers/speed than the 425's. Saw some specs on a Yachtworld listing which showed 22 knots at 2,300 on 425's, so maybe that's about right.