Although my bias is showing, I wondered the same thing. Point being," how many cruising sail boats are Yanmar powered? A million...2 million?"Is there some reason Yanmar has not been mentioned, good or bad in this post?
Although my bias is showing, I wondered the same thing. Point being," how many cruising sail boats are Yanmar powered? A million...2 million?"
I have Yanmar power as it was already installed in the boat when I purchased it. It is 16 years old with about 1,700 hours on the clock and has been absolutely reliable for me. Service requirements are simple and parts are readily available just about everywhere.
Is there some reason Yanmar has not been mentioned, good or bad in this post?
Are they better suited to higher speed applications for the larger diesels, or auxiliary sailboat power in the smaller sizes? Price? Durability? Reputation?
Just curious since I am presently 'married' to one
Why? Aluminum. Exhaust manifold is Al, and a bunch of other parts too. Aluminum has corrosion issues that cast iron does not. If you look at Cat, Cummins and Detroit, they typically use NO Al in contact with coolant. Look at any engine still in service at say 30-40-50yrs and you won't find Al in contact with coolant. Iron or bronze only. Real engines don't use Al.
Yanmar, Volvo, Deere like to use Al for exh manifolds. Why?? To save weight?? For a trawler??? Save 40lbs?? Yay.
Why do we hate the TA Perkins 6.354? Aluminum. Why hate the Ford/Lehman TA's? Aluminum. Why is that 20yr old Westerbeke gennie in my shop, soon to go to recycling? Aluminum exh manifold rotted and flooded engine.
Pull a HX tube bundle out of an Al manifold. Hmmm. Sealing surface all pitted and now I have to deal with it. Fun. Glad I saved that 40lbs!!
Sorry, rant mode off....
Although my bias is showing, I wondered the same thing. Point being," how many cruising sail boats are Yanmar powered? A million...2 million?"
That's because they're not relying on their engines. Any engine is considered auxiliary power in a blowboat, right?
I have Yanmar power as it was already installed in the boat when I purchased it. It is 16 years old with about 1,700 hours on the clock and has been absolutely reliable for me. Service requirements are simple and parts are readily available just about everywhere.
Is there some reason Yanmar has not been mentioned, good or bad in this post?
Are they better suited to higher speed applications for the larger diesels, or auxiliary sailboat power in the smaller sizes? Price? Durability? Reputation?
Just curious since I am presently 'married' to one
If you doubt they only use the engine as "auxillary" power just ask... Sure they will be forth coming insofar as sails do not have an hour meter.
Well, it's like this. A few years after I became the first Yanmar dealer in SW Florida, Yanmar opened up an engine plant in Europe, nicknamed BeeWie. The plant only built one series of engine, the Yanmar 1gm, 2gm, and 3gm diesels, we commonly know as sailboat motors. Most of those motors are installed worldwide, in small commercial fishing vessels. They have to last. BeeWie plat output at that time put out one engine every minute, 24 hours a day, and could not keep up with the demand. The gm series replaced the hm series, lighter, and smaller. Back then the Yanmar trade magazine was called 'Scope.'
Every engine manufacturer makes some less than reliable efforts one time or another. Among them, Cat 3116, Yanmar 6LP (a Toyota block), Detroit 8.2, and so on. Then there are the best ones: Lehman 2715, Yanmar 4lh, Perkins 4-236,
Deere 4045, and so on. And Aluminun problems, well that's bad metallurgy, cheap aluminum, and it happens. Westerbeke is famous for it. Ever seen a solid brass Detroit diesel? They built them, and aluminum too.
Put a pair of 4lh Yanmars in a 31 Bertram, and it will boogie. Shut one off, and the same boat has transatlantic range at idle speed on the one engine.
Have Fun with your Engines. Keep 'em clean and maintain them like an aircraft.
And most of all, keep them cool and well lubed!
Avoid VOLVO, run from them as you would the plague; good engines, but no support from VOLVO on older engines.
That may be true on the east coast but out here (west coast) Volvo parts are expensive and scarce! So, is it a "falsehood? I think not. It's more like 10 blind men describing an elephant....it depends on your local.This is a falsehood. I have no problem getting genuine Volvo parts for my older motors.
Every engine manufacturer makes some less than reliable efforts one time or another. Among them, Cat 3116, Yanmar 6LP (a Toyota block), Detroit 8.2, and so on.
The VOLVO web page proudly proclaimed, "we no longer support this product" when I inquired about parts for my two TMD40s. It's fun to go to boat shows and throw it into the face of VOLVO salesmen, especially when there is a crowd around the booth.
20 questions; well, not quite.djones44; said:And the Web bails you out of the rare parts issue. This week I took delivery of a new (not rebuilt) turbo charger for an 8.2L marine for less than 1 BU delivered.
The Cummins started being installed in trawlers in the 90s. Even though it is a great engine for a trawler in its 6BT configuation, I suspect your budget will lead you to something older.
Lehmans have fantastic support from American Diesel, the guy who originally marinized the Ford.
But a normally aspirated Perkins would be a good choice also.
Both were installed in trawlers from the mid 70s into the late 80s, early 90s.
You sometimes see Detroit 8.2s in trawlers. It doesn't have a good rep. Detroit 4-53s were installed in the Hatteras LRC and while a very solid engine, are noisy and vibrate at low speeds.
Most other marine engines don't have enough displacement to go low and slow while pushing a 20,000+ lb boat.
So Cummins, Lehman and Perkins would be my choice.
David
The Detroit 8.2L engines actually represent a bargain. They are quiet 4 cycle "fuel pinchers" that came out with 13mm vs 15mm head bolts and manifolds that needed a top vent. All subsequent models after 1985 had those mods.
So you can take advantage of that 'rep' and get great boats cheap, knowing that they have a very reputable school bus engine in them.
And the Web bails you out of the rare parts issue. This week I took delivery of a new (not rebuilt) turbo charger for an 8.2L marine for less than 1 BU delivered.
Add that to some BoatDiesel advice, and you should have no issues with engines per se, all things being equal.
Why?... Aluminum has corrosion issues that cast iron does not. If you look at Cat, Cummins and Detroit, they typically use NO Al in contact with coolant. Look at any engine still in service at say 30-40-50yrs and you won't find Al in contact with coolant. Iron or bronze only. Real engines don't use Al.