MountainSailor
Member
I understand that diesels have changed a lot over the years. As an old farm boy, I understood heavy and tough in diesel tractors, and expected the things to run forever, but somehow I haven't got a clue to what I may be buying into when it comes to choosing a boat with one of the many marine diesels on the market. I am not interested in a newer model, Tier II and above no matter how fancy they are, but I'm having a great deal of trouble figuring out whether I should be steering toward or away from the engines of the late '80s and '90s (such as a Lehman, a Volvo, a Yanmar, a John Deere, a Caterpillar, a Cummins, etc.) for continuous cruising, reliability over tens of thousands of hours, and overall toughness and dependability. Also, recently I've run across the term "high rpm, light duty diesel engine." Are they bad, good, or just different? I'd be grateful to anyone who could anyone provide a few guideposts that might help me navigate the maze of information that's out there?