Diesel power

1

180pilot

New member
Hi Brats,

Has anyone seen or heard of a 16' powered by a Yanmar Diesel Outboard?

It appears Yanmar is not selling the 27/ 36 hp here in US at moment, maybe EPA?? Evinrude is making a mult-fuel E-TEC 55 hp for DOT. But silent on civilian model so far, to my knowledge.

I have concerns with gasoline when out of sight of shore, and many other reasons, heater/stove etc. I'm considering the 16' Cruiser for my single man retirement. for inland passage cruising/camp aboard. Speed is not as important as range. I don' really like I/O's But, my other consideration was an older 19' Starcraft Aluminum Islander with a Diesel conversion, as most had a 4 Cyl. Mercruiser.
 
Occasionally you will see the Yanmar diesel outboards on E bay. One of the members posted that they were available in Alaska--I have heard that they are hard to find even in Canada.

Yes, it is an EPA issue--and I would be surprised if they become available in the lower 48.

The engines are heavy. The 27 is 203 lbs and the 36 is 253 lbs.

Many of us venture safely offshore with gas powered vessels. I suspect that gas outboards are about as safe as diesel outboards. If you go to inboards, then there is a slight increase risk of fire and explosion. I have seen a number of inboards blow up or catch on fire, but never an outboard. With reasonable safety precautions a gas outboard is very safe.
I suspect that the chance of an electrical fire is greater than a gasoline fire in an outboard boat. (I have seen electrical fires in outboard boats)

I personally think a 16 footer would be a bit small for serious cruising full time, even with one person. A 22 would have a lot more load carrying capacity and ability.
 
I'd have to sell my house to afford a new 22' and engine. Size would be a problem for some, but I'm used to camping out of an Airplane for extended Alaska trips of a month or more. It's a matter of planning legs for fresh water and food re-supply. The 16 will allow me to put ashore in many more places and pitch my tent, when I get tired of looking at water.

Contacted Yanmar in Australia, Yanmar not building Diesel outboards anylonger. The dealer sells every used one that comes in before he gets it in hand, they must be very sought after down there.

Having been a firefighter for 31 years, I know most people take gasoline for granted, I don't. Having the engine outside the hull is a huge safety factor. But, with the 16' all your tanks are on deck. Have to wait and see about the Evinrude Vindicator I guess.
 
Penta made a diesel outboard a number of years ago (I think it was 8 hp) also China builds some diesel outboards.--so there are some options.

Why buy a new C Dory 22? I would prefer a used one. I doubt if you woud find many places you can take a 16 not not take a 22. Just that a 22 is really livable--a 16 much less so for full time cruising. But different strokes.....

The military engines are more for universial fuel and from what I understand are less effecient on diesel than on some of the other fuels.
 
Hi, It sounds to me like you could do OK in a 16 Cruiser. I beleive that you wiuld need camper canvas. Any one used to backpacking, canoe camping or air plane camping should be comfortable in a sixteen. Check out all the pictures on this site, get some ideas then try to set up a ride or at least a visit to a dealer with a 16

I really think a 4 stroke OB would give you the range and saftey you need. The lighter weight of a gasser would allow you to carry more fuel. For cooking look into the butane single burners. We find that one can lasts us a week of breakfasts with coffee and things like grilled cheese for lunch with some soup heating thrown in for good measure. Butane is safe, lighter than other gasses it does not collect in the bottom of the boat. If you like you can do some of your cooling over a small campfire on shore.

My guess is that you will not sleep ashore very much. Swinging on the hook promotes sweet dreams and you will already have a mattress in the V-Berth.

Your dream sounds do-able. Have fun!

Fred, Pat, and Mr. Grey(the cat)
 
Yes, the camper canvas is in the plan for sure. I also want the 16' so I can trailer it into God Awful places on dirt roads with my 4x4 pickup. And launch it by myself in places without ramps or docks.

I already have a number of mult-fuel stoves that will suffice. I Like alcohol or Propane for cleaness and Kerosene for length of burn per lb. Butane has problems at low temps.
Running the Evinrude Multi fuel on Jet-A would be the ticket, if I can find seaplane bases with it in Canada. If that engine does not appear on civilian market. I will go with the 40-50-60 Evinrude E-tec two stroke.

Australia connection has emailed me, telling me a used Yanmar 36 hp Diesel is going for, $ 20,000 US dollars?????? That just does not sound right! I can get a Volvo Penta 130 hp with Stern drive here for $ 15,000.
 
I don't want to sound like a nitpicker, but feel it necessary to try to correct the statement below as follows for safety's sake.

teflonmom wrote:

"Butane is safe, lighter than other gasses it does not collect in the bottom of the boat."

Actually, both butane and propane are significantly heavier than air, and will collect at the bottom of any enclosed or semi-enclosed space.

Air has a density of 1.205 kg/cubic meter, propane 1.882 kg/cubic meter, and butane 2.489 kg/cubic meter, which is over twice that of air.

For this reason, these to fuel gases are dangerous in that they sink and accumulate at the bottom of an enclosed space.

At very high concentractions, they simply turn into fireballs with the addition of a spark.

Intermixed with the oxygen in air in critical propportions, they explode, creating a destructive shockwave.

Thus we have common sense admonitions against storing propane and butane cylinders in closed spaces.

Propane lockers are specifically designed to have open drains at their bottoms to allow heavy flamable gases to escape to the outside. They also are designed to be as sparkproof as possible.

Many fishing boats carry their propane tanks on their cabin tops where any leakage will dissipate overboard.

On boats and RVs, propane/butane alarms are placed down low in any area where there is the possibility of a leakage. The better systems integrate the alarm with a solenoid valve which shuts the gas flow off when the alarm sounds.

To check out the densities of various gases, look HERE.

Joe.
 
Thanks Sea Wolf

I was wrong on the butane issue. I have always stored my propane carts properly, but was miss informed about the butane and have been lucky for several years. I will clean up my act..

Fred, Pat and Mr. Grey(the cat)
 
Fred-

Not a problem, and glad you've been safe.

Just wanted to make sure no one else got the wrong message.

Have a great Fourth of July!

Joe.
 
To add to Joe's excellent post, Compressed natural gas, is the only lighter than air common stove fuel. (Methane is also lighter than air, but not used in boats). The compressed natural gas cannot be liquified at the pressures used, and so the volume of gas available is less than with LPG (propane and butane or mixes). There is a patchwork of compressed natural gas exchange stations, so it is not easy to obtain.
 
Back
Top