Diesel power

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Having messed around the trawler world for the last decade, I've developed a decided preference for diesel power; thus, I'm looking for feedback about my idea for powering a C-Dory 22 Cruiser with two 36-horsepower Yanmar diesel outboard motors.

http://www.yanmar.com.au/marine/d_series/dseries.htm

All-out speed is not that crucial to me. I look forward to your comments and advice.

--Georgs
 
Georgs I checked into the Yanmars a couple of years ago and would not hesitate (was thinking triples for my 25) except for the cost.... at 13 grand a pop you can buy a lot of gas.
Service could be an issue also as there are no US dealers for these motors however they are available in Canada.

Would never go with gas power given a reasonable option for diesel. With the higher torque output you could swing a bigger prop than the gas equivalent with greater longevity and economy.

stevej
 
Georgs, I agree fully that diesel would be great. Can't find out how much those guys weigh though. Maybe with only 36hp, it's not too much. Maybe it's on that website, couldn't find it with the first glance....

Having gasoline on a boat scares the bejezus out of me, have seen too many fires on Navy ships not to be very respectful of gasoline. :amgry :amgry However, on a CD 22, the cockpit is open and the tanks are not enclosed. It'd be hard to accumulate enough fumes for the kind of catastrophe that gas on a boat can lead to. (not impossible though). If I had an inboard of any sort, I'd think long and hard about gasoline. Had one and hated it. :smilep

Good luck with your idea, let us know how it works!

Charlie
 
I'm intrigued by diesel power as well, but I think a workable C-Dory solution is a ways off.

One interesting product - JetPac. These are standard truck engines (gas or diesel) that have been mated to a jet drive, and enclosed in a pod that has it's own flotation. This allows a much heavier package to be mounted to the transom than would otherwise be possible.

Nothing in the power range for a 22 yet, although they mention 35-75HP offerings are in the works. They do have a 150HP offering that might work on a CD25...
 
Da Nag - I swear - if you put a jet drive on a C-Dory we'll boot your nerd butt out of here faster than Dusty changes boats.
 
The Navy carried large quantities of Aviation gasoline on all their carriers, tankers, and replenishment ships up into the 1980's. Auxiliary ships like replenishment ships carried it even longer to support marine gas powered vehicles etc. Dunno about now, but it's nasty stuff and just as well it's gone.
 
We had lots of AvGas and stuff for small boats, they weren't all diesel. Most of the gas was carried in 55Gal drums that had quick release catches so they could be dumped over the sides. Gasoline also ran P250 fire pumps which were stored in all of the repair lockers, all over the ships. I was referring mainly to "fuel" fires which are a lot more likely with gasoline but certainly possible with JP5, diesel, Navy Distillate and the like. The worst kind were the ones where fuel ignited as a spray under pressure.

As boiler officer on Independence, I lost 15 of my folks to a spray fire one of the Main Machinery spaces and was lucky to get some of them out.

Fuel fires (of any sort) are bad news! Diesel is best but a trade off on a C-Dory...

Charlie
 
Thanks to everyone for their input.

My idea may not be worth pursuing. Here is the word from Yanmar's distributor for Canada regarding the D37:

<<Thank you for your inquiry regarding the above captioned Yanmar Diesel Outboard engine. The weight of this engine is 269 lbs. Please note that these engines are not EPA approved for sale in the U.S. The availability of the engines are very scarce and would have to be ordered in from Japan with a 4 month turn around time. The retail price of this engine is $23,100.00 Can. FOB Delta, B.C. Canada.>>

A Honda BF40 weighs in at 212 pounds--for about half the money!

--Georgs
 
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