Diesels.

[cuttlefish]

I am finally looking at a couple of boats which are close to my desired specs. I just wonder if anyone could give an opinion on used diesels (turbo-charged)? I am sure they would be costly to replace, but are they prone to probs after a year or three?
And anything else to watch out for?

Thanks,
rupert.

[chewy]

Bit like any engine really, if its looked after it'll have a long life. Quite a few marine diesels are marinised car and truck engines.

[JSP]

Maybe easier to find out what donky's they have in them and then ask.

[jwalker]

There have been problems with Yanmar diesels cracking blocks and Bravo drives failing when coupled to these engines. Do a search here and over on Boatmad and you'll come up with various discussions on the subject. Boats have been sold on because the problem has been severe. Be suspicious of one with a new drive on an older engine. That initially may seem like a good thing but...

IMO, many diesel installations suffer from lack of planning to keep water out of the engine bay, either generally or if there is a watery incident.

The seal between the drive/transom shield and the engine needs to be kept in perfect order because this is all that prevents the sea getting at the engine and entering the boat. It is often a rubber bellows so suffers normal rubber fatigue with age and use.

[tonka]

i have twin yamaha 240hp diesels in mine 1994 original engines and legs , i service both every 150hrs ,and look after them , also drive a boat at work with iveco,s fitted ,done over 12000 hrs well serviced as well and they run as sweet as a nut, so id say alot of it comes down to how they have been looked after previously and some engines are better than others of course,

[cuttlefish]

some good advice. The problem is when you're looking at a second-hand boat, it's not always easy to learn how well they've been looked after.

[LURCHER]

What make of engines are you looking at ?

[cuttlefish]

The ones on the Redbay, Excalibur, and other cabin/canopy ribs you find for sale here and on the web.
Yamaha, Volvo, etc.
I notice, for example, that there is a Volvo 350 Supercharged on the Excalibur site. How reliable is that likely to be?

[jwalker]

This is not the case for all Volvo engines but it is the case for the ones you are likely to find in a rib; the engines use both a supercharger and a turbo charger. The supercharger runs at low speed and the turbo takes over at higher engine speeds. This arrangement prevents the turbo lag and lack of throttle profession which is a feature of some other diesel engines. Reliability of the system is good.

[JSP]

Can recommend Mermaid. Dads got two 6ltr lumps in his boat and they are great engines.