Which diesel ....

Steve_B · 13 June 2008, 19:50

Am looking to purchase a 9-10m sea safari rib. Have been to several of the leading builders and am now down to final three. My preferred no.1 can only supply with Mercruiser/cummings QSD 350.
Went to Seawork in Southampton and spoke to lots of people in the trade, most of which took a sharp intake of breath when I mentioned Cummings and quickly pointed me in the direction of the Volvo D6.
Do they have a point?? If so, my no.1 rib is off the list
PS Redbay said they would refuse to build me a boat if I wanted a cummings engine!

codprawn · 13 June 2008, 20:07

I suspect it is the drive rather than the engine that is the problem - assuming it's a sterndrive you are after.

Steve_B · 13 June 2008, 20:12

Cods

Your correct, diesel on sterndrive. Is the bravo unit that bad?
Can you put an alternative drive on the cummings unit?

Single engine is a risk for commercial, so need reliability

Roy Smith · 13 June 2008, 20:14

Ill take a guess that your first choice is a Parker

Steve_B · 13 June 2008, 20:16

Saw right through me, was it that easy?

codprawn · 13 June 2008, 20:16

Yup!!!

Turbodiesel · 13 June 2008, 20:41

Yanmar?

alt · 13 June 2008, 21:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbodiesel

Yanmar?

Again these are coupled to Bravo out-drives

I'm in the market for a new sports cruiser and I just brush by any that have a bravo out-drive

TIM · 15 June 2008, 21:37

I believe redbay only trust the Yamaha outdrives because they rarely break, I believe that every rib that they have built with a bravo leg has blown up. they are the doing product testing for Yamaha too , and believe me they test them !!!! the owner of redbay has on one throttle setting and that is FLAT OUT. all the time

Callum Stewart · 15 June 2008, 23:17

We have just past the 500 hours on our unit and touch wood we have had not a problem !

alt · 16 June 2008, 07:23

Do Yamaha do duo-prop outdrives though?

Can't beat a Volvo duo-prop out-drive, they seem to be reliable

Julian · 16 June 2008, 07:57

Yes they do Duo Props on the 315hp and also the smaller engine as well, cant remember is its the 265 or something like that.

From what I hear they are going very well.

Cheers

Julian

Mollers · 16 June 2008, 08:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by alt

Do Yamaha do duo-prop outdrives though?

Can't beat a Volvo duo-prop out-drive, they seem to be reliable

"OK so picture the scenario, you have a budget of £40-45k, and you want a diesel RIB that's capable of cruising around the west Irish coast (7.5m+), with a long range

The requirments are:

Engine must be diesel
Must be able to hold 4 crew comfortably (Maybe even backrests standing instead of jockey seating)
Must be capable of 45knots
Fuel range must be at LEAST 250miles (Could do a DIY and fit a portable tank on the deck)

What would you choose? Obviously I would not be buying new, but something less than 5 years old would be nice." [/Quote] Alt

So is the 'Long Haul' rib now on it's way Alt?

Julian · 16 June 2008, 08:52

Hi,

I would say this is a very good buy and under your budget, diesel engine, long range cruising boat, seats 6 with back rests etc.

Link here - http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/LYM118

Maybe of interest

Julian

codprawn · 17 June 2008, 01:29

Coming back to the original question MAYBE the Bravo drives fitted to the latest Cummings diesels are ok.

I have never heard a bad word about cummins themselves and Volvo has had it's share of problems with the early D6s as well - nobody is perfect. If there is a good warrenty on the package from Parker and it is the boat you need I wouldn't condem it too quickly.

Steve_B · 17 June 2008, 11:56

Cods

Absolutely not. It is a very good boat, 2nd to none tried so far. However, the QSD 4.2 is not covered for commercial operations. That is the dilemma!
If I go that route, any trouble and I take the hit ......

Still I could always go the Optimax route ....

jwalker · 17 June 2008, 12:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by 250kts

.... However, the QSD 4.2 is not covered for commercial operations. That is the dilemma!
If I go that route, any trouble and I take the hit ......

I guess Parker are going to have to be a bit more flexible sometime in the future.

Pete7 · 17 June 2008, 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by 250kts

Still I could always go the Optimax route ....

Surely that would be answered by the business case and how the figures stack up. Asuming the refund of duty for commercial users continues then having 3 outboards (one to quickly swop out) could make sence.

Pete

TIM · 17 June 2008, 23:35

its not the engines that are the problem its the top bearing and gear teeth in the Leg that fail on the bravo Drives , its not a matter of if they break , its just a case of when.

Yamaha developed the Duo prop for Volvo, years ago , but were unable to sell the duo prop drive in USA or Europe until recently . but yamaha duo props have been avalable in aisa ,and the middle east for years.

Yamaha drive uses a milti wet plate clutch to engage forward and reverse gear, this has some 'give' in it , and i think thats why the gearboxes don't blow up . unlike the bravos.

Bravo drives seen to be reliable on petrol engines up to 800hp , I think its the torque that kills the top bearing . the X drives had a hardened gears and bigger bearing , this seemed to prolong life , but it didn't cure the problem.

Basically you want an outdrive in a rib it has to be Volvo or Yamaha , forget the rest .