Can someone tell me....

[ontheplane]

Ok, well I might be being really stupid here, but whilst sat daydreaming at my desk, the following thought process wandered through my mind,.......

I want a diesel boat (only a small one) but:-
a) there aren't many small diesels out there and
b) I can't afford any of them.....

Now a diesel engine is a diesel engine pretty much...

So - can anyone give me a good reason why I couldn't buy a secondhand / recon car diesel engine, adapt the cooling to run the hot "out" water through some form of heat exchanger thing (cooled with water from the leg) and (in theory) presto! All I would need to do then is just find a way to connect it to the shaft of the sterndrive leg.

Now, of course if it was that simple everyone would do it wouldn't they - so why don't they? What are the obvious problems I have completely missed, and why don't marine engine makers do something like this? I was looking around and I can get a lot of engine for less than £1000 incl 1.9TDi 130BHP or 150BHP Volkswagen Golf engines or the 2.5TDi engines from Passats etc.

I am sure someone more engineering minded than me can tell me why no-one seems to do this kind of thing and all go for wildly expensive Merc or Volvo engines in small boats.



<hr width=100% size=1>Why can't we work 2 days a week and boat the other 5????

 

[KevB]

I think a lot of people do do it. Volvo do and so do Nanni.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://static.photobox.co.uk/public/images/45/99/10714599.s.jpg?ch=97&rr=16:00:39>Nirvana</A>

 

[MadMat]

Yep, you can do that, many marine engines are based on car engines (yanmar use toyota landcruiser blocks for example). Costs starts adding up because at the very least you need to add a raw water pump and water cooled manifolds. You really want a heat exchanger too. lancing marine list a number of manifolds and other components that are available for DIY marinisation on their website.


<hr width=100% size=1>http://www.boatmad.co.uk

 

[Wiggo]

Lancing Marine is the place to start, but the issue has traditionally been power/weight ratio (diesels have been far heavier than their equivalent powered petrol lumps) or revs, meaning you need odd gearbox ratios cos the diesel won't rev to the same levels as the petrol lump.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/graham.wignall/boats/eulimene600x800.jpg>The old and the new</A>

 

[biffothebare]

Hello Grant,
In answer to your question, I can tell you it is possible because I have done just that! I took a 2.0 litre Nissan diesel from a Primera, made a water cooled exhaust manifold, made all the mountings, made a heat exchanger using ordinary
plumbing fittings and pipe, in a GRP casing which I moulded myself, some radiator hoses from my local motor factors, (they let me sort through their stock).
Heck, I even fitted a Renault Traffic heater unit in the cabin to supply heat. I mounted the engine a little further forward than before to counter the slightly extra weight, and the drive to the leg is via a propshaft made up from a Triumph Spitfire/
Ford Sierra combination. (The rubber doughnut from the Sierra stops noise transferrance through the hull.)
I finished wiring up last weekend and as the boat is on hard, I connected the raw water side to the mains and fired up the horse. It behaved splendidly and just as I'd planned. This account may sound like a Heath Robinson affair, but, I spent a long time with a calculator, and in the workshop, but as this is my profession, It was simply an exercise in engineering for me. If you are engineering minded you too can do it. Of course, some pretty specialised equipment is needed but can be sourced quite readily. The only thing I didn't make was the Jabsco pump, and the whole exercise was priced in hundreds not thousands. (How about a 12 volt jenny
using a grass cutter engine and a car alternator? Use it to charge your flat batteries, for starting, in 15 mins!) The whole boat was bought as a project as just a hull and I expect to be taking to the water next season in it.

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[deborahann]

Using diesel car engine's in boat's is quite normal for some inland waterways boats, I had a boat previously that had a ford diesel car engine. Had no problems with it. and spares were at a very reasonable price, and easily available.

<hr width=100% size=1>deborah on delft.
Nothing to do with Mucky Farter or hlb in drag

 

[Cymraeg]

MBM (I think) had an article a couple of years ago about marinising an engine from an Austin Montego (Perkins block, maybe?), and I doubt that's the only article been written about it, so there are even some step-by-step guides on 'how-to'.

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