Cummins v Volvo v Yanmar

[oldgit]

Agree about the lots of cubic inches,lower revs,less stress longer life contex.
Esp. with the Elling which is far more likely to see mush higher engine hours than the vast majority of leisure craft.
My Perkins develop 130HP from 6 litres compare that to the mid range Volvos 285HP from 3.6Litres.
The big plus with Volvos is parts still be available for engines approaching 40 years old.

 

[volvopaul]

Thanks volvopaul

Is the 6LY a reliable engine & parts easily available?

Yes at the moment I've seen some fail with crank issues, from memory it's a Mitsubishi based unit , started life at 359 ho and has since been breathed on up to 440 but is now obsolete in terms of emissions.

 

[Divemaster1]

It sounds like you are serious about some long distance cruising and you need to consider what kind of situation would you find yourself in where a wing engine is required ??

If it is a fuel issue that have brought the main engine down, then you need a secondary fuel supply for your wing engine ... or to avoid that, install a fuel cleaning/polishing system, as the same dirty fuel would also take out the wing engine.

Is the wing engine installed powerful enough as a OK propulsion in offshore conditions, or is it just a comfort blanket to slow down the approach when drifting towards a cliff face, or keep the boat on some sort of more comfortable heading until the help arrives ?

Also, in order to trust the wing engine in an emergency, you will have to inspect, check, service it and run it regularly....

In respect to retro-fitting an alternative propulsion, I'd also consider fitting a second generator, and installing a hydraulic secondary propulsion system running off that...

 

[PCUK]

I believe Cummins are the only ones where you can buy your marine parts at the local truck dealers!

 

[Orange]

Yes at the moment I've seen some fail with crank issues, from memory it's a Mitsubishi based unit , started life at 359 ho and has since been breathed on up to 440 but is now obsolete in terms of emissions.

Thanks for the info volvopaul.

 

[Orange]

Thanks for your comments Divemaster.

Our intention would be to cruise the Med, with the option of the Caribbean if we desired.

The cost of a retro fit wing engine is huge, as I'm sure you can imagine. Hence why I am looking for a boat with one already installed. The optional wing engine installation from new includes a separate fuel tank & on the boat we are looking at, it is a Yanmar 27hp. It has a sail drive & separate rudder. With that sort of power, it's only use is to keep the boat heading in the right direction & plod along until we can either fix the main engine or get help.

I fully agree about a fuel cleaning system & would look into installing one. Understood about looking after the wing engine, but I'd have to do that anyway if it was a twin engined boat such as a Trader.