Marine Engines from Caterpillar

[peterjaw]

Good Day, captains,
Does anyone have experience for Caterpillar diesel engine?

　Does anybody know which yacht brands use the Caterpillar engine?

Thank you very much for any inputs.

 

[kashurst]

Caterpillar engines are used by pretty much all manufacturers. Sub 50 foot European boats tend to have Volvo's but above that size Cats are common.

 

[John100156]

I have two in my boat (Princess) 3126's, my friend has two in his Azimut, etc. etc.... shed loads of boats out there with Cat engines

 

[rafiki_]

As above I had twin 3126’s in my Azi. Fantastic engines. Always started, no smoke, just needed regular servicing to keep them tip top.

 

[peterjaw]

Thank you very much, guys.

From some boat owners in my marina, Volvo Taiwan dealer provide terrible services. They have to wait for the technician or replacements parts, 1 month minimum.

A yacht builder tells me that they used to use Volvo engine but switch to CAT for much better service quality.

I am surveying my next boat and would like to start from something essential. Many engine companies list their partners in the web site, but
CAT doesn't do that. So from your replies, I know there are Azimut and Princesses. What else?

 

[Assassin]

Many builders not supplying them as standard offer them as an option, so dont limit yourself to a brand as many other boats may have them as an "option" engine.

 

[John100156]

This is my first boat with Cats - I must say I do like them. Not sure I would rule out a boat with Volvo’s though. Had a couple of boats with Volvo’s.

One thing about the Cats I don’t like with my Cats is they use 11 anodes per engine. Still, I suppose having more zinc in the engine, can only be a good thing. They are sensibly located so easy to change.

 

[rafiki_]

This is my first boat with Cats - I must say I do like them. Not sure I would rule out a boat with Volvo’s though. Had a couple of boats with Volvo’s.

One thing about the Cats I don’t like with my Cats is they use 11 anodes per engine. Still, I suppose having more zinc in the engine, can only be a good thing. They are sensibly located so easy to change.

Agreed ref the pencil anodes, but mine lasted years, so not a regular service item, unlike the hull anodes. Easy to access and replace.

 

[peterjaw]

Many builders not supplying them as standard offer them as an option, so dont limit yourself to a brand as many other boats may have them as an "option" engine.

I see. This is a very important information to me.

Without solid after service and support, no matter how good the engines are they will soon become big junks. Unfortunately, Volvo Marine Engine dealer in Taiwan is one of the cases.

I will ask if they have CAT as an option in the future when surveying next boat.

Thank you very much.

 

[Assassin]

Peter, I would suggest looking at the adverts first as they often specify the make of engines fitted.

 

[peterjaw]

Peter, I would suggest looking at the adverts first as they often specify the make of engines fitted.

OK, thank you very much.

From what I have seen on European yacht builders' web sites, I never saw CAT engine as either standard or option; most of them are Volvo. That is why I asked this question.

I was trying to find out who use CAT engines from CAT web site, but there is nothing on their web site.

 

[rafiki_]

It really depends on the size of boat. Cat and Cummins make engines from about 6,000 cc upwards, making them suitable for 12 m and upwards boats. Volvo make much smaller engines, some derived from cars, hence are fitted to smaller boats.

 

[peterjaw]

It really depends on the size of boat. Cat and Cummins make engines from about 6,000 cc upwards, making them suitable for 12 m and upwards boats. Volvo make much smaller engines, some derived from cars, hence are fitted to smaller boats.

No wonder.

I mainly focus on boats that are less than 45 feet.

May I say that there are some common replacement parts between Volvo Marine engines and Volvo automobile engines?
For example, oil filter, pulleys, engine mounts ... etc. If this is the case, any Volvo auto technician can handle some certain portion of Volvo marine engine, is that right?

 

[13059543990j]

Author, what kind of boat did he end up buying?

 

[fisherman]

Do some research about servicing. An engineer at a luxury end shipyard told me that it took a long time to get the Cat engines to talk to the ZF gearboxes, and that Cat do not release service info to any other agency.

 

[Portofino]

Author, what kind of boat did he end up buying?

Something with outboards iirc ? ……and he had “ issues “ posted on here .

 

[penfold]

Do some research about servicing. An engineer at a luxury end shipyard told me that it took a long time to get the Cat engines to talk to the ZF gearboxes, and that Cat do not release service info to any other agency.

That's the kind of flimflam John Deere tried; farmers still got round the proprietary nonsense. If it's software and involves large amounts of money someone will have hacked it.