Volvo engines - cruising suitability

[mattonthesea]

After a few boatless years I am looking to go cruising again. Several boats I have seen have Volvo engines. I have no experience of these and wondered how suitable they are for cruising in terms of spares, service and reliability.

Opinions gratefully received

Matt

A Year at Sea: Sailing Solo around the North Atlantic

 

[Tranona]

No problems - assuming you are talking about "modern" engines. Volvo and Yanmar have essentially shared the new boat market in europe (and much of US as well) for the last 30 years, so most production boats will have one or the other. This means of course that parts and service are available worldwide.

 

[tcm]

After a few boatless years I am looking to go cruising again. Several boats I have seen have Volvo engines. I have no experience of these and wondered how suitable they are for cruising in terms of spares, service and reliability.

Opinions gratefully received

Matt

A Year at Sea: Sailing Solo around the North Atlantic

Given a clean sheet, I think I would avoid Volvo, and I'm not the only one. Volvo have done well to get into the European boat-building industry, presumably by offering cheap power units if taken in volume. But this down not necessarily translate into the best option for the end user. I would look for Yanmar in preference to Volvo, especially for cruising outside Europe, and it is Yanmar that would surely win if there were prizes for worldwide spares availibilty and reliability. Without some data though (and perhaps even with some data....) the reliability and spares issues could still be debated. I found Yanmar engine mounts in Tahiti off the shelf, dealer-trained mechanics in the caribbean, guys getting spares in Mauritius and so on. I can't say the same about Volvo of course - cos i didn't ask.

 

[boatmike]

No problems - assuming you are talking about "modern" engines. Volvo and Yanmar have essentially shared the new boat market in europe (and much of US as well) for the last 30 years, so most production boats will have one or the other. This means of course that parts and service are available worldwide.

Totally agree. Either will give good service and reliability if maintained properly. Many people complain about the cost of Volvo spares until they try buying spares for Yanmar! Both should be available worldwide.

 

[Tranona]

There are thousands of Volvo engines in use giving good service, particularly in charter boats in the Med.

When choosing a boat there are far more import things to consider than the engine type. Volvo engines in the smaller sizes are based on Perkins industrial engines that are widely used in such things as diggers, small tractors etc.

 

[Lyndsey Doyle]

Good evening, I started my Volvo 36 hp today, the first time for a couple of months, and it roared into life before I could let go of the key, as usual, no issues.

The engine has been installed, and long distance cruising, since 1972. Spares don't matter if you never need any!

My last yacht had a newer, Perkins based Volvo, no issues and that had been around the block a few times. Never needed any parts at all.

I would get a Volvo, LD

 

[Gypsy]

As others have replied, Volvo and Yanmar are the most common engines in recent model boats. You will find supporters for both brands as well as complaints about spares availability and price of both.

One thing not often mentioned is the engine noise and typical revs for motoring. My experience for similar sized boats with Volvo and Yanmar is that the Yanmar runs at about 500rpm higher than the Volvo for typical 6kt motoring of a sailing cruiser and the Volvo is quieter. The comparison is between a Bavaria 44 (2002) with a Volvo (Perkins) D2-55 which is happy at 2000rpm for 6+ ks vs a Beneteau 473 (2002) with Yanmar 4JH3 which needed about 2500 rpm for 6+kts and is noisier in the cockpit. I think the max revs on the D2-55 are 3000 and the 4JH3 are 3800.

On the other hand, if you are buying used you will have to just add the engine type into the matrix of decisions you will have to consider related to your overall needs and preferences for a boat.

Personally I am very happy with my Volvo D2-55 which has done about 2000hrs over 15,000NM cruising and the only major item I have replaced is the exhaust elbow after about 1600hrs. Parts easy to get in the Med and Australia.

 

[mattonthesea]

Thanks for all the comments. I shall at these into the Matrix of decisions!