What is the best marine engine ever made

[Bru]

Doxford P Engine cos my old man was involved in testing the prototype ;-)

 

[Lizzie_B]

My 1980 Universal 5424 continues to run sweetly and start first time after prolonged (up to 1 year, often 6 months)periods of non use. It has to put up with sub zero winters and hot (100 F) humid summers. The only attention it gets is an annual service and filter change. I believe Universal is the USA name for Kubota.

 

[fisherman]

Nobody's mentioned Poyaud and Baudouin, fitted to most of the French FVs that came over here. Proper engines like Kelvin.

 

[ianc1200]

My 1944 Chysler Crown (6 cyl petrol, ex spare D Day landing craft engine) was the best engine ever!

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Most gen sets run at 1500 (although a few at 1800 ) to suit alternators
Northern lights use the same base unit as volvo Perkins as above

If you want 50 Hz you run at 1500 or 3000 rpm, if you want 60Hz you run at 1800 or 3600 rpm. Basically European or US.

 

[interloper]

My 1980 Universal 5424 continues to run sweetly and start first time after prolonged (up to 1 year, often 6 months)periods of non use. It has to put up with sub zero winters and hot (100 F) humid summers. The only attention it gets is an annual service and filter change. I believe Universal is the USA name for Kubota.

The following is my perhaps garbled understanding.

- Universal Motors of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, used to build the Atomic 4 gasoline engine, which was a popular choice for small sailboats.

- Universal Motors subsequently started building Universal diesels. The Universal B-Series diesel was advertised as an easy replacement for the Atomic 4.

- Universal Motors was acquired by Westerbeke Corporation of Taunton, Massachusetts, in the early 1990s. Westerbeke continues to build Universal diesels, but not the Atomic 4.

- Beta Marine offers a diesel based on a Kubota engine that is advertised as an easy replacement for an Atomic 4 and presumably could also substitute for a Universal B-Series diesel.

 

[capetown]

Hi sailorman,
I don't want to start a pi$$ing match between Nanni and Beta owners.
But can you tell us why you think Nanni is better?

Not as good as Nanni made them

 

[hannahman]

Lister Blackstone ERD took some beating these were on the old Lymington/Yarmouth Ferries, far better than Polar and Gardners are excellent.

Back to smaller engines - Ronhilda still has the original 1987 Ford 1.6 416 XLD fitted. Ultra reliable and economical. I am now onto my third timing belt. Yachts around me using Volvos Betas etc seem to have to replace their engines every 10 years or so.

Brian

Lovely, those Blackstones in the 'C' Class vessels. I took lots of videos of them being started up/ shut down etc, when in lay-up at Marchwood.

As for the Ford 1.6 416 XLD, I have two of them: one in an '84 Fiesta, and the other in an '86 Escort. Love 'em to bits, and as rare as rocking horse wotsit, to see 1.6D Fords on the road today!

Back to marine diesels, the Petter in my Hillyard might not have been designed from the outset as a marine engine, but at 46 years old it has stood the test of time. This is the big slow revving, heavy flywheel variety of Petter. It was rebuilt at 40 years of age. Corrosion to its innards was minimal, but I have, since it's rebuild always flushed it through with fresh water after each run, and I'm sure it will go on for many more years yet!

Doug

 

[sailorman]

Hi sailorman,
I don't want to start a pi$$ing match between Nanni and Beta owners.
But can you tell us why you think Nanni is better?

No anodes in mine,due to similar metals being used. each H/E is made for one engine only & not 3 or 4 sizes, so no over heating or blocked tubes due to the anode wasting.
The marination is generally better & Nanni are recognised by Kubota ( i dont think Beta are ).
One down side of my Nanni is the alternator belt dust issue & the belt tensioning device is not workman like, it needs a mechanical screw tensioner. The newer engines have the poly vee option

 

[345000]

Doxford P Engine cos my old man was involved in testing the prototype ;-)

A colleague of mine would say Doxford, and when I asked about B&W he said "Nah. Too many scavenge fires !".

In the sailing boat category, for me it's a Bukh DV24ME, but the Watermota Sea Panther wasn't a bad engine considering that not only was it a marinised car engine, but also a petrol diesel conversion.

I must also add that the Beta 13 in my Nic 30 started on the third compression after not having been run for a whole year, and that's a 10 year old engine.

 

[G12]

Marine engines in yachts are obviously the ones with the flywheels on the front, Buhk Volvo md7's etc. However the best marinised engines and the best thing that ever came out of Britain is the Gardner LW series diesels. Started life in about 1928 as an army truck engine, powered your double decker buses. My old fishing boats engine is over 60 years old and still all original and still runs perfectly. New owners for her now though I have retired.

I used to work on a boat with two Gardner 6LXB's..... Awesome engines and rated for 45000hrs between major rebuilds. They were the best bit about that entire boat as far as I was concerned.

 

[G12]

No anodes in mine,due to similar metals being used. each H/E is made for one engine only & not 3 or 4 sizes, so no over heating or blocked tubes due to the anode wasting.
The marination is generally better & Nanni are recognised by Kubota ( i dont think Beta are ).
One down side of my Nanni is the alternator belt dust issue & the belt tensioning device is not workman like, it needs a mechanical screw tensioner. The newer engines have the poly vee option

Nanni also use two pack paint so it doesn't all flake off like Beta's do (It's an optional extra for Beta I think). Having owned a Beta which wasn't all that old I would also agree that the Nanni is a better marinisation. They put much more love into their heat exchangers which on my Beta I always found very inadequate.
The Kubota base engines are great though.

 

[jwilson]

Over the years sailors have tried to marinise almost every type of engine. Some are total dogs ears, some are ok but is there any that really stand out. what in your opinion is the best marine engine made for a sailboat and why?

Any freshwater cooled diesel that gets run regularly under plenty of load and it's oil changed regularly. That said I have never met an owner of a Mercedes OM diesel that does not love it, though it is a marinised German taxi engine.

 

[G12]

Any freshwater cooled diesel that gets run regularly under plenty of load and it's oil changed regularly. That said I have never met an owner of a Mercedes OM diesel that does not love it, though it is a marinised German taxi engine.

Having experience of looking after a Mercedes OM636 I can say that they are also excellent engines. I know of one that is now 35 years old and has had nothing other than normal servicing. Not even the injectors have been out. Runs as smooth as the day it was made.

 

[hannahman]

Any freshwater cooled diesel that gets run regularly under plenty of load and it's oil changed regularly. That said I have never met an owner of a Mercedes OM diesel that does not love it, though it is a marinised German taxi engine.

I love the OM636. My parents had one new in their boat, back in 1979. I remember the 'pepper-pot' glow plug, where you held the key for a good 30 seconds or longer, and then when you saw the red glow she was ready to rattle into life!

Doug

 

[david_bagshaw]

All mercedes diesel engines have the OM moniker Oilie Motor.

The om314 was a particularly fuel efficient engine in its day as well.

 

[ianc1200]

"The Kubota base engines are great though"; not in my case! The Chysler Crown which served in my boat 1951-1991 was replaced by a 1.5 BMC, cost £300 supplied and fitted. After 12 years this was replaced by a 5cyl Nanni 62hp costing about 10k supplied and fitted - the front piston came adrift after 5.5 years making it an uneconomic repair. It was the Kubota rather than the Nanni marinisation which failed, but the suppliers were totally disinterested.

 

[NormanS]

"The Kubota base engines are great though"; not in my case! The Chysler Crown which served in my boat 1951-1991 was replaced by a 1.5 BMC, cost £300 supplied and fitted. After 12 years this was replaced by a 5cyl Nanni 62hp costing about 10k supplied and fitted - the front piston came adrift after 5.5 years making it an uneconomic repair. It was the Kubota rather than the Nanni marinisation which failed, but the suppliers were totally disinterested.

I suspect that you are guilty of a classic misuse of "disinterested ".

 

[sailorman]

"The Kubota base engines are great though"; not in my case! The Chysler Crown which served in my boat 1951-1991 was replaced by a 1.5 BMC, cost £300 supplied and fitted. After 12 years this was replaced by a 5cyl Nanni 62hp costing about 10k supplied and fitted - the front piston came adrift after 5.5 years making it an uneconomic repair. It was the Kubota rather than the Nanni marinisation which failed, but the suppliers were totally disinterested.

R U sure that was a Kubota based Nanni engine

Ah yes
http://www.peachment.co.uk/nanni-diesel-5-280he-marine-engines/

 

[ianc1200]

That was the one; unfortunately the only thing I could do was buy another and it's been in 6.5 years, hopefully won't have the same problem again. When it came to re-engining my Cornish Crabber I went for a non Kubota based engine due to the experience (both of Kubotas and dealing with Peachments - I'm told Beta have far better after service).