diesel sterndrive?

[phatmanmike]

why are there no diesel sterndrive, or inboard / outbopards, whatever you call them. seems like it would be a pretty damn cool iodea to me, but what do i know.

 

[bomar76]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

There are and have been.<br /><br />Merc has offered them for years, check their website.<br /><br />The main problem with using diesels in small pleasure boats is the expense of the engine - prices them out of the market.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

Volvo has been making them for many years.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

Been around for years. Gil even made a drive specifically for them but it didnt fare too well. Not a bad drive, just a marketing thing I guess. The Bravo Shop makes one too.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

as i said...

but what do i know

 

[18rabbit]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

There's even a few diesel outboards.

 

[Solittle]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

Unfortunately the diesel outboards never took hold in this country. I don't believe they are sold here now.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

Oh yeah! The military has an agenda of ‘only diesel’. They are dumping generators, compressors, pumps, outboards, everything gas and replacing with diesel. I was at Stennis last year and saw some Navy boats with brand new Yanmar diesel outboards…and they weren’t those little 27hp or 36hp motors. I can see environmental concerns also pushing the market for diesel outboards.

 

[1730V]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

Bombardier-Johnson and Evinrude- have developed outboards based on their E-Tec which burn JP8. Which is basically glorified diesel.

 

[Navigator]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

Phatmanmike,<br /><br />One reason you dont see a lot in pleasure boats is that diesels are made to run for long periods of time. The typical boater may make a few high speed runs, but then they shut the engine down to fish or swim or whatever. Starting and stopping are the biggest strains on a diesel and they are better off left idling.<br /><br />On offshore boats or commercial fishing boats they make perfect sense since they usually run them for hours on end. Now add in the cost of running your engines for thousands of hours each year and diesel becomes the only viable alternative.<br /><br />Like bomar said, merc has been selling diesels to the recreational boater for years. The price is usually about 25+% higher than their gas counterparts. The weight is also about 30% more than a gas engine. <br /><br />If you put a lot of hours on your boat such as trolling etc, then diesel may be a viable option, especially if you can trailer your boat to a local gas station and not the wet pump at the marina. You can get a nice cruising speed, although not rocket fast, usually in the low 30's depending on your boat. Plus you get that really cool rumble sound from the hull.<br /><br />Nav

 

[18rabbit]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

In my area diesel fuel used to be the cheapest but now it’s priced right there with 87 octane, maybe a dime more. And it’s a lot safer than gasoline, and burns cleaner, too. As far as running hours at a time, try DAYS or WEEKS (on large boats) without being shut down. When I had the boat hauled form Mississippi to California, the driver of the transport truck said he wouldn’t shut down his diesel engine until the delivery was made 5-days later. Diesels require very little fuel to idle. Diesel engine weight is at about 25% more than their gasoline counterparts for similar performance.<br /><br />If you want to compare diesel to gas stern drives, you can bounce around on the Volvo Penta website. They make both types of stern drive engines.<br /><br /> http://www.volvo.com/volvopenta/global/en-gb

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

Here and in Europe, dealers are selling Bayliners and Maxums with diesel-engined sterndrives. They seem to be original fitment, so presumably they're all American diesels. <br /><br />This used boat quotes a Mercruiser engine - <br /> http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/F49146/ <br /><br />Plenty of snazzy Italian sportboats with diesels, and most of the gin palaces have them.<br /><br />Diesel's so popular here, I scrape every morning with a diesel-powered shaver - saves on aftershave too!<br /><br />Ciao

 

[mole2]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

You can also buy a Trophy with a 1.7 diesel.<br /><br /> http://popularmechanics.com/outdoors/boating/2003/7/balance_of_power/print.phtml

 

[PAkev]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

I'm not really a diesel OB guru but I purchased a Chev Duramax Diesel 2 yrs ago and am very happy I went with diesel power with today's gas prices. <br /><br />Indeed the demand for diesel power is on the increase and therefore is also represented by the rising cost of diesel fuel compared to gas. To put it into a little better perspective.....At 20 to 30 percent better economy, it's like paying only $1.40 per gallon for gas.<br /><br />I think you will definately see much more diesel power marine alternatives in just a few more years.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

Originally posted by PAkev:<br /> I think you will definately see much more diesel power marine alternatives in just a few more years.

I agree. I also think we are going to see a shift toward more diesel autos, too.<br /><br />Don’t know about the increasing cost of diesel fuel. I just guessed it was somehow related to the cost of crude and the demand for heating oil … except we don’t use heating oil in California.

 

[Ouan]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

We are running a 27 foot cruiser with a Volvo diesel I/O. We get about a gal/hr much to the chagrin of fellows running gas. As mentiond before the new rigs are quite pricey however

 

[Stratocaster]

Re: diesel sterndrive?

What's fascinating is seeing how Europeans approach this. With gasoline being obscenely priced compared with diesel, a lot of inventive solutions are coming out. One guy on the Bayliner Owners Club site has just repowered his 20 Capri with a Fiat diesel. Another guy did his 27 Sunbridge with a Merc diesel. Both adapted to the Merc drive. Both boats are finished and in the water.<br /><br />The stories are available here with links to pics. <br /> http://p076.ezboard.com/fbocwebfrm26.showMessage?topicID=311.topic <br /><br /> http://p076.ezboard.com/fbocwebfrm26.showMessage?topicID=334.topic