Will Nautiques add new DIESEL engine ?

[SGY]

I guess my point is a diesel is much happier being worked as opposed to a grocery getter. Fatboy, your buddy on a farm probably worked his fairly hard--if I'm not mistaken. (I don't know anyone on a Farm that doesn't work their trucks hard.) I still think that the on and off of a ski boat is not good for the diesel. You can't tell me that in any road application someone would turn his or her truck off and on as much as we do a ski boat. If I could, I always kept my truck running. Even though idling is not great for it, it's better than turning it off and on. Not to mention the wear on the glowplugs (which are pricey if needing replacment.) I'll concede that those oil change intervals have me interested again in having a desiel. I'm driving a long way to the lake these days and paying at the pump for my pig like 6.0 gasser.

My understanding is that Navistar a/k/a International took the Ford block and converted it to the 7.3 powerstroke--thus the reason for the thin cylinder walls. I did alot of reading on Powerstoke.com and everything I read indicated that the 7.3 was a gas convert. Nonetheless, their origins don't matter. All of them are oil burners and do a great job--even the 6.5 for the most part. (I loved my 99 Ford Stroker.)

Fatboy, how do you like the new 6.0. I heard Ford had a helluva time getting that thing sorted out.

[josh]

They all have their down falls. I have always been a Chevy guy. I was going to buy the power stroke but lucked up and found what I want for not to much more cash. The did get the bugs out of that 6.0 and it is one heck of a motor. I will have to give props to my max though. It will "getter done" too. It's hard to believe that you went back to gas after your diesel. I could never go back. The way you drive I could under stand though. It shore makes that trip to the lake more pleasant!

[jwt226]

NON-HIGHWAY diesel for it that is .30 cents a gallon cheaper than the HIGHWAY diesel.

Can you give more info about "NON-HIGHWAY diesel" and where/which gas staion have ? Iam from Denver,Colorado. of course, Iam not farmer. :wink:

[jefe]

So, I guess we have to look at our usage with shutting the diesel off and turning it on with every skier going into the boat. Can we agree that a Diesel would be a better option if we didn't turn the engine over frequently?

Personally, I rarily shut down the engine when I am driving unless we decide to anchor to hang out and swim. Granted, I am never around kids and I don't allow anyone to drink and drive, so I have never needed to shut off the engine during rider changing. So, the way I drive, I believe that Diesels would be more than beneficial to me.

If CC could develop a "Child-proof"method of putting the boat in gear, say a second switch, or a 3 step ignition system for Diesels. Say, putting in the digital key to start the boat, then a key to run the boat so you can take it in and out of gear, press a button that allows the Diesel to idle in Neutral yet does not allow the boat to be put in gear until the key is re-inputted.

Would this be to much trouble, personally I don't think so, what do you think?

[jefe]

AG Diesel is Diesel found usually in Rural Agricultural communities that remove any tax. They usually put a red dye in the diesel to distinguish itself from regular diesel, other than that it is formulated exactly the same. If a trucker is found running AG Diesel, he gets into ALOT of trouble. Tax Evasion stuff.

[josh]

I for got to tell you. These new motors don't use glow plugs after they are warm! On the duramax any way

[SGY]

Josh, didn't know that about the non use of glow plugs. I guess if I thought about it, it makes sense since the "wait to start" light blinks off pretty quickly when the truck is warm. Pretty amazing how complex those diesels are. And, I've seen the insides of them and agree they are fairly beefy compared to a gasser. Regarding your other statement, there were lots of variables involved in going back to a gas truck. In retrospect I wish I would have hung on to my stroker. But at the time, I needed to move out of it. Now, I'm looking at these new rigs and have to keep telling myself that I don't really need one.

Jefe, I turn my boat off anytime someone is getting on or off the platform. Mostly it's kids that are doing this so, you understand. I'm also fairly paranoid about carbon monoxide issues relating to hanging out back there with the motor on. Someone also told me once that on some inboards, the prop can continue to spin slowly even when in neutral. Never bothered to check this out on my own. Also, when the boat is off, nothing bad can happen. Starting the boat is kind of a single that everyone is situated out of harms way. It's a habit--but I like your idea of a neutral lock our or third switch. Would make sense if they ever went to diesels.

[FatBoy]

I love my 6.0, it runs great and it will get er done, My rig weighs about 6500 lbs and when I pull it down highway 40 at 80 mph the 6.0 is turning 2250 rpm's and you have to look in the rear view to be reminded you are pulling something. 325 horse power is awsome. And just as someone else stated non-highway fuel is fuel without the highway tax. If you ain't on the highway you don't have to pay the tax.

[ag4ever]

You can apply for the tax credit on the gas you run in your boat. There is a link around here that directs you to the proper site for the forms for each state, so there is still "off road" gas too.

That being said, a lot of the opinions that have been stated here are just that opinions.

I have a 7.3 powerstroke, and there are some ups and downs associated with it. There are the concerns of wet stacking if too cool, the concerns of coked bearings in the turbo if shut off while too hot. the problems associated with the oil as a hydraulic fluid to inject the fuel into the cylinder, etc.

On the plus side the things are just about indestructable if designed right, and one warm can be turned on and off all day. UPS uses diesels in a lot of their delivery vehicles, and the drivers go about 1/8 mile turn the engine off, deliver packages, turn the engine on drive 1/8 mile and do it again. Now if the diesel engine can survive that, I am sure it would be ok in a boat.

The problem with using a diesel in a ski boat is the effective rpm range. A ski boat does not typically have a transmission, so you need an engine with a large enough rpm range that will allow decent cruising speeds, and still have a decent hole shot. This goes to the size of prop, and how high the engine can turn. If you just pull out a gas engine that can turn 5500 rpm, and drop in a diesel that redlines at 3000 rpm, you will loose the top end speed of the boat. To get it back, the prop must be changed to on with almost twice the pitch, and then if the engine does not have the torque to spin that prop you will loose the holeshot.

I would love a diesel in a ski boat, but there would need to be a lot of development to get an engine that could do what we want it to do. The technology is getting much better, but we just are not there yet. Also i would never want the GM 6.5 gas to diesel conversion engine, as it was the worst diesel ever produced.

Also diesels do fare very well in the marine environment, just look at all the fishing boats, cruisers, etc that have them as power.

[alogan]

MarineDiesel Facts

The original GM 6.5L diesel engine was not a banner product by any stretch. However, the engine in the article is NOT the GM 6.5L engine rather the Optimzer 6500 engine produced by the Am General corporation. This rights to the original GM engine were purchased by Am General in 1999 which initiated the development of the Optimizer 6500 engine platform. Although the appearance and packaging appear very similar, this engine utilizes a similar but different (Moly-Alloy) block, crankshaft, pistons, bearings, etc and is produced in a completely new ISO certified facility located in Franklin Ohio.

This engine utilizes a 7 quart oil capacity which is actually 1 quart less than a standard gas big block V8.

The engines have been produced for pleasure boat applications in Europe for several years. The accumulated hours from these applications ranges from 20 - 2000 annually. This common mis-conception about starting and stopping is quite misleading in that most of the diesel's offered today for light duty applications; Duramax, International 6.0L, Optimizer 6500, etc are all subjected to serious starting and stopping cycles in the increasing number of pick up trucks being seen on the road. You may remember several years ago when the same topics were discussed when people claimed that diesels were not a good fit for the everyday driver, rather better suited for heavy over-the-road trucks. If this was the case I doubt we would have seen the exponential increase in diesel engines in todays pick ups. This even includes the Cummins B series in the Dodge trucks which is actually a medium/heavy duty rated engine which one could argue wouldn't do well with this starting and stopping.

The bottom line with the diesel is wheter or not you operate your boat enough to justify the long term savings. If you use the boat 50 hours/year probably not. If you use it enough the fuel savings, extended engine life, reduced risk of explosion, insurance savings, the diesel may be for you.

[Bay]

I think this idea might be here to stay. Check out this link. Not driectly related to ski boats, but interesting facts to digest nevertheless.


http://popularmechanics.com/outdoors...er/print.phtml

[Authentic_04]

first of all the wake would be sick with 6.0 Liter V-8 Power Stroke in a SANTE, plus imagine how pissed the gas stations at the lake would get! That would be funny, I'd expect to see this maybe around 07 or 08.

[joel6358]

Diesel powered boat

Like everyone else I to was a skeptic about this whole diesel powered skier. The guys at MarineDiesel-USA and at Malibu both confirmed that not only had it been done, but it matched the performance of the 325-hp gas engine it replaced. My major concern was the turbo lag issue. Would the engine be able to get me up without dragging me a 1/4 mile first. The Malibu guy told me that the supercharged 300 Hp diesel could pull your arms out of the socket. WOW I had the guys at MarineDiesel email me a brochure and price quote. I'm going to replace my engine after season is over and will most likely choose their's as a replacement. It's a bit more money than a 8.1L MPI, but I use my boat about 400-500 hours a year and the 50% better fuel economy will make up the difference.
I was also told that Correct Craft had one installed in a boat but I cant get anyone to confirm it. Anyone else heard about that?

[AWhite70]

RE: Diesel powered boat

I've seen a picture of a diesel in a Correct Craft, can't remember where though. Maybe on MarineDiesel-USA's webpage.

Diesel in a skiboat would be awesome. More Torque, better fuel economy, cheaper fuel (off-road diesel), etc. There aren't too many negatives except for some additional weight and cost.

I'm an engineer in the diesel engine industry so I'm reading diesel news every day. Cars in Europe are approaching 50% diesel and you can expect to see an increase of diesel cars in North America. Now that the performance gap has been closed with new technologies you'll start to see diesel sales really take off

[OldFart]

RE: Diesel powered boat

They'll probably start in Europe for this size market, requiring the US bt mfrs to follow suit.