Lehman vs Volvo

And what about John Deeres?

Simple, quiet, efficient and reliable.

The real question is: How many of you would repower with the same brand of engine?

Chip...what hp is your Kubota & what company matched it to a gearbox?

In searching I have also found a few boats with Detroit and GM diesels. Any word on these?

I have seen many boats with Volvos and I have to tell you that I am shying away from them based on this thread. I would like to have cummins or cats.

HeyJude - sent you a pm rather than hijack the thread further.

ancora said:

The real question is: How many of you would repower with the same brand of engine?

Click to expand...

We wouldn't/won't. We are thinking of repowering our GB, plus doing a bunch of other things. Even if the FL120 was still available new we wouldn't use it. We would/will repower with a pair of Luggers.

Still need that much power Marin?
I would repower w the same brand but would probably go shopping to see what's new. I had a loaner car from VW when mine was in for a T belt and drove a 2012 Jetta turbo diesel automatic.
The engine was smooth, quiet and powerful like I wouldn't have believed before. Amazing power. At slow speeds it's almost scary and it dosn't run out of poop at high speeds either. Smooth - quiet - powerful. Amazing.
The transmission was amazing too. Move the lever slightly to the right when you're in Drive ant bump it up to shift up and bump it down/back and it downshifts.......now. It's better than a stick in some ways ... Probably most ways.
My point in sharing this is that mechanical things are definitely getting better and to use/buy the same old stuff must be based on what it really does. Re some items (like varnish) I've played around w several other options and still think I prefer oleo-resinous oil based stuff. But w engines it may be another matter. Each year that passes by leaves me more and more impressed w turbos. People whine about electronic engines as if they are going to quit at a bad moment. But they get into a jet airplane and go 500 mph. And the mechanical things on both electronic and mechanical engines are probably 100s of times more likely to go belly up that the electronics on a modern engine.
So ..... Bottom line is I'd buy another Klassen/Mitsubishi but I'd look around to see if ther'e was a Jetta class engine available. It would probably be half as big, weigh half as much, burn half as much fuel and operate much smoother and quieter. I'd switch in a heartbeat then.

I'm hoping by the time I need to repower (or my kids do)....electro-propulsion is good/efficient enough to have one diesel engine (instead of main and genset). Those with twins could do the same...just 2 propulsion motors and a slightly bigger diesel.

manyboats said:

Still need that much power Marin?

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We have a hull that will go some 10 or 12 knots or even faster very happily given enough power. If I had my druthers I'd put a pair of 200-275 hp engines in the boat to take advantage of the ability of the boat to semi-plane.

But if we repower I suspect we'd go with a pair of 150-200 hp engines. That would still give us a worthwhile speed increase over our current glacial 8 knots.

You know my motto Eric. Slow Sucks. An ideal boat speed in my book is 25-30 mph. That's how fast we run in the Arima and it's WONDERFUL. Slow has its advantages, no question, but in my book they don't outweigh the advantages of speed.

If the only thing we did other than living was boat, we'd have a 25-30 mph cruiser. Unfortunately we have a lot of other demands on our resources so we settle for an old, slow boat, "settle" being the operative word here.

As I've said before, being out on the water in a less-than-ideal boat is better than not being out on the water at all.

ancora said:

The real question is: How many of you would repower with the same brand of engine?

Click to expand...

I would,if I was happy with the current set up.If I knew I could get more/better economy,I'd ditch and go with another power package if it was a reasonably priced.

If I could just drop in a new FL120, I'd do that. If I could drop in a NA anything else with no, or extremely minor, mods I'd go with something more modern. JD or Lugger, maybe.

ancora said:

The real question is: How many of you would repower with the same brand of engine?

Click to expand...

I would rebuild or replace with a rebuilt identical engine if possible. It's a much simpler job leaving controls, instruments, transmission, etc. in place.

It's possible a more modern engine would be more efficient but it would take thousands of hours to make up the extra cost.

The engine in my boat is pretty well matched to the boat.

ancora said:

The real question is: How many of you would repower with the same brand of engine?

Click to expand...

I did.

The cummins B series engine is an extremely popular power plant. Parts are available nationwide, service is pretty easy, and if the problem is over my head there are factory technicians almost everywhere in North America.

Why only Volvo vs Lehman?

Yanmar is probably the best boating engine. But maybe not for slow trawlers.

Lehman lasts forever, and should only be replaced by other similar engines. RPM up to 2500 and slow cruising will keep any engine alive for decades!
Faster engines wear considerably more than these, and should not be directly compared...

My trawler has the original Lehman engine from 1980, and it runs like clockwork!

The sparepart market is obviously different in Europe than in the US. Volvo parts is found in any city and even in small marinas, whilst parts for Ford must be ordered.

Still I will never toss out the Lehman! First of all because it runs so well, but also because of all the other gear that will need to be replaced with a faster running engine. And ofcourse, the trawler is buildt for low cruising speed.

I would rebuild or replace with a rebuilt identical engine if possible.

Great idea , but not all engines have a Factory rebuilt engine avilable.

The boat yard will NOT have the ability to rebuild an engine , that takes a full machine shop , perhaps with special tools for your engine.

A rebuild is stripped to the block, the block boiled to get it clean.

Then it is checked to see if there is no problem and it will be re machined.

The crank will be aligned bored as will the cam .

The cylinders will be bored and trued to 90deg to the crank.

The crank and cam will be straightened , the bearing area ground , and then bearings of the now proper size will be ordered.

I could go on , but you can see that only a specialist shop can do this easily.

Tossing in new bearings and a set of rings (most boat yard inframe "overhauls" ) will perhaps keep an old engine working a few more years , but if your going to remove the engine, it should be properly rebuilt.

Ask if you will get a "Build Sheet" or blueprint(all the bearing ID & OD and the specs for the rebuild ), if they look at you strangely , go elsewhere.

I would add the step and send the reciprocating to a "speed shop" for crank balance , rods end for end ,wrist pin& pistons matched , the flywheel balanced .

Tell the shop your normal idle and cruise speeds and they can counterweight the crank for SMOOOOTH!

Then you have a Keeper that will excel and raise the number of hours to the next rebuild.

OK
Sorry, I did not know this was a thread abt rebuild.
I thought it was covering comparison of engines

As said in Scandinavia:
"The great thing about Volvo engines is that there is spare parts everywhere, and the poor thing about Volvo is the likelihood of needing spares"

Maybe in Scandinavia Volvo parts are "everywhere", but not here in the US of A. Volvo readily admits they will not support their older products.

And the only "support" for most stuff is that the local Viking will order it shipped to himself , on your dime of course.

Volvo is also really crappy about warentee work , will pay for almost NOTHING!