Cat diesel??

[sunvale]

Going to have a real long look at the engines serial number and get all the info on that I can get. I have a hard time believing the 36ft boat would be a load on the 325hp engine. But I'll find all that out on Saturday. Were would I find the engine serial # anyhow. I'm getting a bit old to crawling around a bilge looking for stuff.
Peter

[Marsh Rat]

I used to deliver a 46' Whiticar Sportfish from FL to VA each spring and back in the fall. It had the 3208TA/375 hp I never had a problem with the engines. On the last run before the owner re-powered with John Deere's the engines had a little over 10,000 hrs. At cruise speed around 2300 RPM's they burned around 28 gals an hour combined.
On my owned boat 43' Pearson. I bought it with 340 Chrysler's (gas). They were rated at 240 hp. When I re-powered I put Volvo TAMD41's in rated at 200 hp. I find that I cruise around most of the time at 1800 - 2000 RPM's and that gets me 8.5 to 9.5 kts depending on tide, wind etc. The turbos don't really spool up until 2500 or so. I can get a 15 kt cruise if I push them up to 3500 they are rated for 3800.
I hind sight I wish I had put in the lower rated natural engines and turned them a little more.
With the current set up when we cruise around at displacement speeds for a couple of days I will usually bump her up on plane for 30 minutes to an hour coming home. It will smoke for a few minutes as I power up.
As has been said here already, with the couple of hundred hours a year I get to put on my boat it probably won't hurt a thing as long as I own the boat. But I feel like I over powered and would have been more efficient with smaller engines.

Of course I have a friend that's a Volvo dealer and I got a deal on the engines.

[Per]

i have those 3208 on my boat, as many have informed that model comes in a variety of configurations.
mine are 260hp turbo. i find them very reliable.. and by no means overpowered.
a friend has the 325 hp in the same boat as mine (38 ft californian), and his boat really gets up and goes.
sure it burns fuel, but it all depends how much throttle you apply.

*

btw, boatdiesel website is a great resource for research etc.


-- Edited by Per on Friday 30th of September 2011 11:09:28 AM

[Anthonyd]

Cat's drink fuel. When I worked for Cat, that was the biggest complaint. However, they are pretty stout and with proper maintenence they should last to your expectations. That means running the head, changing the oil and all the other Cat recommended schedule items at the proper intervals. They are high maintenance in my experience, but if cared for they will perform and last a long time.

[sunvale]

That maintenance as specified by Cat could be a bit tricky. As far as I know there are no manuals for the engine on the boat. What do you mean when you say, "That means running the head,". Not familiar with that term.

[C lectric]

Manuals should be available from Cat even if they are missing from the boat should you pursue that boat.

*Just have the model number and year and they should be able to match you up.