A couple of follow up comments. Yes, I was talking about the 6-8-12 V92s; these are the engines that have a reputation for short-jevity.
Our boat is a 41YF with 454/350s. It will go like stink - 26KTS WOT (don't ask!) - so I have often imagined cruising at a ripping 20-22KTS with a pair of fuel miserly diesels below but, it ain't gonna happen in this financial lifetime. I didn't mean to say Cummins 555 have a bad reputation. The problem lies with Cummins not supporting them (probably because it was a limited production) and parts being hard to get, non-existant or very expensive. It amuses me as well to hear about the safety issues related to gas engines (knock wood). The biggest causes of boat fires, as far as I read, are electrical shorts at the shorepower connection and propane stoves. I think a diesel powered boat with a propane stove is more "hazardous" than a gas powered boat. Now, where did I lose that anchor and chain??? On May 22, 4:21 am, waterguy <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > The point of my comments is to suggest we might present a more > > > > positive attitude with respect to gas engines. There are lots of > > > > negative feelings out there towards gas engines that are, I think, > > > > unjustified. The long term reliability, initial cost, quiteness of > > > > operation, ease of repair, lower rebuild costs, etc. easily outweigh > > > > the added fuel costs for gas engines. In fact, the fuel cost > > > > differences are not as great as they used to be. > > Well put. For the Uniflite line, the tipping point is probably the 36 > foot hull (I have a 36 Sport Sedan with Chrysler 440's). Above that, > diesel is the only way to go. Yes, gas engines won't last as long as > diesels. Yes, there are some fire safety issues -- although I'm > constantly amused by the diesel advocates who rant on about fire > safety, yet have propane galleys and heaters; and sometimes, propane > refrigerators :^) > > Very modern gas engines from Crusader and Indmar, with electronic > engine management and port fuel injection can actually approach diesel > economy (bearing in mind the multi-ton weight advantage a pair of gas > engines has over diesels). And when I can rebuild one of my Chryslers > for a few hundred bucks more than the cost of a fuel injection pump > for one of the more exotic diesels, the scales tip decidedly in favor > of gas for me. And since diesel is no longer cheaper than gas, that > advantage disappears, too. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "UnifliteWorld" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/UnifliteWorld?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
