Sea Trialed a 28 with Volvo D6's

[JimBo]

Visited the factory today a tested a 28 with D6's. Felt as if the boat had plenty of reserve power, very smooth, no smoke and no smell. While the D6 engine is a pretty good hand full, I thought that there was adequate room to perform routine maintenance. If I could just get comfortable with the EVC, I would not hesitate to put these engines in my boat.
Also had the pleasure of spending a little over 3 hours with one of the nicest gentleman(Mac Privot) in the boating industry.
Jim

[Split Decision]

Hey Jimbo, did you see my 32 inside? You were looking right at it when you walked into the factory.

You are right. Mac is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

[sunshineva]

JImBo, does this mean you getting the yanmar's?

decision time :P

Gl
sunshine

[backman]

out of curiousity - what props was the D6 swinging and what speed were you seeing at 3000, 3200 and WOT?

Ditto on Mac. Likewise on his compatriot Carlton Layton in the next shed over. Its a pleasure dealing w/ these folks after one too many snake oil salesman and con artists up north.

[JimBo]

Hey Jimbo, did you see my 32 inside? You were looking right at it when you walked into the factory.

You are right. Mac is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

I did see your gorgious 32 that they were moving outside so we could get the 28 out of the building. I know that with your boat being this close to completion you must be on the edge of your seat and understandably so, heck I probably couldn't sleep...Jim

[JimBo]

out of curiousity - what props was the D6 swinging and what speed were you seeing at 3000, 3200 and WOT?

Ditto on Mac. Likewise on his compatriot Carlton Layton in the next shed over. Its a pleasure dealing w/ these folks after one too many snake oil salesman and con artists up north.

Larry,
Not sure what props (4 blade) and we had no GPS so I don't know the speed. All I know is that it seems to get up on plane in no time. Got to make the engine decision this morning....Jim

[JimBo]

JImBo, does this mean you getting the yanmar's?

decision time :P

Gl
sunshine

Think that I am going to toss a coin. The people that have had good service love their Yanmar's, and the people that have the D6's always say "love them so far, but I only have a few hours on them". It really is not the engines that I am wrestling with, it is the EVC. Got to do something this morning.....How is your boat search going?....Jim

[sunshineva]

Thanks JimBo

My reply did not register!

You started a month before me!!!!!!!!
I am a few weeks behind you in the boat trigger pull!

I guess everyone goes through this :twisted:


Let us know when you decide engines!

sunny

[Split Decision]

We all want to know. Was it heads or tails?

[JimBo]

We all want to know. Was it heads or tails?

Finally made the decision, D6 Volvo's. I spent many hours wading through many different WEB sites and talking with anyone that would stand still for 5 minutes, just waiting to hear something negative about one engine manufacture(Volvo) compaired to the other(Yanmar). It never really happened so I based my decision on technical data and personal feelings that were gathered from different conversations.
These are my feelings and only mine, in no way am I suggesting that the engines that I did not choose are inferrior to the one that I chose.
Volvo is getting 310HP out of 336 cu in and Yanmar is using 254 cu in to develope 315HP, felt that Volvo had a little reserve here. Volvo's Common Rail engines is new technology to the marine industry, they are smooth, quite and seem to have plenty of power. While the dealer or any one at Carolina Classic would not hard sell one engine over the other, I just had a good feeling about future support with the Volvo's.
As with anything new I have a few concerns that can only be confirmed or denied with time and maybe a little good luck.
For all those here that have put up with all my questions, I want to truly say thank you and I hope to meet some of you all in the future....Jim

[sunshineva]

Great,

I am getting ready to make same decision! :D MAYBE!

GL
sunny

[backman]

but for the retrofit and my range needs the D4-260's made a lot more sense.

[Wolakrab]

Jimbo,
I think you made a good decision, based on my experience with the KAMD300's in my boat. At 310 HP each, your boat should be a screamer...mine runs 30-31 knots @ 3500 RPM cruise and WOT 35(37 if you have the wind & tide behind you)@3850 RPM; the KAMD300's are rated at 285HP each. 170 hours so far with nary a hiccup.....

[Split Decision]

Jimbo

I think you made the right choice also. Even though nobody has anything bad to say about the yanmar, I am not a big fan of them. I bet if you look at the HP and torque curves on both engines you will most likely see the volvos will hang in there at a higher rpm.

If you look at a 370 Cummins mechanical vs 380 Cummins commonrail you will see a huge difference even though the HP rating is just about the same.

Torque is good.

That boat will scream. Do the D6s have a supercharger and a turbo like the 300s?

[Decker]

Jimbo,
I think you made a good decision, based on my experience with the KAMD300's in my boat. At 310 HP each, your boat should be a screamer...mine runs 30-31 knots @ 3500 RPM cruise and WOT 35(37 if you have the wind & tide behind you)@3850 RPM; the KAMD300's are rated at 285HP each. 170 hours so far with nary a hiccup..... I am buying a 28 ft and trying to decide on the Kam 310 or the D4260s because the 300s are no longer an option. What's your feeling??

[Wolakrab]

Decker,
I can't really say about anything about the 310's. I wonder why the 300's aren't offered any longer....I haven't heard any bad press on them, and I have had great service on mine so far. Ask Mac and see what his response is....I'd trust his opinion.

[backman]

which means that its probably the end of the run for Volvo; given the lead time between buying an engine and selling the boat to a customer.

I'm curious what the speed difference between a D4-260 and a D6-310 can really be. Given the hull and pocket size they are both going to swing the same 18" props; I read in the Propeller handbook that 1.5:1 is about as far as you can take a prop in terms of pitch:diameter ratio.

It seems to me from a common sense standpoint that in order to gain those additional horsepower in terms of speed you have to do one of:

* more RPM's
* more diameter
* more pitch

Given the D6's will work less than a D4 at the same RPM that's a long term win in terms of engine life but unle4ss Mac has changed the geometry of the running gear to get another inch of diameter and pitch I don't see a huge advantage of the D6's vs the D4's.