Repower on 58' Yachtfish

[krush]

Well, I am only me, but I would consider a boat with smaller and slower engines for purchase. But thats because I would plan on doing a lot of cruising and the smaller and better fuel consumption would be significant.

Besides, I rekn' most users of these boats do cruise around 10knts when they actually get away from the dock.

[SKYCHENEY]

It wouldn't cost much more to be able to take full advantage of the hull design. What I mean is put larger engines in and run them slower as per your requirements. Then if you or future owners want to go faster, the capability is there. In the long run the engine costs and fuel costs will be negligible.

[Glory]

I think resale would be limited to someone that didn't mind the smaller engines and didn't worry about resale. With that said you have a smaller pool of possible buyers, in a pastime (the greatest pastime) that is on the decline ans are the buyers.

I am a 10 knot, and sometimes slower, cruiser and the economy of smaller engines make alot of scence, but i would guess if you figured it out I bet the rebuild would be the the best bet for the money.

JM

[saltshaker]

6 or 7 years ago, Ocean Marine in Portsmouth, VA put Cummins QSMs with higher HP in a 58 Yachfish. The #'s in knots & GPH were very impressive. I have heard Cummins remans were priced aggressively. If I was in the market for one of these boats I would NOT buy a lower HP repower.

I have 8v71TI's and I wish I had a little more top end but cruising @ 15-16 knots is fine WHEN I can afford it. I would limp along with old ones until could afford to do the correct repower or rebuild the current engines.

When I had money, we cruised from the Chesapeake Bay to Ft Lauderdale and to the Bahamas. There were many a day I was glad I COULD jump on top and make some time for various reasons including safety from storms.

That would be an ideal package. The fuel economy would be great at slow speeds and she would be able to cruise much faster than with the 8V71's. Only problem is this would be an expensive repower. You'd need larger shafts and struts unless you could get lower HP engines and a shallower reduction gear. I think the QSM11's came in a 535HP version. A pair of factory remans of those would be ideal.

[dsharp]

I think the resale couldn't get much worse than its been the last several years. You may want to run the numbers on a 2.5 to 1 gear. A 3to 1 should swing close to a 30 ton32 inch wheel. Is the clearance available with the current strut? I think it would make a good fit. The noise reduction and lack of oil slung everywhere would worth it to me. The boat would still make 13 to 14 wide open.

[jim rosenthal]

Someone did this with a 58YF- it was written up in Passagemaker, which is a magazine for powerboat owners who like to go slowly. The boat was a trawler when they were done, but that's what they wanted.

The John Deere 450hp engine is very good, but I don't think you need to spend the extra money to get it. You can get the same power with C-Series Cummins and leave a lot of money in your pocket. These are available in the Cummins reman line. You are right that the switch will give you a lot more room in the engine room. The difference is dramatic. The boat will perform a bit better because it is lighter, but it will also be quieter and use a lot less fuel.

You will, of course, never get your investment back, but you knew that the day you bought a boat. If you can afford it, it is well worth doing.

Note that part of the calculation may involve stability measurements, because you are removing weight down near the roll center of the boat, and she may be more tender with the loss of weight down by the waterline. You may have to ballast the boat. QSM engines would be heavier than C Series. Or Cat C12s......it isn't easy to sell engines these days, so someone is going to be glad to see you.

[saltshaker]

.....it isn't easy to sell engines these days, so someone is going to be glad to see you.

You would think they'd be more than willing to make a deal but that doesn't seem to be the case. If you're having a yard do the repower then you might save a little. Many will sell you the engine package at or close to their cost if you are hiring them to do the refit. Unfortunately the yards don't get that much of a break on the engines unless they are an authorized dealer.

[jim rosenthal]

I agree, but I'll bet Roger can get him a deal.

[Genesis]

Note that Cummins just pre-announced expectations of a terrible miss. Leverage is a good thing to have in negotiation, and knowing that your supplier sees soft demand for their products is never bad when you're across the table from them.

[tomrealest]

Since I'm broke now I haven't kept up on engines. Have you heard of anyone repowering with the Cummins C series? I haven't heard anything bad about the QSM's. What is the knock on them? I have always thought that Cats were just too expensive to consider unleass you a had a big sportfish & a lot of money. I would be curious to hear from some of you on 8V71's repower options.