Let the Fun Begin- It's Buying Time

[Boatsb]

I'm sure if they were done it was years before I bought it.

My guess is it's a fluid change and heat exchanger cleaning.

[saltshaker]

Jack, if he buys it right based on the man's and his estimated low use is it still such a resale issue?

The 1050HP is the cranked up version of the 820HP 10 cylinder and is one of the worse engines in MANs history. Nothing like the 820HP engine. I’m amazed this boat has that many hours on it and still has the original engines. I’d be willing to bet at least one engine has needed major repairs. Add that negative to a 56 Ocean which doesn’t have a good reputation and IMHO you have a boat with very little market value. If the boat had the series 60 MTUs or 3406E Cats then it would be a decent boat for its intended purpose if the price was right. In no fan of Oceans but some of the newer ones aren’t too bad particular compared to the older Oceans. A 58 Viking will be a good fit but the 1200 MANs are tough on the wallet even if nothing goes wrong. There are a few out there with 3412 Cats. The 60 Hatt with enclosed bridge and internal staircase would be ideal but finding a good one under $550-$600 isn’t easy.

[rsmith]

I'm sure if they were done it was years before I bought it.

My guess is it's a fluid change and heat exchanger cleaning.

BaHaHaHa there is none it cost nothing.

[Boatsb]

Detroits do have some maintenance other than changing the oil by replacing what leaked out.

Don't they?

[Passages]

Detroits do have some maintenance other than changing the oil by replacing what leaked out.

Don't they?

Nope. Just keep feeding them fresh oil.

In all seriousness, the MAN's are to be avoided unless you have money to burn. All comments above are correct. MAN's are exceptionally well engineered but cost a small fortune to maintain. A fellow at my marina had a small fuel connector crack due to vibration stress. The part was about the size of a pea. Because it was a factory set press fit component, there was no way to patch it in the field. Of course the local distributor did not have the part nor did the US distribution warehouse. Yep, the part had to be FEDEXed from Munich. Cost $500 plus installation. Since he was close to his 1000 service, he decided to combine the 2. Cost for the 1000 hour service - $10,000.

I like my Detroits.

edit - This was the 10 cylinder, 1050 hp version. 2005 vintage.

[JLR]

Do you all have the same concerns about the 1200 hp MANs? Nice boat with 500 SMHO on those engines.

[rsmith]

Detroits do have some maintenance other than changing the oil by replacing what leaked out.

Don't they?

Nope! Run till they break. And they never break just smoke and leak a little.

[Cricket]

The MAN's always make a lot horsepower and are great when they're running well.
All of the older MANS are expensive to maintain and have potential issues, some just more than others. The v10 @820hp was a really good engine. As an example the V12's at 900hp were really good, at 1,000hp decent engines, at 1100hp they were terrible, the 1200hp version is better than the 1,00hp.
The newer MANS with the Alfa-Lavel plate heat exchangers seem to be really good. In total I think they are just too complicated of an engine with a lot of intricate parts in the high horsepower versions, they've made A LOT of different versions of the same thing which makes parts a problem as they get old. Also think the MANs need to be used, so lite use and a long layup period probably isn't going to be good for them.
58 Vikings built towards the end of the production run were starting to get a lot of improvements as they got ready for the production launch of the 61, the 58's with CAT's are pretty good. The Viking 61 is a really really good boat, feel like the two models that put Viking on the top of the production builders was the 56' and 61'.

[saltshaker]

Do you all have the same concerns about the 1200 hp MANs? Nice boat with 500 SMHO on those engines.

The 1200HP MANs are decent but still very pricey to maintain. There are some major gotchas if the maintenance is deferred.

[JLR]

After some additional boat visits, I have narrowed the choice to one of two models. A 56 Ocean and a 58 Viking. I saw the Ocean 50 and it is too small for our needs. There is one 56 with series 60 MTU's albeit with 2625 hours. Another with overhauled CATs, for which I have receipts for the overhaul with 250 smoh. And, there is a nice 58 Viking enclosed bridge with 500 hours smoh on 1200 Mans. I believe I can buy any one of these for about the same dollars. However, while the 58 would be my choice, it is located in Puerto Rico. I can run her on her own bottom to Florida and then to NY. But, I'd rather ship her either to Florida or to NY. I cannot seem to find online a shipping company that makes either of those runs. Does anyone know anything about shipping a boat out of Puerto Rico. Aside from the wear and tear, the Puerto Rico location adds another 50K to the price of the boat that quite literally goes up in smoke. Any continued help would be appreciated. You all have been very helpful and patient. Thanks.