efficient repower alternatives

[mdshore]

looking at a good old Hat with 903's in her..questionable ill get much life out of them, already thinking of a conversion refit to a trawler style propulsion as 8-10 knots with $ in my pocket is good to me. Theres no way ill drop the money to buy a set of big diesels and gears . the boat would be way too costly .
has anyone put small diesels in or even gas engines? based on my calculations I only need about 100 hp to run at 8 knots .
please point me to prior threads if there are any thanks.

 

[kelpy]

In my opinion, if you put go thru the large expense of a repower (regardless of engine make or HP)and put in an improper set of machinery for the hull, you will never be able to sell the boat much less recoup any part of your repower costs down the road.
Get a boat that clearly meets your needs to start with. There are lots of them out there of all sizes. Let someone else incur the repower expense and you enjoy the benefits of their labors.
There is a search box at the top of the page that will allow you to find any prior threads.

 

[saltshaker]

Why bother with a boat that has questionable power and/or doesn't suit your needs? If you want a Hatt that only runs displacement speeds, buy an LRC. What makes you think the 903's are shot? They're pretty tough engines and can run forever if cared for. If you really want the boat and want to do a repower, consider something like remaned Cummins 6CTA's. They'll give you decent performance and can be run slow all day long without issue. Total cost for the project would probably be similar to a set of smaller engines anyway.

 

[mr hatt]

x2 6cta's would be the way to go if it could be done within your budget.

 

[mdshore]

...ok so heres the deal. the boat is free for me if I pay the storage. I suspect the engines or one of them is toast. Im not interested in getting upside down and spending money on this if I put any money into her itll be for an efficient low cost cruiser hence trawler style.

im looking for cheapest way to get it down the river. im happy at 8 knots if im spending pennies

ive even considered outboard brackets and a pair of 60 hp's I have.. Id rather link up something bolts up to the orig shafts..

I know somewhere out there is a motor yacht with small engines ( electric diesel?)

 

[RT46]

unfortunately there is no cheap solution.....

 

[Boatsb]

...ok so heres the deal. the boat is free for me if I pay the storage. I suspect the engines or one of them is toast. Im not interested in getting upside down and spending money on this if I put any money into her itll be for an efficient low cost cruiser hence trawler style.

im looking for cheapest way to get it down the river. im happy at 8 knots if im spending pennies

ive even considered outboard brackets and a pair of 60 hp's I have.. Id rather link up something bolts up to the orig shafts..

I know somewhere out there is a motor yacht with small engines ( electric diesel?)

Get a sailboat. There is no way its going to be cheap and right.

 

[jim rosenthal]

I think you're going in the wrong direction with this. You'll end up with a boat that performs poorly and is sale-proof, which means when you're done with it, you'll have to give it away. The cost of a repower isn't so much about the engines as it is about all the labor to put them in. People have done repowers of old Hatteras yachts with low hp engines, but how good an old Hatt is as a trawler is open to question- they weren't designed as displacement hulls. For what you will spend for a decent set of used small engines and putting them in, you could probably buy an LRC if you shop carefully. That boat is designed to go slowly, the engines last nearly forever, and they are cheap to rebuild.

As to fitting outboards, don't do that. These boats aren't designed for that.

Look in B&H or boatdiesel.com, find a set of engines of decent size used, and with some sweat equity, you'll have a usable boat you can resell when you're done with it.

 

[saltshaker]

If they're willing to give you the boat for storage, it may be too much. Many of these old boats aren't worth that much even when they are in good shape. A project boat often has a negative value if you plan to get it in sound running and operating condition. How about some more details and/or pics of the boat? If you don't care about the boat, project or the money you'll put into it,go ahead and do what you like. Like others said, it still won't be cheap and you won't see anything in return if you ever decide to sell it.

 

[mdshore]

not concerned about resale value . ive built /restored many boats in my day , just poking around for ideas here- i surely would have thought somebody would be doing this by now considering the costs and the values of the boats. At this point the best option is a single diesel in the 150 hp range, with a bow thruster. luckily i have sources for both so that should work sans my labor in the price range im looking to spend ( about 6k) at least I wont have to deal with the spectacle of an outboard hanging on the back ..haha ..

 

[saltshaker]

Converting a twin engine boat to a single will be no small undertaking either. Even if your labor is free, you're going to be spending extra money on materials. If this is an old 1510 Hatt, how would you make it a single engine boat? Don't they all have the split ERs? If you don't care about the value of the boat when you're done, find a pair of cheap takeouts that will fit. Don't worry about HP as they all will burn about the same running them slow. I'm sure you realize this but If the boat is bad enough to be given away, you might end up spending a fortune on getting the rest of the boats systems up and running. Sure you can fix a lot of things but many will have to be replaced. If the boat is 32V, the batteries alone will be a decent purchase. Free is not always a good thing. Again if you have other details as to which model and actual condition. that would help.

 

[GJH]

I agree with Jack, I have seen plenty of boats where free is way too high a price if you want something even half way seaworthy. The reasons you don't see people doing what you are contemplating have been pretty well enumerated; if you think you can outsmart 40 or 50 years worth of boaters well just go ahead and let us know how it works out!

 

[jim rosenthal]

Years ago, in my pre-Hatteras days, I recall looking at a 44' Striker in Florida named Boomerang. It was a neglected boat, and I was surprised when the broker I was working with volunteered his opinion that it would be a bad deal if I was given the boat for free. Wouldn't it be a good deal for free, I asked?

He then suggested I look in the glove box and find the calculator in there, which I did, and as we added up the amounts necessary to get a neglected 44' Striker seaworthy again, I indeed saw what he meant. Even free it was not a deal. It was a money pit.

These older boats are worth so little in our declining market that unless the boat is in really good shape, it may very well not be worth taking even for free. And if it were very nice, it wouldn't have been abandoned in a yard and now belong to the yard owners who will give it to you for the storage fees accumulated. They're just trying to cut their losses, and you can't blame them, but it may not be a good deal for you.

Your labor may indeed be cheap to you, but the parts will not be. And as for converting a boat which was designed as a twin-screw hull to a single engine, it is a preposterous idea. You'll end up going to sea on a boat that looks and handles like Frankenstein. Next stop, Davy Jones' locker.

 

[gbharrington]

As I read through this thread, it sounds like you are more interested in a project than a boat, in which case the world is your oyster. Project boats are everywhere. However, if you were interested in the boat, I would sugest that you stick with the 903s. They are among the most efficient of the old mechanical fuel injection engines, and despite what you might hear, you can get parts. And at 1000 RPM, even a tired one will probably run longer than you will. I get 1.5-2 MPG with mine at that speed, versus the 2-3 MPG that you might get with a repower. In my opinion, hardly worth the diiference or cost for casual use.

 

[thoward]

Cost of ownership does vary, but I would tell you to expect a minimum of $1200/month just to own a boat of this size. When you add the cost to maintain the boat in reasonable useable condition, you are looking at $2000 minimum and that does not include fuel.

Since cost is an issue, the simple place to start is; are the engines suitable for an inframe and can you do the work? If the answer to either of these questions is "NO", then you should run quickly even if it was free.

If you redneck up one of these boats, you will not be able to sell it and you will ultimately have to have it salvaged(which may cost you).

 

[saltshaker]

I guess the best advice here is to carefully evaluate what the boat needs and what condition the engines and generator truly are in. Yes the 903's can be rebuilt and the parts can be had. I think the question here is would that be a sound choice. If there are core issues then there really makes no sense to put that much money into those engines. We still don't know what model this is and what she really needs. May be worth it for scrap or maybe he can make a decent boat out of it with minimal cash and a lot of his own labor.

 

[Bill Allen]

As far as the single that would be insane. But in my 43 I talked to a guy that had looked for a boat like mine to repower with small diesels. For a few years now I've thought it wouldn't be a bad choice for me since I'll probably die on my hatt. The 43 is a decent trawler speed boat and with 310 DD not a speed demon by anyones standards. But lucky for me it's a non issue the old DD just keep purring the best choice of all, just leave her alone.Bill

 

[sgharford]

Maybe just pull the prop off the engine that doesn't work and run the other one. 903's are indeed pretty tough, especially without turbo's, and if it's a fresh water boat (I heard "river' somewhere) you're that much ahead of the game.

 

[mdshore]

thanks for the input ..well at this point im looking at worst case scenarios . im having the oil tested and motors gone over to see if they are worth it. ive bounced an idea of 471's and also just not do anything and drop her at the slip for a condo . i do love projects and possibly might drop a prius in the bilge , I hear they get good mileage

Ive repowered / restored a few houseboats in the 40ft range and ripped out the twin i/o's to fit with single outboard . i get nothing but praises on those..

probably you havnt seen this done before because prior to the decline of the economy nobody would think of this as these boats were 60k plus .

 

[mdshore]

i guess my point really is, do I want this free boat? sure... can I make it move for pocket change? definitely, -but what is the best way ..and has anyone done this to learn from... well heres my answer so far,