V10 Repower - Looking for $.02

[ohiohatteras]

Currently, my 1976 36C has 454 Marine Power gas engines. At 3200 RPM's I'm only going 17.5 knots! I am considering a repower in the near future. I would love to drop a set of diesels in the boat, but my budget won't go to the $65-$70K necessary for the diesel engines & genny set up.
I have spoken with the owner of the AMP V10 Dolphin engine company....he says his engines will do darn near what diesel will do for much less money.
Here's a link to the website......Looking for some pros & cons and general $02!
http://www.kent.net/amp/
Thanks

 

[Freebird]

Sure would hate to feed them puppies!

 

[Genesis]

Yeah, how's your gas budget look?

I don't believe their fuel burn numbers. They claim lower burn for equivalent speed .vs. a pair of QSBs? I call BS on that one.....

 

[MikeP]

It appears to be the Dodge Viper engine which is an excellent Hi performance car motor. Whether it would be a good heavy duty marine engine - who knows? It has NO history as such. It looks interesting although the mileage claims sound a bit OTT.

How do you feel about being a beta testor?

 

[Freebird]

Currently, my 1976 36C has 454 Marine Power gas engines. At 3200 RPM's I'm only going 17.5 knots!

Are you turning the recommended rpm at WOT? Based on what I'm getting out of 7.4 Mercs in my 41DC (20mph @ 3,000, a lot heavier than your 36C) you sound a little slow given your power. If you are exceeding the recommended rpm at WOT, you can pick up a little speed with a prop change. Good luck!

 

[SeaEric]

PM forum member Jim Rosenthal, or perhaps he will comment here. He is the resident "gas to diesel repower of the 36C" expert here.

 

[ohiohatteras]

It's not the aluminum Viper Motor...It's the cast iron truck block.
I get 3800 RPM's at WOT and can hit about 21 knots. However, I never run it at that speed! I don't want to push those old girls that hard!

 

[sofarelli]

Ohio,
The performance that you are getting isn't
too far off from my 32' w/ gas. Lately, I find myself
cruising at 8-10 knots and enjoying a cold beer.
Keep us posted on your repower discoveries.
MIke

 

[Freebird]

Ain't it fully how a few cold beers make 8 miles an hour seem fast?

 

[Capt K]

At these slower speeds most of us seem to running, you have to be careful not to ignore miles per hour in favor of beers per mile.

K

 

[ohiohatteras]

We got the beer thing resolved.....Anybody else have any insight on the engines?

 

[34Hatt]

Well at $20,000 for a bobtail that exceeds the price of a Cummins 330b recon and when Ethanol comes to town you will need to redo your tanks also!

 

[Genesis]

Good point.

I think for $40k for two motors (or $50k w/gears) I'd do the Cummins..... and I don't believe their fuel numbers. There's really no way around the fact that diesel fuel has more energy in it per gallon than gasoline, and that a diesel motor has no throttling loss.

 

[Kathy L]

We have 185hrs on our repowered 36c series 1 with QSB 5.9 @330hp. I feel I have new boat. At 2600 (Cummins recomended cruise) 25KT @ 28gph. I'm happy @2400 and 20KT @22gph. The 330HP Gas I replaced ..3100RPM 17KT and 32gph... I would go with QSB's even the recon if you can. Also, I installed the QSB's myself and if you have a place to put the boat for an extended time and you are a little handy you can do it yourself and save $$$.

 

[Boss Lady]

I would like to see the hp and torque curves at rpm for the truck motor, I don't really see you gaining much over the big blocks you already have. I would shop for a set of low hour diesels with gears. I saw a set of 440 yanmars with gears out of a searay that had a galley fire that were cheap recently. If you look hard you can save yourself some big bucks. If you have to rely on someone else it will cost you a lot more. The big blocks are so under rated (330 comes to mind) you can easily get another 100 ponies without much effort. Cost would be less than the V10s. I would price the following: rebuild current engines with power upgrades, V10s and gear, Diesel and gear, and then make a decision. V10 sounds sexy, but running them with full loads the way a boat loads one, is very different than a rolling load in a truck. If you want to go faster, I would look at a good repower calculator and see what the HP requirements are to reach the speed you want to cruise at, that will dictate you real choice.

 

[jim rosenthal]

For what it's worth....if you are going to stick with gasoline engines, and your 454s are healthy (which you can verify with a compression and leakdown test, etc) I would see if you are propped right. I think you should have a little better speed with those than you do...Blue Note had identical engines and she went faster than that- 25kts in the pins. Does your boat need to go on a diet and get rid of some excess weight, perhaps...

If you are going to spend all that money to repower, go with the industry standard- Cummins diesels. DON'T spend all that money to get a brand of engine that is made in ONE place and sold in ONE place and serviced in ONE place. You will have an orphan boat you can't resell. Think about the next owner after you!!! Very few people have their boat forever.

More 36Cs have been repowered with Cummins diesels than any other brand of engine. They seem to be the best fit and you can't beat the deal they are offering on 370 Diamonds right now. If money is tight, you can do the genset later on, etc.

All this ignores the ethanol issue, which you sidestep by using diesels.

If you want some real fun, get a set of 42 cylinder Bentley Miracle Radial Marine Diesels. Then you'll REALLY go fast. You'll pass anything but a fuel dock

 

[MarioG]

If you want some real fun, get a set of 42 cylinder Bentley Miracle Radial Marine Diesels. Then you'll REALLY go fast. You'll pass anything but a fuel dock

LOL,yeah, there ya go!

 

[egaito]

I've been peeking in on those guys periodically for years. Do they say how many installations they have yet?

I bet the engine is good, but I'm curious about how good the marinization is.

While I would tend to agree with the Diesel recommendations I've read here, I would love to see a pair of those in a boat.

I've got a Ford V-10 in my conversion van, and find it to make more torque than an equivelent Big Block (of the same vintage). It's smooth power with more cylinders, and even better with BMW's 12, which I once read had been marinized.

Me, I'm into unique stuff, and would probably stuff one in a Donzi Sweet 16 for grins....but no one ever accused me of being sane.

 

[Boss Lady]

If you do, I want to go for a ride!

 

[MarioG]

but no one ever accused me of being sane.

You too?