Who knows about diesel outboard engines?

[Exiles]

Hi we are planning a voyage this summer to one of the most remote places in the world and will travel thousands of nuatical miles between areas where we can get fuel. As such we will be carrying lots of diesel and would like to have a 9hp or so diesel outboard.

Does any one know of any reliable Diesel outboard engines?

Does any one know how reliable and durable they are?

I f you want more info on our voyage to the top of our planet please feel free to look around our site

Northwest passage on a shoestring

Thank you!!!

[sawingknots]

i wouldn't even consider a offshore passage without a inboard diesel,a outboard simply isn't as efficient or reliable as a inboard also a outboard tends to lift out of the water in large swells,just imagine really wild seas,actually i use a inboard diesel and have a stern mounted outboard for [just in case] also you will need to use your sails 90+% of the time[you can only carry so much fuel

[sailingdog]

Yanmar makes a diesel outboard, but they're heavy, noisy and not very reliable IMHO.

[BubbleheadMd]

Um...actually, according to the Yanmar website, they do not offer these anymore.

Superceded

Bummer. I was very curious about them.

[LakeSuperiorGeezer]

Looks like an extra long shaft gasoline 4 cycle would be the way to go for economy as with the same amount of gasoline, you go three miles instead of two miles as with a two cycle if it has a carburetor. If two cycle and direct injection, the economy should be similar to the 4 cycle. The Yanmar came in 36 and 27 horsepower sizes so even used; they would not fit your needs. There must be a reason for the lack of the development of diesel outboards.

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperiorGeezer

Looks like an extra long shaft gasoline 4 cycle would be the way to go for economy as with the same amount of gasoline, you go three miles instead of two miles as with a two cycle if it has a carburetor. If two cycle and direct injection, the economy should be similar to the 4 cycle. The Yanmar came in 36 and 27 horsepower sizes so even used; they would not fit your needs. There must be a reason for the lack of the development of diesel outboards.

Very simple, diesel engines operate at much higher compression ratios and as such need to have a much heavier engine block. That makes them far heavier than their gasoline counterparts for the same horsepower, and that gives them a relatively poor power to weight ratio....they're also very noisy.

[Exiles]

Thanks all! I heard that there is a Chinese company that makes 8-9hp but can not locate it.

The reason we want a diesel outboard is since we will have so many hundreds of litres on board and if our main inboard deisel breaks down which is a possibility since it is a 1976 we can use the outboard as our back up.

[aa3jy]

YouTube - DIESEL OUTBOARD MOTOR TYPES in PRODUCTION

[tommays]

There more common in the third world not so much here

[LakeSuperiorGeezer]

Getting an outboard diesel started in cold weather without any pre-warming like you could with an inboard would be a problem. Inboard diesels are generally reliable with clean fuel and good compression.