Trojan Boat Forum

(3) Cruisair ac systems with controls and supply pump
Headhunter head
Headhunter Mach5 freshwater pump
Three new bomar hatches
(2)FW Murphy PowerView Electronic Engine multi function monitors
Furuno 1712 radar
water supply manifold
All interior and machinery space lighting
Maxwell Liberty windless
(2)Morse KE4 electronic conrtols
shower stand pipe and fixture
fabricmate systems for padded walls and headliner
headliner material
10 gallons of interior white gelcoat for the bilge areas
Bennett trim tab system
soda blast guy coming next week to do bottom,windowframes,fueltanks,engineroom,machinery space and bilge areas
shopping hard for (2) crusader 6.0L MPI and a kohler 7.0-7.5kw genset

Good God man. I got 30 grand just ballparking your list in my head. Thats surely a lot of upgrades. You'll have a 'new' boat when you are done. With a list like that will you even be colse to finished by spring?

If you are going with a new genset why not consider a Westerbeke rather than a Kohler? IMO its Westerbeke or bust when doing an upgrade.


http://www.westerbeke.com/Products/prod ... spx?id=182

On the gensets both are good units , and both have their pros and cons . The Kohler is a lot lighter . the Kohler also is a (gas)3600 rpm unit vs the westerbeks 1800 . They claim the 1800 rpm units are quieter . Having been around a lot of boats and gensets I fail to see a much if any difference on the noise issue . Life of the set ? most of use will not live long enough to wear one out , but marine age with take its toll long before ,

Bottom line for me would be who has the best dealer with support near me and of course price. With out support your stu


And you can bet Struts and Rudders Has done His home work on this

BTW .What genset do I use ? a Northern lights

Not to piss in anyones Cornflakes, but running an engine at 1800 vs 2800 or 3200 RPM definately increases longevity. Thats my main point I guess about Westerbeke.

Onan, Northern Lights, Kohler, Westerbeke. They are all good units. Pauls point about service and dealer support is a very valid one. I personally wouldn't let a grand +/- interfere with my decision on a 6000-8000 dollar purchase. Thats just me though.

My thoughts



I will have to disagree with this being a factor as you won't wear out a genset on a pleasure boat be it a 1800 or a 3600 rpm unit . Look at all the old onans people have on this site lots of issuse due to age , but not one post I have seen due to a worn out engine . Almost any marine genset will go thousands and thousands of hours . taken care of .

thing about this ,
I often wonder about my 1800 rpm set . The base engine is rated at 3600 rpm yet it runs at 1800 under full load . This in a sence is lugging the engine , where as it could be spinging free at 3600 . Would you prop a boat to turn half its rpm ? Just some thoughts

bottom line take care of it and you will wear out be for your gen set will .



The only ones that won't last some of the 1 cly diesel sets , 1000 hours and they are done .


Well time to go to the boat and puts some wear on my engines and genset and hopefully a fishing reel or 2

as to budget...I work fulltime in the new boat construction industry (which by the way is in the toilet right now) and after the years have developed some pretty good contacts, thus the budget is much less than you might think.

I am open to looking at both side of the coin on the genset rpm issue and thanks for pointing them out via the forum.

I was looking at kohler because I have a mower with a kohler branded engine and the service has been awesome...never an issue after 10 years.
In addition I worked on several boats that have had kohler gensets and had good service. I do have concerns for the overall size of the unit with sound shield installed, tight fit with installing the larger 7.0-7.5kn rather than the normal 6.5kw factory installed.

I am here to gain others real world experience and open to listen to all those willing to share their opinions....

Thank you,
SRD

If you stay with the main brands (Onan/westerbeke/ kohler ) asuming you going gas I think you would be Happy with any of them .

prowlersfish wrote:I often wonder about my 1800 rpm set . The base engine is rated at 3600 rpm yet it runs at 1800 under full load . This in a sence is lugging the engine , where as it could be spinging free at 3600 . Would you prop a boat to turn half its rpm ? Just some thoughts

Depends on the torque curve of the engine in question I would tend to think.

Bottom line; no matter what brand genny you choose, if you don't run it under load on a regular basis, you will shorten it's life span. It's a common theme with gensets.

Big D wrote:Bottom line; no matter what brand genny you choose, if you don't run it under load on a regular basis, you will shorten it's life span. It's a common theme with gensets.

Lack of use the killer of all things marine .

Big D wrote:Bottom line; no matter what brand genny you choose, if you don't run it under load on a regular basis, you will shorten it's life span. It's a common theme with gensets.

This is a very true statement, the old Onan 6.5 mcck on our boat was never used by the PO and only had 100 hrs. on it we spent about $800.00 upgrading it and use it often and find it very dependable, So which ever you chose use it .
If I was to replace it I'd go with a #2 oil-burner (gas safe) and under water exhaust in the hopes of a repower when the Merc's die...

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