23 savage diesel.

[Fyffe]

I posted a while back about a 23 with an inboard diesel I'd found in a yard. It turns out this is a 23' Savage 1978. It was repowered in 1990 with a Cummins 6bt 5.9m (210hp @2600) , twindisc 502 (1.54:1) and a 1 1/2" shaft and a 22' prop.

the boat has sat on stands for some time with the inlet open and the exhaust closed only by a flapper valve. It does turns over, turbo spindle is tight and the hour meter appears to read 5k hours. Oil in transmission and engine is clean but everything external is peeling or rusty. Had a friend to an oil assay for the motor and there's nothing nasty reported.

I can't decide if I should go for it. Hull needs a lot of work, transom etc. I don't want to have to do a long block replacement. I am also wondering about the performance with almost 1400lbs of engine and anciliaries.

Several calculators including boatdiesel predict max 30knts with the 22x23 prop and 12gal/hr at 30, 3gal/hr at 18knts.

Here's the fun bit; I've some experience running dodge cummins 12 on biodiesel and have a reactor and source available.

So what do you think?