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?

[JohnB]

The speed is optimistic, and without a digital controlled fuel delivery system on the diesel, she will smoke, and probably not get a whole lot better milage than the new 4 stroke outboards. 30 knots would be optimistic, as would 3 gph, probably closer to 5, and at 18 knots, your probably not on plane, unless you speed up, put the tabs way down, and slow down.

[riprunner]

The inboards actually plane at a pretty low speed. I can plane at 13knots with heavy tab, but that weight is a concern. That is a heavy motor and I'm not sure how much lower the boat will sit in the water than with a gas engine or new lighter diesel.

That prop size sounds huge how close to the hull does that swing?

[Fyffe]

Thanks for the input.

The shaft is 1 1/2" so I presume its been replaced, possibly changing shaft length or angle from original. I do know the prop clears the nearest hull point by 2". Prop is 10.5" center to tip so its presently a 21" dia with a BIG pitch on it.

The boat has sat in water for a while at some point and from the water and growth marks on the hull its sitting almost level with top chine at the transom about 1 1/2" under.

I need to get a camera working to get some pictures.

[doodlebug]

bio diesel seacraft i can't think of a better way to spend a day,crusing cheep smelling like french frys and chicken wings. i burn some bio d in my 24 valve cummins ram and it
does great when i can get it.

[dtmackey]

Apple to orange comparison, but I run many boats and one has a 210 Cummins in a Nordic Tug 32 and it will run 17 knots and burn roughly 13 GPH, but that's a 15,000lb boat. I would expect the Seacraft to benefit from the weight advatage on speed. While mechanical injection is not as good as the new electronic QSB series, there is not much smoke to contend with. I like the lifespan of the motor of 15K - 20K hours that most Nordic owners are seeing before any intensive maint/overhaul.

I'm sure that boat would be very economical to run.





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