Commander 26,30,re-power older boat,newer,diesel....

ericl said:
If you correct me I & the rest of the readers would be grateful.
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volvo penta is the only one that makes there own drive, most of the rest power strait shafts or v drives, like cummins (that was a industrial engine long before it was converted for auto use)yanmar, catapiller, john deere, ford lehman, and good old detroit. to name a few of the company's that have been building marine packages from industrial engines

the cummins i build for my boat was very detuned (140hp) compared to the same engine i have in my truck (250hp), and there is no raw water cooling the turbo, exhaust or oil. so no maintenance issues that you have with a volvo
 
noluck said:
volvo penta is the only one that makes there own drive, most of the rest power strait shafts or v drives, like cummins (that was a industrial engine long before it was converted for auto use)yanmar, catapiller, john deere, ford lehman, and good old detroit. to name a few of the company's that have been building marine packages from industrial engines
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The OP's boat is very similar to mine, which had twin 6 cyl Volvo's. I went thru most of the options you mentioned, but they were way too large/heavy for the size/type of boat we are talking about. Yes, they don't need the raw water cooling cuz their output of HP/per liter of displacement is low. The Volvo 41 series was considered a great purpose-built marine diesel in it's day which was around 30+ years ago. Given that my boat originally had 800 pound or so Chev's, I was reluctant to go with anything heavier than the 41 Volvo's (1200 pound or so).
Paul, I looked at the Commanders for sale. All with diesels look to be the original Volvo 41 series put-in at date of mfgr, which on some is around 40 years ago. If you go this route, be sure to look closely at main records to make sure that all the internal sacrificial zinc's (especially the intercooler) were changed per schedule. The intercooler housing is aluminum and after 30-40 years I would be highly suspect at it's integrity. Also realize that parts for these are rare at best & you may end-up waiting a very long time for parts. It would be best to have a serious discussion with local main. business regarding how easy it would be to get service. (you are in Kitimat?)

As an FYI current Volvo Penta Diesels are D3 (5 cylinder car engine), D4 (4 cylinder marine engine), and D6 (6 cylinder marine engine). There are others, but they are much larger than those we would use in a 30-something foot boat.

I ended-up going with twin 300hp E-techs because I got a great deal, I have used the dealer in the past & like them, and the diesel dealers in my area are all less than customer oriented.
I figure that changing plugs every five years is low maintenance, & that I have a much better chance of sharing fuel costs than maint costs with passengers.
 
ericl said:
The OP's boat is very similar to mine, which had twin 6 cyl Volvo's. I went thru most of the options you mentioned, but they were way too large/heavy for the size/type of boat we are talking about. Yes, they don't need the raw water cooling cuz their output of HP/per liter of displacement is low. The Volvo 41 series was considered a great purpose-built marine diesel in it's day which was around 30+ years ago. Given that my boat originally had 800 pound or so Chev's, I was reluctant to go with anything heavier than the 41 Volvo's (1200 pound or so).
Paul, I looked at the Commanders for sale. All with diesels look to be the original Volvo 41 series put-in at date of mfgr, which on some is around 40 years ago. If you go this route, be sure to look closely at main records to make sure that all the internal sacrificial zinc's (especially the intercooler) were changed per schedule. The intercooler housing is aluminum and after 30-40 years I would be highly suspect at it's integrity. Also realize that parts for these are rare at best & you may end-up waiting a very long time for parts. It would be best to have a serious discussion with local main. business regarding how easy it would be to get service. (you are in Kitimat?)

As an FYI current Volvo Penta Diesels are D3 (5 cylinder car engine), D4 (4 cylinder marine engine), and D6 (6 cylinder marine engine). There are others, but they are much larger than those we would use in a 30-something foot boat.

I ended-up going with twin 300hp E-techs because I got a great deal, I have used the dealer in the past & like them, and the diesel dealers in my area are all less than customer oriented.
I figure that changing plugs every five years is low maintenance, & that I have a much better chance of sharing fuel costs than maint costs with passengers.
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thanks for the input, I'm now leaning towards the 26' as I could find something with less years on it within my price range, I have some worries with the age of the engines and even more so with those thing you mentioned. There are a couple 2000-2002 26s for sale so I figure those might be a safer bet for me. Service here can be tough to get for sure. Twin 300 e-techs sounds pretty sweet!! also the passenger fuel vs maint costs is a valid point lol
 
PAUL ANDERSON said:
thanks for the input, I'm now leaning towards the 26' as I could find something with less years on it within my price range, I have some worries with the age of the engines and even more so with those thing you mentioned. There are a couple 2000-2002 26s for sale so I figure those might be a safer bet for me. Service here can be tough to get for sure. Twin 300 e-techs sounds pretty sweet!! also the passenger fuel vs maint costs is a valid point lol
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Mines always for sale for the right amount ...
 
any idea what I could fetch for a 1993 double eagle 22' this is the year I was told when I bought it and it has a sticker on the tank I saw when I pulled the fuel pump one day saying that but the Motor has is a carbureted 350 which I thought was odd and the knobs and styling sure looks more like the 80s than 90s even have a hull number for it.
 
PAUL ANDERSON said:
any idea what I could fetch for a 1993 double eagle 22' this is the year I was told when I bought it and it has a sticker on the tank I saw when I pulled the fuel pump one day saying that but the Motor has is a carbureted 350 which I thought was odd and the knobs and styling sure looks more like the 80s than 90s even have a hull number for it.
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Punctuation? New thread?
 
Heck, I might even consider selling the 26' Hourston for the right price, command bridge and all... haha

New project here I come...! :)
 
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