repower a 35B with diesel engines

Rellenos · Post by **Rellenos** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:32 pm

Hy, my name is TeÃ³filo, IÂ´m writing u from Punta del Este + Uruguay. I am seriuosly thiking in going to the States to buy a 35B with gas engines and wants to repower it with Diesel engines.In your experience can u tell me aprox. how much will this repower cost me, all included ?, and do u have some email directions of whom makes this kind of work ? Thanks a lot, regards TeÃ³filo

buzzk · Post by **buzzk** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:35 pm

When you do your research I think you are going to find it's a lot cheaper to buy one that is already diesel. In this boat market, you can buy a diesel boat and let someone else take the big money hit. Buzz

little doc · Post by **little doc** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:54 pm

The number that is bantered around is about 100k for the whole deal. You can get a diesel boat for less than that right now! Scott.

Post by **dougl33** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:43 pm

$100K is a bit much. Certainly it can cost that, but you could also get away with spending $50K-$70K and still have an excellant setup. It all depends on what you go with and how much of the work you could do yourself. If you go with brand new QSB Cummins then you're looking at $60K+ just for the motors and gears. If you go with the Cummins remans which are brand new engines it can be $45K for the motors and gears. If you get a decent set of running take outs it could be even less.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:28 pm

I think that unless you're going to put some sweat into it, 100k is the number. You may get it for less due to current times but there's a lot of incidentals to doing the conversion. Things like $2k in new battery cables (re-used the 8d's I had too). Not to mention labor. I still haven't total'd mine up but I don't doubt it's more than $60k and I did a lot of grunt work on the project. You want a nice B35, check out this one http://www.thehulltruth.com/boats-sale/ ... s-99k.html Already a nice boat and you're burning for new power. drop in a set of QSB425's and you have perforamce to match any bew boat in it's class. br,

buzzk · Post by **buzzk** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:28 am

Does this price include a new generator? How much does a new diesel 6kw generator cost now? If I had a gas boat and was repowering to diesel I would want a new diesel generator too. My boat doesn't leave the dock without the generator running.Buzz

Post by **dougl33** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:55 am

Again, I guess it all depends on what you go with. Both my engines and the gennie (7.6 Westerbeke) were running takeouts. The transmissions and everything else were new. I didn't really do anything and all in I was just under $60K.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:04 pm

Good point Buzz, I think a new 6-8kw genset is between $8-10k?? for the $100k I would expect the gen to be included, but the newer motors are getting more pricey. The gas to diesel conversion has a whole lot of variables and pricing could be all over the map and really depends on the yard and how well they can identify up fron to accurately price vs. the pay as you go route.

Rellenos · Post by **Rellenos** » Sat May 09, 2009 9:48 pm

Thank guys for your replys, u are right it was smarter to buy an orginal diesel boat. Yesterday IÂ´ve placed an offer for a Â´78 with 555 cuminngs IÂ´m fucking anxious, walking on the roofs!regards TeÃ³filo from Punta del Este - Uruguay

CB35 · Post by **CB35** » Sun May 10, 2009 9:21 am

Man triple nickels are good for mooring anchors. Bad, smokey, heavy, slow are are the attributes of the 555. Unless you are getting it for hull price I would keep looking. Plus parts in the US are hard to come by let alone South America.

franklyprice · Post by **franklyprice** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:45 pm

I second that, don't buy a boat with 555's unless you plan to repower soon.

Rellenos · Post by **Rellenos** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:15 pm

thanks for all, IÂ´ve bought this Â´78 B35 with 555 cummings for 33K, a 3 owner vessel, IÂ´ll try those engines in a month, when IÂ´ll go to the States. Some hate this engines and some are confortable, IÂ´ll tell u afterwords...

CB35 · Post by **CB35** » Wed May 13, 2009 5:25 am

Good luck with your purchase. Please get yourself an engine surveyor that knows something about 555. They have some real weak links in the cooling systems. I hope there is someone in Uruguay that knows 555's and can get parts. On the plus side you can buy complete engines for short money.

schultz · Post by **schultz** » Wed May 13, 2009 7:56 am

Hi Teofilo, There are exceptions to most generalizations. I have a 1983 33' SF with VT555's. They have been performing perfectly and the boat has a WOT speed of 31kts. Prior to this boat my last boat had Detroit 8V53's and they had the same issues as the 555's. 1. They are big and heavey 2. They smoke when the engine is cold (dont all diesels?) 3. They can be hard to work on in the space available 4. For there size they are a bit underpowered but the VT is rated at 300hp at 3300 rpm's If the engines have been taken care of you should not have any more problem than any other engine I can think of. Always provide clean fuel, air and oil for it. Change the filters as required. Dont abuse them (long periods of non use, long periods of idle power). Do run high speed cruise of about 500 rpms off WOT. One of the things I discovered with these engines is how clean the oil remains. Even after 40 or 50 hours it is hard to see on the dipstick because it is still clear. Unlike my Detroits that turned the oil black within 5 to 10 hours. You can keep an eye on the cooling system health with color strips available from any Cummins Dealer. Mine both take about 10 minutes at about 1500 rpm's to get to around 150, then hold a continuous 170 to 180 degrees. Oil pressure when cold can be high so let the engines warm up before increasing power. After the oil gets warm you should see a constant around 50 to 60. I would have a Cummins Tech Rep survey the engines and after purchase have them serviced them as needed while you watch and ask any questions you might have. For parts in the future I have found what I need from Cummins Dealerships in the Mid-West and believe the best source would be the Chesapeak Bay area. Quite a few of the commercial fishing boats from the 80's had these engines. Would they be my first choice? No probably not, because they are not in production. But I wouldnt walk away from them. Like I said mine run great. After I dewinterize them they both start within 1.5 seconds of lifting the sart toggle. Same deal if the are cold. I would have the grind the starters on my Detroits for 20 or 30 seconds all of the time. Last thing is that if I ever do need to repower, no big deal, just drop in a new generation Cummins Marine Diesel. Good Luck with the purchase.

Rellenos · Post by **Rellenos** » Wed May 13, 2009 6:24 pm

CLIFF; Thanks, thanks, thanks, at last some good news, some guys there put me nervous...great advises, IÂ´ll try them. They tell me that the genset must be replace, she has a kohler 5kw. What do u think of this ? do u think is enough ? i think itÂ´s gas not diesel, thanks for your opinions . TeÃ³filo