“Smooth, Powerful & Economical” The Owner Says
Lifetime boater Grant Burley is no stranger to Yanmar. In 1999 he repowered a 12m sports boat with a pair of Yanmar 6LP-STE 300hp engines, halving the fuel bill in the process.
So when Grant’s latest boat Cheyenne suffered a catastrophic engine failure, he was once again on the path to re-powering. The non-Yanmar engines in his 62 Sunseeker had recently been rebuilt due to excessive smoking. But with a handful of hours on the clock after the rebuild, one of the engines ‘let go’.
The Sunseeker is a magnificent, luxury boat. As an upmarket family boat it has all the opulence and appointments that are associated with a multimillion dollar vessel. And as a corporate hospitality sports cruiser, it can just as easily be used for Board meetings as an exquisite hospitality vessel.
In short, this is a boat where excellence is demanded from stem to stern.
“Faced with a complete engine room repower, I began to scour all the web sites and pamphlets of the diesel engine manufacturers,” Grant said.
“But one by one the household brands were eliminated. Most were too big to fit into the engine room and I was not happy to replace the failed engines with another pair of the same make.”
“When someone asked what I thought of Yanmar, I didn’t realise that they made an engine that would fit. I quickly recalled my previous experience and started to do my homework.”
What eventuated has been nothing short of an exceptional transformation.
Grant settled on a pair of Yanmar 8SY-900M engines. These are a V8 marine diesel with a displacement of 15.6 litres with electronic unit injectors and electronic engine management. Rated at 900 MHP at 2300 RPM, the 8SY -900M has a dry weight without the gearbox of 1650 kgs.
The key attributes of this model engine are those typically found throughout the Yanmar range of marine diesel engines. The 8SY-900 has an impressive power to weight ratio, direct injection and dual turbo chargers. And with an overall length of 1236 mm (engine only) the Yanmar 8SY-900M is a compact powerhouse which slotted into the engine room aboard Cheyenne without any modifications to bulkheads needed.
The entire re-power project was expertly performed by Mobile Marine Repairs at their on-water facility at the Sydney City Marina at Roselle. In addition to the main engine and gearbox replacement Grant also took the opportunity to contract Mobile Marine Repairs to update the generator set with a Yanmar powered Mase 12Kw diesel generator complete with sound shield.
At the helm, the advanced electronics of the Yanmar 8SY-900M is plainly evident on the expansive dash. The control head successfully combines dual engine throttles in one simple module for the ultimate in drive-by-wire control. The multi-function LCD display receives data from the engine ECU interface to ensure that the skipper has all the essential data at a glance.
Out on the water the dual Yanmar 8SY engines have delivered stunning results. Significantly, the fuel usage has plummeted from 180 litres per hour for both engines to 160 litres per hour for both engines, when operating at a comfortable cruise speed of 20 knots.
That’s a reduction of 16% in fuel costs and an increase of 16% in cruising range. Given that Cheyenne carries 3500 litres of fuel, the extra cruise range is hugely significant. Now the boat is good for 400 nm with some in reserve and even more if the throttles are pulled back a little.
After re-powering, the 40 tonne Cheyenne has a top speed of 32 knots, just fractionally faster than before the repower project, but in Grant Burley’s mind top end speed is not a big consideration in the performance appraisal.
Quite apart from his passion for boating, Grant Burley is also an aviation enthusiast piloting his own helicopter. In the aviation industry there is an unremitting demand for excellence, precision and safety. There are no compromises.
“When I apply my aviation training and standards to my Yanmar 8SY repower I come away absolutely delighted,” said Grant Burley.
“In terms of power, economy, torque and low fuel consumption, these Yanmar’s are the very best in their class.”
“The transformation in terms of on-water performance and acceleration has to be felt to be appreciated. Since repowering, the Yanmar’s throw the boat up onto the plane, and Cheyenne charges through turns more like a ski boat than a 62’ vessel that weighs 40 tonnes.”
“And there’s no smoke!” Grant Burley adds gleefully as the concluding statement.
Power Equipment is the exclusive and authorised Australian, NZ, PNG and South Pacific distributor of Yanmar Marine and Industrial diesel engines importing product from Yanmar plants in Japan, Asia, USA and Europe. Power Equipment is also the authorised distributor of JCB DieselMax engines for both Australia and New Zealand. Power Equipment distributes the Yanmar powered MASE diesel marine generators range and Gori high quality folding sailboat propellers.
For further information on this story contact:
Jeff Fraser
Marketing Coordinator
Power Equipment Pty Ltd
Tel: (03) 9709 8500
Fax: (03) 9709 8544
Email: jeff.fraser@powerequipment.com.au |
