Dive Operator Repowers With Yanmar For 25% Fuel Saving & 100% Reliability
Operating a recreational dive charter boat business from the idyllic Mission Beach coastal village in Far North Queensland is no less demanding an operation than a commercial fisherman operating in Bass Strait.
Indeed the pressure on Andy Wright at Calypso is unrelenting, year round. His boat Calypso II goes to sea 300 days a year with an average of 35 people on board each trip. That equates to a passenger list of over 10,000 passengers every year heading out to dive or snorkel on the Outer Barrier Reef.
Now, thanks to a new pair of purpose built Yanmar 6HYM-ETE commercial marine engines, Andy can sleep more comfortably at night secure in the knowledge that his principal dive boat is fuel efficient and highly reliable.
A self confessed dive nut, Andy Wright hitched a ride into Mission Beach with $20 in his pocket. He liked the diving and stayed. Today he runs a highly successful operation and owns three boats with a collective value in excess of $2m.
Calypso II started life as a commercial cray boat in 1988. When Andy purchased the boat in 2004, it had already been converted as a dive boat and the original Vee 8 – 4 cycle automotive based diesel engines had 7000 hours up. In Andy’s words, they were old and totally clagged. But he had them re-built and got a further 2000 hours out of them before he had endured enough heartache and worry.
“The original engines were expensive to run, chewing through 650 litres of diesel a day,” Andy said.
“I looked briefly at building a new boat but couldn’t justify the $2m cost for a new boat when compared to a re-power. I already had the right boat, I just needed the right power.”
As a life long boater, Andy had a wealth of experience not only with Yanmar but competitive brands of diesel engines as well.
“I looked at everything available but I kept coming back to Yanmar for Calypso II,” Andy said. “I like the brand, Yanmar has a great name and I liked the fact that the 6HY engine series is a purpose built commercial marine engine and not simply a derivative of a tractor or truck engine.”
“And I already have twin Yanmar 4.2 litre 6LPA engines in the Calypso Spirit dive boat and they just keep running and running. You can’t kill them!”
“When I looked at the re-power project, Yanmar was the ideal choice. It is the best brand, the best power configuration and compared to the opposition I looked at, it was also the cheapest.”
Calypso II was taken to Townsville where the old engines were removed. The re-power process involved new engine beds being made and a new exhaust system being installed. The Twin Disc transmissions, drive shafts and props were all retained.
Yanmar’s 6HYM-ETE model engine, which is part of the Yanmar commercial engine range from 12mhp to 911mhp, is a true blue work boat quality engine and includes Yanmar’s latest combustion chamber design named ASSIGN, a system originally pioneered by Yanmar on their large bore, low speed propulsion engines. This technology combined with Yanmar’s own mechanical fuel system has enabled a fuel consumption specification of 201gr/kw/hr at 100% load from the heavy duty 368kw (500mhp) model, a result which is the envy of many other brands and is giving owners something to smile about in the current times of high fuel prices. The 6HYM-ETE offers an emission compliant IMO certified product with full classification to BV/ABS/LR/RINA and NK if required.
This is a 6-in-line cylinder block that displaces 13.733 litres. The induction system features a 24-valve cylinder head design with twin turbo chargers and can be specified with four power ratings between 303kw (412mhp) @1850rpm to 515kw (700mhp) @ 2200rpm, depending on the application and duty cycle proposed. All up weight without a gearbox is 1385 kg.
Now after the re-power Andy Wright has noted some big savings not only in his fuel cost but trip times as well. The fuel consumption has plummeted from 160 litres per hour to 120 litres per hour (60 litres per hour per engine). That’s a saving of 25% or looking at it another way, a fuel saving of 160 litres per day or nearly 50,000 litres per year.
With the new Yanmar 6HYM-ETE engines installed, Calypso II (which weighs 45 tonnes and is 22m loa) has a cruise speed of 18 knots with the engines tricking over at 1850 RPM and a maximum of 24 knots. Before the engine change, the maximum speed was around 20 knots with a typical cruise speed of 16.5 knots.
“We now have huge fuel savings, the engines are quieter and my skippers are very happy,” Andy said. “One thing that Yanmar is noted for is the low level of exhaust fumes. In the dive business this is important to us and Yanmar certainly delivers on this score.”
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. With an extensive marine dealer and branch network, Power Equipment has the expertise and experience to assist boat owners and boat builders for both new installations and repowers. Power Equipment also distribute the Yanmar powered MASE diesel marine generators range, JCB Industrial Engines 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 |
