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talk me out of this build

T

tim

Member
Well, i just stumbled across a deal and will be picking up an extra engine sunday. Have always wondered what it might do on a boat.

Problem is is weighs in at 1K lbs.

POWERSTROKE diesel.:)

I already have easy access to enough goodies to create a happy 500hp 1K ftlb trq engine. Hell could even goo 600/1200 without too much trouble.

Problem #1 What kind of engine stand/bracing am i ganna need for the weight of this bad boy.

#2 What the hell kinda of prop will pull this amount of hp down? Peak power on these 7.3 peak at 2600-2800 RPMs.

Thinking maybe 15ft haul???

Thoughts, ideas or even reality check:)

Oh, one other question, is a turbo considered a muffling device?
 
Marshland Marine in Texas builds twin turbo durmax boats and they do real good. If you call and speak with Robert he can be a big help to you. I have a 500hp powerstroke in my truck right now and if I can help please let me know. I have always been real curious about a diesel boat because you can run off road fuel and the motors last forever. Please keep us posted.
 
Didn't even think about the dyed fuel, BONUS!!! Thanks!

Thanks for the encouragement. My wife isn't that excited about it to be honest.

The sweet spot for the powerstroke in fuel consumption is a max of 1800-1900 rpms. Anytime over 2000 rpms and watch the fuel gauge drop. :shock:

I just spent 12 hours in one a few weeks ago with the cruise set at 3100(85'ish) and boy did we burn some fuel.

I am hoping the amout of thrust it is capable of producing will counter the extra weight.

I guess we might just see. This isn't in stone yet. Trying to work out all possiable flows on paper first.
 
crowhater":2914lzwm said:
Marshland Marine in Texas builds twin turbo durmax boats and they do real good. If you call and speak with Robert he can be a big help to you. I have a 500hp powerstroke in my truck right now and if I can help please let me know. I have always been real curious about a diesel boat because you can run off road fuel and the motors last forever. Please keep us posted.
Click to expand...

I just looked at their site.

These are their engine options.......

Chevy 350, 454, 502
GM 6.5 L Diesel
Caterpillar 3208 Diesel
Caterpillar 3116 Diesel
Aircraft Engines
Falconer Aluminum V12, 650 HP


Some how i think my 1K lbs isn't that big a deal anymore.
 
They built one several years ago with a monster Cat motor and it ran dry ground. It was not a speed demond but it did it. A stroke can make 30lbs of boost with a stock turbo and booast is what will off set the fuel consumption. If you run a short pipe right off the turbo pointing up you will cut your EGT down big time. also think of all the easy power adders ( meth/water injection, propane ). You can get Jody to burn you a custom program for your application. Also stripping the motor of the fan will bring on another 30hp.
 
Waterthunder ha d anew 24' combee hull advertised you may wan to look back in the classifieds.


Other then its a ford weight is your biggest issue :roll: maybe that make a good airboat tow truck project I been wanting to find some old 1931 Chevy truck body's and drop a Cummings in there for a tow truck .... ya I know pipe dreams :lol:
 
check out this site for any help or advise. The site is free to join the forum and many of the guys are master diesel techs.

thedieselstop.com

Guys that don't know any better spend their money on stuff like Banks products. you can get way more power for half the money if you just know what to buy and where to go. Also there is tons of free power to be had if you know what to do. I can take a stock stroke and have it doing burnouts in a day without spending a dime. heck you can soder a 10k resistor on the IPR and trick the injectors into thinking they have low oil pressure. The computer will up the oil pressure in response and you will pick up 60hp. I would suggest getting a custom program before I did this poor mans solution but it does work.
 
The weight won't be the issue with the rigging. After all, the thrust created by the prop puts more stress on the rigging than the static weight of the engine. I've built quite a few engines making over 1000#s of torque in airboats. But THE thing that will be an issue that no one is probably willing to give you answers to is vibration. That is gonna be to be a toughy....Be a cool project with lots of engine reliabilty and capable of moving a lot of boat, but by the time you make her strong enough you probably could have got away with 2-300 less #s of torque and a lighter package. JMO

Felber
 
I have seen a few diesel airboats I would strongly recommend at the very least a 16ft boat but probably should run an 18ft. They are very heavy and require a very large radiator and cooling system so the Duramax and Power Stokes both weigh over 1,200 puonds after adding a gearbox and inter-cooler and, radiator and all the water. Stay safe and go with a high sided hull! I would run a warp drive or you probably gonna have vibration issues!
 
hmgm123":167mdiag said:
How would turning up the oil pressure give you more horse power??
Click to expand...

The injectors are fead by the HPOP high pressure oil pump, when you up the oil pressure to the injectors it atomizes the fuel better. if you go to ebay you will see these little black boxes with a knob and a switch for 80 dollars that say they will give your powerstroke up to 60hp at the top setting. The box is just diffrent resistors that you switch between to increase injestor oil pressure. The programers do the same thing but they also adjust the timing, increase boost, etc. Like I said it is a poor mans hp gain. A better free mod in my opion is to remove your exhaust waste gate, the heater in your inner cooler pipe, take the foil off your return inner cooler pipe, vent your crank case out side instead of into your turbo, strait exhaust, make your own cold air intake, shim your fuel pressure spring. There are many more free mods that will increase your fuel milage that you can find at the deiselstop. They have step by step instruction with pictures for most of these mods.
 
I'm pretty schooled in the HEUI world.

I operate a small diesel performance outfit for Powerstrokes. Mainly the reason for this exact build up possablity.

I rework the injectors from some stock 73cc up to 500cc and do custom chip programming for the PCM's.

I'm just started my lastest build up on a 97 F350 to include stage 3 injectors, studs, high rev kit, turbo(undetermined yet) and possibly dual HPOP's. Should make a respecable 500-550 HP DD.

ON TO THE BOAT............
I may bypass the intercooler for simplicity THis is a pre super duty model and they didn't come intercooled from the actory anyway. The cooling system will be the tricky part. The factory fans are massive. Electric fans just cannot compete. somewhere in the neiborhood of 6K+ CFM.

Still drawing things out at this point.

Please keep ideas and thoughts coming. I appreciate all input.
 
Well these engines can live at 4K+rpms, but it is nearly impossiable to make it peak any higher than 2800RPM. The PCM will just not allow it. NO TUNER can change this.
 
tim":row465et said:
I'm pretty schooled in the HEUI world.

I operate a small diesel performance outfit for Powerstrokes. Mainly the reason for this exact build up possablity.

I rework the injectors from some stock 73cc up to 500cc and do custom chip programming for the PCM's.

I'm just started my lastest build up on a 97 F350 to include stage 3 injectors, studs, high rev kit, turbo(undetermined yet) and possibly dual HPOP's. Should make a respecable 500-550 HP DD.

ON TO THE BOAT............
I may bypass the intercooler for simplicity THis is a pre super duty model and they didn't come intercooled from the actory anyway. The cooling system will be the tricky part. The factory fans are massive. Electric fans just cannot compete. somewhere in the neiborhood of 6K+ CFM.

Still drawing things out at this point.

Please keep ideas and thoughts coming. I appreciate all input.
Click to expand...


My bad just trying to help
 
The Diesel Engine is way to heavy for a small boat. The last few Diesel powered boats we have built have been 20ft or larger.We always use the 6.5 Chev Diesel but will be trying a Duramax Diesel in the near future. I would love to build myself one with the powerstroke 7.3.

I have a video of a 20ft Diesel powered boat on here somewhere.
 
The first diesel powered airboat that I saw was 21'x 9' powered by a Cat 3208, 260 hp turbo, direct drive, 2800 RPM's approximately 2400 #'s at Marshland Airboats in Baytown, TX. At the time the 260 hp was the largest hp 3208 Cat made. When they discontinued the 3208 the largest was 450 hp, so it was quite a few years ago. I think he said, the boat was going to China to service oil rigs and they had a 45 mile run, one way, in shallow water lake with alot of vegetation.

The second one was in 2005 in Venice , LA, a 20'x8'1/2 ? Diamondback rigged for bowfishing with a 6.5 GM. It's on their website under fishing boats. I was told top speed was around 40 mph.

I always thought a 4 cylinder Yanmar would be a good diesel for an airboat. they develop about 240 hp, weight less than 900#'s marinized and I think they turn somewhere between 3300-3800 rpm;s
 
crowhater":1n45gdhb said:
My bad just trying to help
Click to expand...

No, i do appreciate all input, just wantd to gve everyone a little background on myself if any questions arose.

Please do not take it any other way.

THANKS.
 
Airboatcapt2, is there anything special done for mounting the engine for a diesel? They do have much more vibration than gas engines.
 
Marshland Marine has done over 100 diesel powered boats. I called Robert and told him about this topic and he gave me some info. You can call Robert @ 281-383-2451 and he will answer any question you might have. The base 20x8 diesel boat will run $45,000. They use a 1.5 belt drive with a 3B wide blade prop. I asked about vibration and they said it is not a big deal with the belt drive. These guys build boats for the oil companies all the time.
 
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