Repower for Fisheries Victoria
Less fuel, more powerBattling The Rip at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay can be a daunting experience for small vessels but it is one the officers of Fisheries Victoria have to face in all conditions.
To ensure their safety, the fisheries officers insist on only the very best commercial marine equipment. To this end, they recently re-powered their big Kevlarcat patrol boat with a pair of Yamaha F250 outboard engines.
The old, non-Yamaha, 225hp outboards had only 800 hours up in the seven years since the boat was launched but safety and reliability were the priority.
The 4.2-litre F250s have the largest capacity in their class and they are also the lightest. As the Fisheries' cat weighs in at five tonnes, real grunt was needed.
The Yamahas rev out to 5900rpm for a top speed of 46 knots and have an optimum cruising speed of 30 knots at 4000rpm. The fuel consumption, 35 litres per engine per hour, is 12 per cent better than the previous engines.
Fisheries officer Mike Philip says he and his mates could not be happier.
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