Yanmar engines transform training vessel

Geelong-based training vessel Delphinus, which started its life 40 years ago as a Queensland fisheries patrol boat, has been transformed with the installation of a pair of new Yanmar 6CX-GTYE diesel marine engines and the recently released Twin Disc QuickShift transmissions.

Vic Goy of Marine Training Services, who trains skippers on the 17 metre fibreglass boat, is delighted with the changes. Goy bought Delphinus in 1999 from a Queensland boater who had used it for recreational boating. His delivery run from the Whitsundays to Melbourne took two weeks and included a number of breakdowns, as the original engines were still fitted.

The old US-built two stroke diesels sucked their way through about 60 litres per engine per hour. When one engine died four years ago, Goy realised the second engine was also on its last legs, so he decided to investigate repowering. He found a problem in that most modern commercial diesels are in-line six cylinder engines while his were V8s -- and the overall length with a gearbox attached was a practical consideration.

After being recommended from commercial fishermen and some of his students, Goy settled on the Yanmar 6CX-GTYE -- a model used extensively in fishing boats, patrol craft and passenger ferries. The turbo-charged 7.4 litre engines produce 400hp at 2700 rpm and weigh only 850kg.

Goy mated the engines with the latest Twin Disc Quick Shift transmissions and was stunned by their performance. "When leaving the dock, the transmissions engage progressively until fully engaged and then further movement of the control increases engine revs allowing slow speed control and manoeuvrability,” Goy says.

The new engines have lifted the cruise speed to 14 knots, halved the fuel consumption and significantly lowered the noise levels.