Engine Room

Boating Industry Upset About Trump’s New Plans for High-Octane Ethanol

By Peter Janssen on July 29, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

The fight over high-ethanol fuel is heading up, with the boating industry warning that President Trump’s plans to let E15 be sold year-round could damage the engines of millions of boat owners. “President Trump’s pledge to allow the year-round sale of E15 will needlessly put consumers in danger,” Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said last week. The immediate problem started the previous day when President Trump told Iowa farmers that his Administration is “getting very close” to approving a waiver to allow E15, a fuel blend including 15 percent ethanol, to be sold year round. Currently,…

On Watch

By Peter Janssen on June 21, 2018 Engine Room, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Volvo Unveils Revolutionary New Self-Docking System on 68-foot Azimut. See Video By Peter A. Janssen Volvo Penta just demonstrated its new self-docking system in a 68-foot Azimut in Sweden where the boat docked itself perfectly in a tight space without the aid of a human hand. And it has a video to prove it. The new system. called “Easy Docking,” is an example of Volvo’s research in autonomous vehicles, and it was displayed during a stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race in Gothenburg. After the captain pushed a button at the helm, the boat maneuvered itself with a combination of Volvo’s…

EPA Approves Bio-Isobutanol Fuel Additive; Wins Praise from NMMA

By Peter Janssen on June 21, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

The Environmental Protection Agency just approved boater-friendly bio-isobutanol as a safe fuel additive, winning praise from the National Marine Manufacturers Association. Thom Dammrich, president of the NMMA, said bio-isobutanol “will provide consumers a safe, efficient and environmentally-friendly E15 alternative that is highly compatible with marine products. This decision will promote an innovative fuel supply with direct benefits to American boaters and consumers.” Unlike E15, or ethanol-laced gasoline which can damage engines in boats and cars, biobutanol delivers renewable energy without any side effects. It works with existing boat and car engines and the fuel supply infrastructure. The EPA acted on…

Volvo Penta Sets 2021 Deadline for Building Hybrid and All-Electric Drivelines

By Peter Janssen on June 13, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

Volvo Penta is making a major investment in developing electric power for marine uses and has set 2021 as the deadline for creating hybrid and all-electric drivelines. The company just issued a clear statement of its intent to provide electrified power solutions for its marine business. “Volvo Penta is embracing the electric transformation and will be at the forefront in delivering compelling business cases to customers using this new technology,” said Björn Ingemanson, president of Volvo Penta. At the same time, he said, “This is the start of a long-term transition. Diesel- and gasoline-powered primary drive systems will remain the…

Yamaha Introduces Giant New 425-hp V-8 Outboard, Its Most Powerful Ever

By Peter Janssen on May 24, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

More boat owners want big outboards for their cruising boats, and Yamaha has delivered, just unveiling a new 425-hp V-8, its most powerful ever. Yamaha says this new engine features the first application of direct injection technology in a four-stroke outboard; this sprays fuel at high pressure directly into each combustion chamber, rather than the intake track, providing more efficiency, power and torque with faster acceleration and a higher top speed. The new outboard also is the first time Yamaha has used sleeveless cylinders, formed through plasma fusion technology, and iridium spark plugs for reliability and durability. The company says…

Mercury Builds New 300-hp V-8 Outboards, Great for Larger Cruising Boats

By Peter Janssen on May 20, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

Mercury is continuing to up the ante for its big outboards for cruising boats, introducing new Verado and FourStroke V-8 and V-6 models from 175- to 300-hp. The new 4.6L V-8 engines are part of the largest new product development in the Wisconsin company’s 80-year history. “These new V-8 engines, like the V-6, will set a new benchmark in the marine industry,” said John Pfeifer, president of Mercury Marine. Indeed, the engines just won the Most Innovative Product award at the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show, the largest in that nation, where they were displayed for the first time anywhere.…

New Honors for Volvo’s Most-Powerful-Ever D13 Engine and IPS1350 Pod Drives

By Peter Janssen on May 2, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

Volvo Penta’s new 1,000-hp D13 diesel engine, it’s most powerful ever, and its IPS1350 pod drive propulsion system just won new honors from Boating Industry, the boating business magazine, which named them among the top boating products of the year. The engine and drive system were introduced to the North American market at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat show last November. “With Volvo Penta’s major redesign to create the D13-1000 engine and its integration with IPS pod drives, the company created an impressive system with the consumer end result in mind,” the magazine said. The engine and drives result in a…

Honda Redesigns Its Largest Outboards with More Power, Less Corrosion and Easier Maintenance

By Peter Janssen on February 26, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

Honda Marine just introduced its new, streamlined flagship BF200, BF225 and BF250 V6 outboards at the Miami International Boat Show. The 200 and 225 are powered by a new engine, the 3.6-liter V6 that is already in the 250, but all three have more resistance to corrosion, easier maintenance and improved acceleration. The new outboards have more protection from water entering the engine than ever before, and a new cowling has a dual-channel, indirect-air-circuit induction system to improve air flow to the engine while funneling moisture away. And the surface of the engine has a new coating for greater corrosion…

Seven Marine and Mercury Marine Launch New, Bigger and Better Outboards in Miami

By Peter Janssen on February 20, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

The trend toward more and better outboards engines on larger boats got a boost at the Miami show as Seven Marine introduced two new models and an updated version of its 627-hp monster, while Mercury Marine unveiled a new 3.4L V-6 series that won an Innovation Award from the National Marine Manufacturers Association and Boating Writers International. Seven Marine’s two new models are 527-hp and 577-hp, and are built on the company’s 6.2L supercharged V-8 platform with closed cooling, wet-disc clutch transmission and fuel injection. The enhanced 627, according to Seven Marine President Rick Davis, is “the most technologically advanced…

What Does It Really Cost To Drive an Electric Boat 1,000 Miles at 10 mph? Here are Some Answers from Stephens Waring Yacht Design

By Peter Janssen on February 5, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

We all know that electric-powered boats are cheaper to operate than gas- or diesel-powered models, right? But exactly how much cheaper are they? Now the creative people at Stephens Waring Yacht Design up in Belfast, Maine, have come up with some numbers to answer that question. Oddly enough, hard figures are hard to come by. So, Stephens Waring started their research at the Alternative Fuels Data Center at the Department of Energy, which has a lot of drop-down menus with information about cars, comparing the costs of an all-electric Chevy Volt, for example, to the costs of a combustion-engine-driven Volkswagen…

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