Volvo Penta Engines in Narrowboats. Why aren't there more?

[Sabcat]

Are these relatively scarce in narrowboats or is it that I just haven't come across them? On the face of it they seem to have been making engines for a long time that are just about perfect for the job. What am I missing?

[MtB]

Which Volvo Penta were you thinking of as perfect for a narrowpoat?

 

ISTR they mostly make high speed higher power engines for GRP cruisers, often with Z drives but its decades since I worked on such abominations!

 

 

MtB

[Naughty Cal]

Probably because Vp engines are so stupidly over priced!

 

Vp do make smaller engines for river boats and the like but they have an alarming price tag when compared to the more common narrow-boat engines.

 

That said we like our Vp engine. It's reliable and economical, you just have to hope and pray it never breaks because replacing it will be expensive!

[RLWP]

I'm sorting a boat with an MD11C at the moment

 

Richard

[Sabcat]

Which Volvo Penta were you thinking of as perfect for a narrowpoat?

 

ISTR they mostly make high speed higher power engines for GRP cruisers, often with Z drives but its decades since I worked on such abominations!

 

 

MtB

 

There's an array of them made in the last 50 years in the 30 - 50 hp @ 2-3k rpm range which is pretty much the perfect power/speed for a narrow boat.

Probably because Vp engines are so stupidly over priced!

 

Vp do make smaller engines for river boats and the like but they have an alarming price tag when compared to the more common narrow-boat engines.

 

That said we like our Vp engine. It's reliable and economical, you just have to hope and pray it never breaks because replacing it will be expensive!

 

I should've guessed they were expensive - or even better, looked.

[Robbo]

I have a 13hp MD2a (around 1982) on my 3ton Grundel, nice sound, goes blop blop blop blop..

 

Not mine...

Edited October 6, 2014 by Robbo

[Athy]

It does not look like a recent model. Is it?

It's interesting how we hear our engines. You hear yours going "blop blop", I hear mine (after it's nicely warmed up) going "wom-bat, wom-bat".

[Robbo]

It does not look like a recent model. Is it?

It's interesting how we hear our engines. You hear yours going "blop blop", I hear mine (after it's nicely warmed up) going "wom-bat, wom-bat".

 

I think it's cause when steering the boat I hear the exhaust and bloping of the water more than the engine which is slighly muffled as under deck, etc. Not sure of the year is in the video.

[David Mack]

Volvo is the successor to Bolinder who provided one of the first engines widely used in narrow boats!

[real_vibes]

I have an md22 / prima m60 / Austin montego.

 

It's got a cam belt which is tricky to change (hence my over thread) but it's been an excellent engine to us over the past 4 years

[Boaty Jo]

Are not many Pentas turbos too. Not much good for a narrowboat.

[Naughty Cal]

Are not many Pentas turbos too. Not much good for a narrowboat.

The bigger ones are but the smaller ones are naturally aspirated.

 

Ours is supercharged and turbocharged.

[NMEA]

There are hundreds of thousands of Yacht auxiliary VPs in use worldwide of the power rating required to push a narrow boat at canal speeds, they are reliable and economical but are a premium price as are the spares, i have the common rail computer controlled D4 in my own boat, had it since new in 2007 and it's been utterly reliable for everything from pottering around ditches to North Sea crossings.

[Naughty Cal]

They did bugger up with the early D3 though. They were a bit problematic.

 

Friends of ours have one which is prone to electronic sensor failure and turbo problems!

[NMEA]

They did bugger up with the early D3 though. They were a bit problematic.

 

Friends of ours have one which is prone to electronic sensor failure and turbo problems!

Indeed, but like most marine engines that was only a modified road or plant engine. The reason I waited so I could specify the D4 over the KAD is that it has no relation to the D3 and is the first marine engine that was designed from the ground up as a marine unit and has no road or plant application.

[Naughty Cal]

Indeed. We quite like our Kad.

 

Basic, simple and easy to work on.

[Richard10002]

I have an md22 / prima m60 / Austin montego.

It's got a cam belt which is tricky to change (hence my over thread) but it's been an excellent engine to us over the past 4 years

I had an MD22L in my yacht. Drove 15 tonnes at up to 7 knots or so. Bought a Montego Haynes manual to help with it.