'77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower SPLASHED!

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Thanks for all the positive comments everyone. I will continue to post pics and videos when I have something interesting going on.

I wish you all good luck with your projects, and a good summer. I plan to continue reading this forum as I still have a lot to learn.

Bert

 

[Triton II]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Great to see this Luhrs, what a beautiful little ship. Have a great weekend with the fisho-rellies!

TII

 

[djpeters]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

I was watching your thread as well. Very nice work! I know you said you didn't open it up, but how fast were you going in the video? Just curious...

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

I have no idea how fast I was going because I don't have any speed measuring device yet. I plan to get a GPS at some point.

From what I've read, hull speed for my boat should be about 7.2 knots. So my best guess at 1800 motor RPM is approx. 7 knots. Also keep in mind my V-drive is a 1.5 ratio. I think she might be able to push a little bigger prop but I'm going to run her some more before I go changing anything. I have a 16 X 16 prop on right now.

Thanks again for the positive comments.

 

[mr300z87]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

I have been following along since the beginning. Congrats on the successfully splash. As a fellow NJ boater I will keep my eye out for you on the Raritan Bay. Hope to be out there this weekend.

 

[goboating]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Hip, Hip, Horray!!!!!!!Its great to see a plan come together. What a nice build and now a wonderful boat to enjoy. At some point I sorta figured you had to think about all the new friends you would make. As you pointed out, they all have fishing poles....and a few bucks for gas! It also gets me to thinking, these engines are a dime a dozen in salvage yards...what have you started!! Thanks for a great thread and a job well done!!!!

 

[colobiker]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

WOW!!!!!! I have been following this thread since I found it. I thought it was a great idea to "Diesel" a boat like yours....

I finally watched the video's.. one word.. AWESOME!!!! I am so Jealous... Excellent transformation, you did and excellent job.

you mentioned the boat was too loud.. not even remotely too loud. that boat sounds like its a power house (of course I love diesels). I am sure fellow boaters on the lake will say. I hope that guy is around when my boat quits and I need a tow.. I say stick that bigger prop on and go with it. I would imagine your fuel economy is pretty good, diesels love constant load/throttle conditions and just running.

you might have started something here.. Hmm.. volkswagen TDI swap in my old Barretta Success? do you suppose they make an adaptor to a merc outdrive?

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Thanks again for all the great feedback!

A lot of people were negative at the beginning, saying the 6.2 is just a cheap auto engine. It's not as good as a Yanmar, etc. But so what? Every Mercruiser 350 on the water is really a marinized GM auto engine.

I was talking with the guy in the slip next to mine last night, and I told him I was out for 3.5 hours on Tuesday and my fuel gauge only dropped about 1/16 of a tank. His 32-footer has twin gas 454's and he said he would've burned at least 70-75 gallons in the same time.

Regarding the engine sound, I'm a diesel freak so it's music to my ears. But to normal people like my daughter it's just noise. So for next season I plan to install mufflers and some kind of sound deadener in the engine compartment.

I wish everyone a good boating weekend.

Bert

 

[lmannyr]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Great work!!!! I love the economy of your test run. I also love my Duramax truck. Thanks for sharing this experience.

Wonder if the 350 merc is the same size dimensionally as the 6.2?

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

The 6.2 diesel is a little bigger dimensionally than a gasser 350. The height is probably close to the same but the 6.2 is wider than the 350, partly because of the design of the OSCO manifolds. But the 6.2 is still way smaller than a Cummins or Caterpillar diesel V8.

 

[crablegs]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

I just read through your whole thread, AWESOME!!!!! We need more videos! I want to see a video from start up and hear how she sounds when you throttle up!

 

[QC]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

But the 6.2 is still way smaller than a Cummins or Caterpillar diesel V8.

Maybe because the CAT 3208 is 10.4 liters (636 cid) . . .

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Hi guys! I added 4 new videos to Youtube, from today's cruising around. (search for "Flounder3906") Nothing real exciting. In fact I need to go to filmmaker school if I'm going to keep doing this, as even I find my videos boring.

I'm gaining more and more confidence in the boat and engine. It seems like it's going to be pretty reliable.

I still haven't had the engine over 2500 RPM. Redline is 3600, but there's no way I'm going near that. It might be fine but I just don't want to take a chance on putting a rod through the side of the block and having to sit out the rest of the summer.

Tomorrow my daughter and maybe some cousins are going out with me.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Congrats, the boat looks and sounds great! It looks like your hard work paid off in having a smooth maiden voyage.

BTW, although diesels might be different, but I like to open my motors up full throttle every once in a while. I hear rumors this is a good thing to do, and I always do so right at the very end of my trip, before my marina. Just in case...

 

[stackz]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

nice.

bet it feels good to finally be on the water in it.

kinda curious how much you've got invested into it overall at this point as in purchase price + materials.

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Stackz: I paid $3,000 for the boat (with no engine and basket-case transmission that was too far gone to rebuild) in July 2010. I've since put about $16K into it so that makes the total $19K.

When I look back at all I did to it though, not that much of the cost involved the diesel conversion. Most is work and parts the boat would've needed even if I was putting a gasser Chrysler V8 back in.

In terms of reliability I think it's going to pay off that I replaced all the hoses and plumbing fittings, pumps, heat exchangers, and 80% of the wiring.

My latest obsession is fighting corrosion. I'm going around spraying all my electrical terminals and exposed bolts/nuts with a good anti-corrosion spray I found (LPS 3 Premier rust inhibitor). It forms sort of a sticky heavy film almost like Cosmoline. Hopefully that will help avoid problems over the long haul.

I really enjoyed the whole rebuilding phase, when she was up on blocks. I'm already kicking around some ideas for improvements for next fall-winter-spring.

 

[stackz]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

I use the same corrosion inhibitor and I spray it at least once a year. Great stuff and you will see the places you miss lol. I spray more on areas I wash often. I thought you pretty much only had to do the engine retrofit. Didn't know you had all the extra stuff. Oh does the total include the sry dock fees? I know my local dry dock is like 200/ month for a 28' er. Im in the process of buying a slip and after that the boat search is on...just formulating whether to get one like you or just take out the loan for less work lol. I am just about finished with my runabout and it wasn't fun haha

 

[macca123]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Great looking boat, glad the splash went well, I make my own rust inhibitor, 50% engine oil and 50% turps put into a spray bottle works great.

 

[parrisw]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

19k for a boat like that is very good, diesel to boot!!! Well done. I'm jealous.

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Hi guys! I've been enjoying the heck out of my boat, but the engine noise was starting to get to me so I blew $170 on some 2" acoustic foam and started installing it tonight after work:

If the strength of an adhesive is proportional to how much it stinks then this is the best glue in the world, 'cause guys in the marina 75 feet away from me were asking what the heck smells so bad.

By the time I finished it was too late to fire up the engine so I don't know the results yet. But I'm pretty sure it's going to make a difference. Besides it looks high-tech so I'm already happy with it.