Quote:
Originally Posted by BMRLVR
Yes I am very well aware of EMD (Electro-motive Diesel) and the fact that they were the rail division of GM. Sadly enough, Cat bought EMD recently and idled one of their plants putting many Canadians out of work.
The big benefit to two stroke diesels is the fact that since they make a power stroke on every downstroke (as opposed to every second downstroke of a four stroke) they were able to spool turbos at a lower RPM than a comparably sized four stroke engine the torque did build much quicker indeed. Also since two strokes don't require as heavy of a flywheel they change speeds quicker (are more responsive to throttle inputs), something that is very desirable in certain applications. The main reason that two stroke diesels died out was due to emissions, however new technology is allowing them to run clean enough to possibly make a comeback in small and medium sized applications. The one thing that I love about two stroke diesels is the sound....... I love the sound they make...... it is AWESOME!
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Yeah, throttle response isn't an issue with wheel boats because you're turning a wheel which slips and when boat handling you are always dialing in throttle or switching into reverse/forward well in advance of the boat doing either. The quicker power ramp is huge with tugs though. In fishing boats where boat handling isn't your business and serves only to get lines on/off the dock this isn't an advantage that would ever outweigh efficiency and these found their way there due to their ability to adapt to a low speed shaft/CP setup.
We're all kind of curious to see what kind of packs we'll be getting from Cat. The GE packs tended to be pretty reliable and the price was right. Hopefully that will continue going forward. BTW the price of fuel has now reached a point where repowering has reached payoff for us and EMD is looking to get their new electronic motors out on the water. We may be moving to one of these depending on what incentives they are willing to put up on the table. For us a huge factor is only NC has a presence in Dutch Harbor and throughout Alaska have more support available to throw at an engine than anyone else. Not a small consideration when every day by the dock represents 50k lost dollars and you're down waiting for someone like you to fly in.