Hey guys I have seen gale banks d-max boat motor and a warlock I found online. Anyone know of any drag boats or v-drive with a duramax set up ?

Im not sure the world is ready for that kinda power on the water yet:D
If i had money again I would and wanted to build an offshoar cat w a couple twinned dmaxes:eek:

I know and have seen Diesel Performance Research's offshore racing boat with 2 Dmaxs. It's 44' and have had the boat to 115 MPH or so. Look at the site picturs of it on the main page

I know and have seen Diesel Performance Research's offshore racing boat with 2 Dmaxs. It's 44' and have had the boat to 115 MPH or so. Look at the site picturs of it on the main page

probably gets 7mpg to boot as well. I know there is a guy at the Lake of the Ozarks down here that has 2 stockish cummins in his cat. Does about 80 and uses 1/3 fuel of other boats of similar size and speed.

probably gets 7mpg to boot as well.

Where'n the hell do you get that idea?

Where'n the hell do you get that idea?

well... based off the cummins boat down at the lake near me.

Usually measure boats with gallons per hour. Mine would burn like 25 gallons in about 2 hours on the hour meter. I think a deisel would be great!

Usually measure boats with gallons per hour. Mine would burn like 25 gallons in about 2 hours on the hour meter. I think a deisel would be great!

everything at the lake is by mile marker so thats what everyone goes by down there.

everything at the lake is by mile marker so thats what everyone goes by down there.


Not here on the west coast. We barely know what a " No wake " bouy is.

There have been a couple boat profects on here. Not sure where they are though.

It would still be pretty cool. I think it would be challenging to get the "gearing" right. The diesel turn alot less rpm's than the gassers. You would have to prop up, but then it may idle at to fast of speed. I used to get chewed on by the cops for going to fast at an idle. Not too much I could do. The engine idle was as low as I could get it to keep running.

I know and have seen Diesel Performance Research's offshore racing boat with 2 Dmaxs. It's 44' and have had the boat to 115 MPH or so. Look at the site picturs of it on the main page

Cool thanks Bullet I will check it out and see what info I can find. I thought it would be a cool idea for some twins on one with some kind of water chiller for EGT and oil.

Banks sells D-Maxs for boats. :D Mike

do u want hp or torque on the water?

Banks sells D-Maxs for boats. :D Mike

Those engines will probably not be out for at least 2 yrs they just got the thing on the engine dyno and are going through turbo setups. Which can take a year by it self

do u want hp or torque on the water?

Tq is more important to get the boat going but depends on the size of boat too

Those engines will probably not be out for at least 2 yrs they just got the thing on the engine dyno and are going through turbo setups. Which can take a year by it self
Hah seems like everything banks does is years out:rolleyes:

PPE has one or two in there catalog and parts for building them.

It would still be pretty cool. I think it would be challenging to get the "gearing" right. The diesel turn alot less rpm's than the gassers. You would have to prop up, but then it may idle at to fast of speed. I used to get chewed on by the cops for going to fast at an idle. Not too much I could do. The engine idle was as low as I could get it to keep running.


Either that, or drop it in a jet drive :-) I'd love to throw a d-max in my 74 Tahiti jet. Doesn't a Dmax weigh abuot the same as an iron-headed BBC? Great part about the jet is I could change the impeller out to achieve the same effect as "propping up" but the nozzle on the drive unit allows you to idle at whatever speed you want.

A few Months ago Hot Boat magazine had an article showing one of the Duramax powered boats built by PPE and one with a Banks built engine.

Scott

Either that, or drop it in a jet drive :-) I'd love to throw a d-max in my 74 Tahiti jet. Doesn't a Dmax weigh abuot the same as an iron-headed BBC? Great part about the jet is I could change the impeller out to achieve the same effect as "propping up" but the nozzle on the drive unit allows you to idle at whatever speed you want.


The only problem I see with this is the limited RPM of the DMAX. I know my "squirt" boat was always running at 4000+ RPM's and up too 6500RPM's. I think it would work in a large, slower jet boat application. I don't think, even with an "A" impeller it would have enough RPM's required for a 20ish foot jet boat.

If I remember right the PPE duramax boat had a 38 pitch prop and a $25,000 lower unit to handle the torque. On youtube it looked like the prop would spin out even going 60 mph if they gave it to much throttle.

The problem I see is the torque and lack of RPM, you will have to run something like a #6 drive and prop from a 1k hp motor to get it going anywhere. And there lies the problem, a $15k prop and $40k drive. :eek:

This would be a great application for the 4.5L

Now my question. What all has to be changed on the d-max for it to work in a boat? I was looking at buying an 1988 30' crusier down the street. has no motor and drive. I saw it and thought "I could put a d-max in that".

You see a few boats being setup here and there but I think the problem is that they keep trying to put Duramax motors in high performance boats. Lots of challenges including weight, heat, gearing etc. While in general diesel hi performance boats have proven to be effecient none are really fast. Also the guys buying boats in the 25-35 foot range that could drop a 496HO or a 525 prebuilt merc motor in and be lighter and easier to install and run harder. In the next price range up, It's really hard to compete against motors like the Merc 700 and Ilmor 725 when you can get a turnkey drive/motor package that can take a 28 cat to say 150mph with a 1-2 year warantee. I just dont see much of a market there....

I think the better market would be competing against cummins motors for cruisers. Might be cheaper in those applications. The volume would be higher i would think....

id love to have a d max in my wakesetter!

Seateks, Yanmar, Cat, Cummins Detroit, perkins and many others have reigned the marine diesel market before the Duramax was even a thought on paper

There is a whole lot more to boats and engines than just horsepower, torgue, and speed.
You seldom, if ever, see diesels in high performance boats. The reason..... it's cheaper to gas power. Factor in the cost, and weight of diesels and the value quickly goes downhill. Diesels are designed to run at peak rpm to get into their respective power ranges. If you put too small of a prop on a diesel engine, you'll sit and cavitate all day long, and run at an rpm level that the engine wasn't designed for. Too big a prop, and the engine will never reach the rpm's that it's designed to function at. This spells serious trouble for a diesel engine. Burnt valves, pistons, and on and on. A gasser will run at a much more varied rpm level, and provide decent power levels while doing so.
Put a diesel in a boat that won't each it's designed rpm range, because of under or over propping and your warranty stops the second that it's launched.
This is the main reason why you see diesels in larger, heavier vessels. The power and torgue can be utilized as designed, and give excellent overall performance while doing it. It's not easy to find a pair of 1200hp gassers.

I know of a boat in Northern Mi. 50' skater burning Hemp Oil my guess is it has twin diesels. Small town roomer is that it's been over 120 mph. I've seen the boat many times but don't know much about it. It sounds bad azz not like a gasser but not like any diesel I've ever heard. I will look closer once the ice is gone & its on the water, and yes he is an old hippie. :)

Im not sure the world is ready for that kinda power on the water yet:D
If i had money again I would and wanted to build an offshoar cat w a couple twinned dmaxes:eek:

Yeah because a d-max is so much more powerful than a 1200hp blower motor. Eliminator just did a 43 eagle with twin 400hp cummings with nxt drives that did a respectable 70 something miles an hour with a range of 500 miles. I heard cummings also has 600hp versions of the motors. There's videos of the eliminator on YouTube if you want to check it out.

The D-max is a awesome engine but in a boat I don't drive everyday a blown big block is the way to go. The only other engine I would want over a blown BBC is a turbine engine.

The only other engine I would want over a blown BBC is a turbine engine.

Yep. But you know the game. Then you can't insure it. :)

Anyone see this months diesel power? They have a fully marinized (manifolds etc) Banks LBZ based motor that is twin turbo charged and supercharged. Rumored to be 900 ft/lbs of torque and allegedly built for a military application. Looks like it has a BAM style transmission attached as well. It would be interesting to see what that would do with a near ratio no 6 drive attached to it on a mid 30 foot cat. :)

It's not easy to find a pair of 1200hp gassers.

Actually its quite easy these days. Mercury Racing, Sterling Performance, GT Performance, Boost Power and others all sell these motors turn key if you have a wallet big enough to pay for them. Dont expect much if any warantee though.

Yep. But you know the game. Then you can't insure it. :)

I read somewhere that there is an insurance company insuring turbines if installed by turbine marine, but that big money. One other downside to running a diesel in a boat is the rpm range. You can build a blown BBC to run up to 6000rpm easy while a diesel will want to be below 3000. So that lead to adding trasmissions and making it more complicated. Only way I would go diesels in a boat is a cruiser to increase the range.

Oh and I just remembered there was a D-max Nordic at the la boat show two years ago coupled to one of imco's new drives at the time. Looked pretty cool. I think there was also an article about it in hotboat before they went under.

RPM range is perfect for airboats!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zis2gGgZy_os

Yeah because a d-max is so much more powerful than a 1200hp blower motor. Eliminator just did a 43 eagle with twin 400hp cummings with nxt drives that did a respectable 70 something miles an hour with a range of 500 miles. I heard cummings also has 600hp versions of the motors. There's videos of the eliminator on YouTube if you want to check it out.

The D-max is a awesome engine but in a boat I don't drive everyday a blown big block is the way to go. The only other engine I would want over a blown BBC is a turbine engine.

Sorry but this is a pet peeve of mine....... There's NO "G" in CUMMINS!!!!!

rpm range is not the problem, even with lower rpm the diesel engine doesn't have hard time turning prop. most boats have to move to 32 to 36 inch pitch on prop(5 or 6 blade). realize gas engines have to turn higher rpm to get the torque/hp that diesel engine can produce at lower rpm, most inboard/sterndirives you can pull back throttle to about 75% and only lose couple mph, but burn only about half the fuel.