Australia: A pair of new Yanmar 6CX-GTYE diesel marine engines fitted to the recently released Twin Disc QuickShift transmissions have contributed to a remarkable makeover for Vic Goy and his training vessel.
'Delphinus' is a 17-metre, 1970-built fisheries patrol vessel. Mr Goy purchased it in 1999 and put to work as a training vessel.
When Mr Goy purchased the vessel, it still had the original engines fitted. These were old American two-stroke diesels which were, according to Mr Goy, "pretty heavy on fuel, maybe 60 litres per engine per hour".
Mr Goy put 'Delphinus' to work training skippers for various commercial qualifications. Then one engine died about four years ago and needed a re-build. When Mr Goy realised that the second engine was also beginning to fail, he also found that parts for the re-build would be a problem so he decided to investigate a repower.
"I decided that it was time to get some modern day technology into the engine room," he said. "Of course the big problem was that nowadays most commercial diesel engines are in line six-cylinders models and I was replacing a V8. The overall length with a gearbox attached was a practical consideration.
"When I looked closer at specific Yanmar engines, I found they were lower at the front end than other engines, particularly with the heat exchanger fitted. I…settled on the Yanmar 6CX."
The Yanmar 6CXGTYE model is part of the Yanmar Hi-Speed Commercial Engine Family. The 6CX-GTYE model is used extensively in fishing, patrol craft and passenger ferry applications.
The conservative rating of this model is 294kw at 2,700rpm. It is a six-cylinder in-line turbo-charged and intercooled model that displaces 7.413 litres and weighs in at only 850kg dry without the gearbox fitted.
Matched to the Yanmar engines are the latest transmissions from Twin Disc, the QuickShift transmissions, model MGX-5065SC with a 2.43:1 reduction ratio. These are an offset or shallow case design, which assists in keeping the engines low in the vessel.
"These transmissions have to be experienced to be fully appreciated," Mr Goy said. "When engaging gear there is virtually no drive line shock- it is so smooth. When leaving the dock, the transmissions engage progressively until fully engaged and then further movement of the control increases engine rpm allowing slow speed control and manoeuvrability."
The complete QuickShift system is a combination of these transmissions and the Twin Disc Power Commander EC300 electronic controls. This precise operator control is commanded through either one of the two Dual Leverhead stations which control engine throttles and gear shifting while also syncing the engines to run at identical rpm.
Twin Disc has solved the problem of slow, abrupt shifts and delayed actuation. Now skippers have fast and smooth shifts with instant thrust even at low rpm. This delivers precise vessel control.
With QuickShift fast vessels can now go slow when needed and heavy vessels can also be brought into and away from the dock smoothly and with greater precision.
With the new Yanmar marine diesel engines and Twin Disc transmissions on board, the performance of 'Delphinus' has changed. The 24-tonne vessel used to cruise at around 1,400rpm for a speed of eleven knots. Now the engine revs have lifted to 2,000rpm for a cruise speed of twelve to 14 knots, but most significantly, the fuel consumption has halved and the noise levels much reduced.
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