I recently switched to a power boat after more than 50 years as a sailboat owner (10 different boats). Our 2001 Hanse 371, bought new, was easily sold in about 10 days. I probably underpriced it, but never mind.
Tangleberry’s replacement is this 2000 Camano 31. It is a smaller, but not cheaper boat. It is powered by a Volvo Penta TAMD41P with 1650 hours at time of purchase, very low hours for the age.
On the sea trial the engine ran smoothly and we reached 16 knots at WOT. This was a birt faster than expected, A month later we picked up the boat and over two days delivered it home from Siney to Vancouver, spending a night in Ganges on the way. We crossed the Salish Sea from Ganges to the VRC in 5 hours flat, averaging close to 10 knots, and using 130 liters of fuel.
The next time we used the boat was a harbor cruise, just an hour or so. It was mostly at speeds below 7 knots, but I did open the throttle briefly, getting up to about 12 knots when there was a slight hesitation in the engine. I cut the throttle. I thought perhaps it sucked air due to low fuel, so I stopped at the fuel barge and filled up. From there it was a 5 knot zone back the the marina.
The following week I had a mechanic do a 100 hour service changing oil and all filters etc. When he was changing the air filter he observed bent blades in the turbo. See below.
Obviously we needed a repair or replacement. Since the “cartridge” which contains the blades, is the most expensive part of the turbo I decided to replace the whole thing. Volvo’s price was $6900 CDN (parts only). When I was able to breath again I looked for an alternative source. I found a company called Turbochargers Direct had a genuine Borg Warner K26, exactly as used by Volvo, minus the green paint for $1200 US. I ordered it and it arrived in a few days. With exchange and taxes, it cost about $2000 CDN, less than half the Volvo price.
While things were apart the aftercooler was removed and sent for cleaning. When tested it had several leaks. It was not rebuildable so another new part was needed. This time Volvos price was a bargain 6600 CDN. Fortunately again, there was a less expensive alternative, ordered from Finland. It arrived in 4 days! I later found I could have obtained it for about the same price from Marine Parts Supply of Nanaimo BC for about the same cost. It is an aftermarket part, but very high quality. Total cost was about $3000.
I’ll add to this post after we reassemble the engine and do a sea trial. One thing I believe is that engine hours are not the only measure of wear and tear. I have no idea what happened to the turbo, but the aftercooler has salt water running through it, and sitting in it when not running. The Camano has a Groco fresh water flush attachment but that is a fairly recent addition. I think 25 years of sitting still would be enough to finish off that cooler even if the engine was never used.