I have currently been exploring diesel options and am curious to weather anybody is doing it, and how many people out there would want one? Please give you're 20 cents:)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/2qCLk-SGCoA

This motor is way too big and I think that is going to be the main problem is finding a small enough block. I would also think that the MM frames currently wouldn't be able to handle the large output in torque if there was a turbo model or that a non-turbo model would take forever to get up to higher running RPM's. Just my two cents.

Stu here in Alaska made one from a Kubota engine a few years ago but it did not have a turbo and did not have the power/weight ratio to work the way he wanted.

There are several diesels out there that would work but each of them that I contacted said their engine was not developed enough. The few that were were way to $$$. There are a couple of smaller airplane diesels that would work (WAM is one) but wow...$$$ Nobody wants to cough up $15k just for an engine setup (at least nobody I know).

If one is going to go expensive then my dream would be a turbine electric hybrid... say a 12kW turbine with a few batteries (enough for 1 hour of driving). Output power in the 50-60 HP range if desired but run in the 45 HP most of the time. Oh that would be sweet. If you wanted to go a long ways just stop a bit with the turbine going and recharge...go fishing/swimming etc. Here in Alaska one could even use solar power (if the water is soft the sun is most likely shining almost all the time) to recharge. Just a dream.

Cheers.

I t doesn't hurt to try and revisit things.

You would be surprised what the manufacturers along with other individuals have experimented with and already tried.

The manufacturers know way more than we give them credit for.

Back at least 10 years ago when I was looking for my first mudmotor and boat, I was on the go-devil website and filled out the contact list so that I could get a catalog or brouchure just to have it.

A few days later, in the evening Warren Coco called me and wanted to know what questions I had and if he could help me any. Well, for one, I was shocked that he called me. He told me he does that (or at that time did) call all potential customers and speak with them.

Since I was local, we talked about all kinds of stuff for a long time. In the course of the conversation, he had already tried diesels on longtails, and they were working. Until he handed some over to crawfishermen in the Atchafalya Basin for testing. Real World testing. Long story short they were breaking everything imaginable including frame, and snapping shafts like twigs.

He just could not get everything to stand up to the torque, and the cost benefit ratio wasn't right. Now that is someone who dug deep in R&D for a while. This is what I was told.

Not against it. If a better mousetrap can be built go for it.

I've wondered about a small diesel (or lp or gas) sitting in the middle of the floor, in a hush box like an onan generator. Driving either a generator powering an electric drive motor, or a hydraulic pump supplying pressure to a hydraulic motor. The motor would just stay at optimum RPM, little to no spin up time.

Both would offer almost instant reverse, and some control over the torque.

Electric motor wouldn't work. To provide enough power for this application, it would weigh too much.
Hydraulic would work, but to provide enough flow at appropriate pressures for the hydraulic motor to provide enough power to the gears/belt/prop, it takes 40+ hp. It's doable, but you'd again be adding 100 lbs or so to the motor combination, not to mention having the reservoir for the hydraulic fluid so you had enough for the whole system and were able to cool it. That 100lbs doesn't include the resevoir.
Btw, I've never thought about either of these options before nor done any research. I just stayed at a fairfield inn in houston a month ago. [WINKING FACE]

I like the idea of diesel/hydraulic better too. However, it seems that electric drive technology is a coming thing. edrive.com has some interesting automotive electric motors. I have no idea how to do the math to determine their power consumption, but if a prius or a tesla can be used as a commuter car on a single charge, a little onan generator might be able to keep a modest battery bank topped off ahead of the demands of an electric motor.

Granted, the weight presents a challenge, but for bigger boats that would benefit from dual engines, it could be an option.

It's not the batteries or generator that are the ultimate issue. To get enough torque at the prop with enough rpms, the electric motor itself is like mounting 2 big block engines on a single frame to get the power of 1 modded engine. The legitimate possibilities (where the power/weight and reliability were reasonable) were quite expensive, one even passed the 20k mark.
The car type are still fairly heavy, expensive, and in most cases have been proprietary and unavailable for purchase, so far.

That price point would not be much of a stretch compared to what I paid for a modded EFI engine. Add another 10k for a generator and some batteries and it ends up just a little over a dual modded EFI setup.

To have up to 100 hp turning a single drive with a powerplant rated for continuous duty, it would not be a bad deal. Maybe my dislike of lawnmower motors plays too heavily into my interest here.

The link I posted before was wrong. Take a look at evdrive.com and their model number: EDV110LV. I don't have the first clue how to come up with the required voltage, but the hp, torque, and weight specs are interesting.

I tried to talk to the gentleman at ev drive about the motors and their potential in the marine industry. I was so out of my league. He was awful nice and helpful, but I just could not get him down to my 3rd grade level, where I might be able to understand the principles and specs.

I can't get my head around how they put these motors in a car and run them off of batteries, considering the kw requirements I understood.

Interesting, yes. Weight is absolutely outstanding for an electric motor. Problem looks to be cost, space (the batteries and generator), and cost. Dual gas engines cost 10k or so to get that kind of power, plus you get 2 props transferring that power into thrust for the additional cost of 1 more frame which puts the total at 2k more than this. This electric setup offers equivalent power, not including the cost of whatever extra stuff is required to power it. It could be great for a one-off for someone with the money to spare, and might very well be highly functional, but it isn't production capable, unfortunately, as it wouldn't sell enough to maintain a business. It's why we're all stuck with briggs. The manufacturers don't want to or can't invest the money because we as a consumer don't want to (or can't) pay the price premium when the Briggs is (however much we hate it for whatever reasons) functional and cheaper.

I agree, but I don't know where you get duals for 10k. It looks like 16k to me. Apples to apples, they gotta have auto reverse.

I'd prefer not to have dual drives. Both of my mud motors (the carbed and my new EFI) have exceeded my expectations for performance. How they push this boat through mud never ceases to amaze me. Some more top end would be nice, but more than anything I want quiet reliability.

Check out these particulars on a Tesla: http://www.roperld.com/science/TeslaModelS.htm It looks like a system that could be eventually pared down to a mm application.

10k just for the 2 engines. Frame cost is another 4k each. Since the electric still requires 1 frame, it comes out to 2k higher cost, not including the battery pack, and charging system.

ok, got it.