Picking a diesel - Nanni 4.38 vs Yanmar 3JH40

[liberated]

Cheers all -
I am having a 44' cat built in South Africa. My builder is offering me a choice of engines - Nanni 4.38 OR Yanmar 3JH40.

The Nanni is an indirect injection 4 cylinder kubota that produces 37.5hp. It appears to be a very simple engine. With saildrive, the spec indicates dry weight of the Nanni @ 405 lbs.

The Yanmar is a new common rail diesel producing 40hp. With saildrive, spec indicates dry weight of 520 lbs.

Total weight penalty for the Yanmar appears to be 230lbs (2 x 115 lbs)

Both have very similar fuel burn and total hp delivery. The Yanmar appears to have a better torque band.

Yanmar (common rail) Pros:
1. better name recognition in USA (and potentially better resale value)
2. broader servicing dealer network
3. better torque at all engine speeds

Nanni (indirect injection) Pros:
1. lighter weight
2. less reliant on advanced technology
3. inexpensive kubota parts
4. easier to service

Does anyone have experience with the 3JH40 or the N4.38?
Am I misreading the weight specs? (The builder isn't as concerned about the added weight as I am.)
Is torque likely to be super important?
If we are planning on traveling far and wide, should we worry about common rail?

[TheOffice]

Not sure where 'far and wide' will take you,, but Nanni is no longer sold in the US. Marinized parts have to shipped from France. (Dock neighbor has a Nanni in Annapolis)

[GRIT]

I'd personally go with the lighter, and more simple engine.

Cheers.
Paul.

[liberated]

Originally Posted by TheOffice

Not sure where 'far and wide' will take you,, but Nanni is no longer sold in the US. Marinized parts have to shipped from France. (Dock neighbor has a Nanni in Annapolis)

Initially,
We will sail from South Africa to the Caribbean and US East Coast. Probably spend 18 months coastal and Caribbean sailing. Then, assuming we still like sailing (and each other) we will head to the Med for a year. Then cross back over, and explore the pacific islands.

[Mirage35]

Originally Posted by TheOffice

Not sure where 'far and wide' will take you,, but Nanni is no longer sold in the US. Marinized parts have to shipped from France. (Dock neighbor has a Nanni in Annapolis)

Last I checked there were still dealers in Canada - but yes, personal experience says that parts are hard to find in North America.

[Painted Skies]

Originally Posted by TheOffice

Not sure where 'far and wide' will take you,, but Nanni is no longer sold in the US. Marinized parts have to shipped from France. (Dock neighbor has a Nanni in Annapolis)

We had a Nanni 50 installed here in Australia in 2018 in anticipation of returning to the east coast US soon. Hansen Marine Engineering in Marblehead, MA has just started to import Nanni engines and parts, plus provide support. As an aside - we have used Hansen in the past for Westerbeke parts; they sell their stuff at a premium price. We hear the same is true for Yanmar parts - so pick your poison.

[wingssail]

I have been extremely happy with my Yanmar3JH2e, a direct injected engine.

I have 6500hrs and a recent mechanical assessment stated that the engine was in excellent condition and recommended no work be performed at this time.

Parts need to be shipped, usually from the USA orJapan (although I have had to buy VERY few since I installed this engine in 1993). Few dealers anywhere carry parts for these engines. That being said, parts can be obtained and quickly shipped.

There are Yanmar dealers with mechanics almost everywhere and you will also find other cruisers with similar motors in most ports.

[Charlie]

If someone else could verify this I would appreciate it. It is possible upon importing the boat into the US that the engines would have to meet a certain pollution tier criteria. My understanding is that the rule is seldom enforced but it could cause you problems.

If it weren't for that I would go for a non-common rail engine because of the simplicity and lack of computers.

[GRIT]

Yes, that's true. They have to meet certain emission standards. It's one of the reasons we're having issues importing ours. We are actually considering the engine mentioned in the First Post (Yanmar 3JH40), so we can get our boat imported into the USA.

It's an issue our importer insisted needed to be fixed, before he'd even start the paperwork.

We're now debating whether it's worth changing our engines from VW ALH, to Yanmar 3JH.

Cheers, and good luck.
Paul.

[Rumrace]

Compare sound and vibration!
. The saildrives I assume are both ZF but check.
Both blocks are tractor blocks.
In fact the Yanmar 3 cylinder already has a hydrogen version in the works and an I6 running.
The Yanmar common rail has a preburn with a minor injection before the main injection plus injector timing. It’s a very clever motor.
Yanmar have some huge Allies with Toyota Yamaha and ZF with them. Their growing pains with seadrives clutch’s and overheating another key reason I’d stick with them.