Yanmar 110 or Cummins 150

[BeaconBluff]

Dear all:
This is my first post. I am looking at purchasing a 2008 R-25. There are two available; one with the Yanmar 110 hp and the other with the Cummins 150. Is it worth it to spend 4-5K more for the Cummins? Anyone with experience with either engine? Thanks for your input.

 

[Levitation]

You can never have too much power when caught out in a storm...
You can always pull back on the throttle when you don't need full power...
Both engines have a good reputation...

 

[captd]

My first Ranger had the 125 Yanmar, the New Lucky Fin has the 150 Cummins. The Yanmar was the best starter,but the extra power was more important to me. When boat is loaded to cross the gulf stream I was down to 10 miles an hour with the Yanmar now I believe I can count on about 15 MPH. I need to put some more hours on the Cummins to come to a conclusion between the two. Top speed without heavy load, 14 mph on Yanmar v. 20 with Cummins. Parts for Cummins were harder to come by as well as costing more money. I think the 110 Y is a better choice than the 125 Y.

I guess it boils down to what is important to you. What kind of speed do you want or need to do your type of cruising?

If I was going to buy a new Ranger It would be the 150 Yanmar. If it was going to be a new 29 ft Ranger I would want the larger Yanmar.
Just my personal opinion. That and about $5.00 will buy a cheap glass of wine. :roll:

captd

 

[terraplane]

You probably know that my 2008 R 25 is for sale, here in Rock Hall, Md. Gratitude Yachts.
It has the 110 Yanmar (230 hours)

I have owned eight boats, all except the Ranger were wooden work boats..with usual speeds of 6 to 10 kts, and in 37 years of boating I have only twice been "caught out" because of speed...it is planning that counts.

I like the 110 partly because it is low tech. Parts are readily available, mechanics know the engine I find. My few minor contacts with Yanmar have been professional and helpful.

I cruise at about 8kts, sometimes at a leisurely 6 or 7, but always run it at full throttle part of the time to keep the turbo clean.

And I like the sound of the Yanmar.

I think all the engines offered in new and older boats are good engine...comes down to your personal needs i guess.

You should know, maybe, that i ran a 36ft deadrise for years with a beat up flathead Ford....and another boat with an old Chrysler Crown. When it had trouble starting i used to cover the carb. with a rag and run a blow torch up and down the engine for a few minutes...started right up.

Good Luck with your choices.


Good

 

[bbrh842]

A number of folks have reported problems with the Cummins. Look at some of the earlier posts from last winter. One person even said hell would freeze over before he would EVER have another boat with a Cummins. Seems like the black box likes to go out, and it can be hard to get a new one. I was in Galveston Bay last Sunday, 110 Yanmar, when my buddy had to get towed in by Towboat U.S. 150 Cummins. Engine quit. Not the first time. Decisions, decisions.

 

[BeaconBluff]

Thanks all for your input. I think I will do a little more research. Please let me know if you know of any good sites to compare engines.

 

[Andrew Custis]

I strongly disagree about the Cummins being a bad engine. I would personally own one if I owned a Ranger Tug. Cummins had some weird things happen early on, but have had pretty dang good luck ever since. I personally think the Cummins was the smoothest and quietest engine we have installed in the R25. Cummins had a bad configuration on their early engine electronic control modules causing a hard start issue. I believe 99% of them have been fixed after a long time of trying to figure out the issue. I would also be willing to check my records to make sure the boat you are looking at has had the ECM upgrade done or not. If Cummins didn't jump pricing on us early in the game, I would imagine we would still be installing them in the boats.

The Yanmar 110 is a very well built engine and is practically bulletproof, if you dont mind cruising at the lower speeds. Parts are certainly more available as there are alot more of these engines out there. I think in general, the knowledge around the world on these engines is much greater as well.

We currently install the Yanmar 4BY2-150HP engine in all of the Ranger R25's. This is a great engine as well. It performs almost identical to the Cummins and parts availability and pricing are about the same. I think Yanmar has a much more skilled Marine Service throughout the world then Cummins does as well.

Hope some of this is useful to you. Please dont hesitate to call Ranger Tugs if you have any questions that we could answer for you. 253-839-5213

 

[BeaconBluff]

Thank you Andrew for your reply. I am resuming my search for a R-25, either new or used, since the Christmas holiday is over. I am sold on your brand over the others. I am looking to attend a boat show so I can actually "touch" a R-25. I see that you will not be at the Atlanta show. What is the next show that you will be at? Thank you.

 

[Levitation]

I see you are in NY state... I am in Michigan, near Saginaw... If for any reason you get up this way you are invited to inspect Levitation... She is in my heated shop during the winter and at a local marina in the summer...

cheers

denny-o

 

[Andrew Custis]

Hello Beacon,

Ranger Tugs "will" be attending the Atlanta show. We will have one of every size Ranger Tug available on display. We would be happy to provide you with some tickets to attend the show. If this will suit you good please contact our dealer Wefings Marine. You can reach Marc at 850-670-8100 (owner of Wefings Marine) or you can reach Mark Mansfield (Ranger Tug Factory Rep) at 425-327-0907. Please dont hesitate to ask any questions as we are always happy to help. Happy Holidays!

 

[BeaconBluff]

levitation, thank you for the invite. Sounds like you have a nice set-up. I will keep it in mind.
Beacon Bluff

 

[BeaconBluff]

Thank you Andrew for the information. I am ordering my plane tickets now for Atlanta and sent an email to Wefings.

 

[wefings]

I have been negligent in my Tugnuts visitations . Mark [R-Tugs] and Marc [Wefings Marine]will be at the Atlanta Show with a sexy new Lauren Green 25 , our demo R29 as well as a R21 . With a couple C Dorys there as well ,we will "represent" the Northwest comes to the Southeast once again . If you are interested in attending give myself or Ranger Tugs a call and we will make it happen !
My thoughts on the power choices are ; if your a 6-8 Kt person they are all good . No question .Even the 75 H.P. The 150s are both good performers with Yanmar having the edge in value and Cummins having the edge in performance and stand alone instrumentation . The Smart Craft is nice , but the Garmin system repeats the necessary data from the Yanmar in a Nav Packed boat . Thats what we mostly stock now as the Yanmar dealer network seems better trained to us at this point . But The Cummins is a viable option for some folks still .
Happy New Year !
Marc

 

[djpcep]

We have only had our R-25 with the 150hp Cummins since September but have put over 150 hours on the engine.
It has run perfectly well and has started first time every time - but we are in Florida!
At displacement speeds we are getting over 5nm/USG.
Dom & Caroline
P.S. We got it from Marc at Wefings.

 

[tim&kim]

Kim and I have the Cummins 150 in our 2009, R25 that we have had since new in June. With lot's of summer and now winter hours on it we have not had one issue....even with VERY cold weather starts. Filters can be a bit tricky to locate but aside from that one issue it has been a wonderful engine....lot's of power and great reliability.
Tim & Kim
R25-Big Attitude
Gibsons, B.C.
Canada