We had finally and completely decided to put off any thoughts of repowering Galactic until we got to New Zealand next summer. All indications were that the job would be about 25% cheaper there, which was enough of a difference to justify the huge kink in our New Zealand sailing season that swapping engines would create.
The final straw was when I looked into purchasing an engine GST-free in Oz, since we are after all a foreign-flagged vessel on an international voyage - an overseas port is our next port of call. No dice. The Kiwis, on the other hand, make GST-free purchases totally easy for foreign yachts.
So we once again resolved to skip the over-valued Australian dollar and wait on the job, and this time we had the added joy of deciding to skip the inflexible Australian policy towards taxing foreign vessels, to boot. And, to make our happiness complete, we had an ironclad reason to procrastinate on an incredibly troublesome and expensive boat job.
But then, just to be sure of the facts, I called up an engineering shop in NZ and priced out the Volvo engine that had been suggested to us here. And, low and behold - it'll cost us $700 AUD more in New Zealand than it would here.
Now, we're not at all sold on the Volvo. Particularly since our good friends on Enki are currently going through the nightmare of a Volvo with mysterious debilitating faults that a parade of factory-trained mechanics cannot fix. But even with the cheaper labor (and I cannot shake the prejudice that it is likely better labor) that we would find in New Zealand, there's no point in waiting until next summer if the engine will cost us more.
So, procrastination may be out the door. We're going to price out a Yanmar in both countries, just to be sure.
Volvo have always had a reputation for very expensive parts. For our new cat we tossed up between a Nanni (Kubuta based - parts easy to acquire and cheaper, but a heavy motor), and a Yanmar (very good reputation, a commonly sold engine, and lighter), and have chosen Yanmar. The other thing we looked at was standard injectors, or the new models have "common rail" which is more electronics, and also cause more radio interference, a big point for us.
ReplyDeleteAfter ridulous Yanmar prices from our local man, we got on to Ron Poss at www.laceymarine.com.au, and we were more than happy with his prices and service and even though it was in a different state (Sydney) it was well worth our while. His email is ron@laceymarine.com.au.
ReplyDeletethanks for that, Catherine. Very useful tips. Fussy electronics are one of the things we really fear in the Volvo, so I'll see if that Yanmar has common rail injectors. We had a Yanmar in Pelagic, our last boat, and it did us great service. I've love to get a very traditional motor, like the Nanni, but our available footprint is quite small, so I think we'll have to get a modern turbo-charged engine to get adequate horsepower in that little space.
DeleteI purchased a new Yanmar 50hp the largest non turbo available at the time and installed it myself along with new s/s swan neck exhaust-water-mixer and fibreglass water silencer. Pulled all the part together in Oz. The Yanmar came via a dealer from the importer in Melbourne. There is variations in gearbox ratios and final drive angles that should be checked out. It has not missed a beat.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that, Harry. I'm realising that even if we have someone taking the lead on the work, we're still going to have to do a huge amount of work ourselves, both to make it affordable AND to make sure it's done half-right.
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