Opinion on Covington Diesels in 31 Bertram

[colbachlaw]

There is a 31 Bertram for sale that is close enough for me to run it home, so I am starting to rethink purchasing a 35' and paying the $14K to ship it to Oregon.

The boat has Covington diesels

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/ ... 74486&url=

I know zero about these motors and could not find much online.

Anyone know much about these engines?

Anyone have a guess as to how much these would burn at crusing speed?

Thanks,

Mike C

[Hyena Love]

I think those are a marinized version of the old GM 6.2 liter diesels used in light trucks up to 1992 or 1993. Started in the early 80's. The 6.2 was replaced with the 6.5, and then later, the Duramax in like 2001.

Designed by Detroit Diesel? My recollection is that the 6.2 is not turbo charged. The turbo was added when it became the 6.5.

170 a side looks a bit light for a 20 knot cruise, but thats just a guess.

Hit the GM truck boards for info on the 6.2 (assuming thats what they are).

[colbachlaw]

Hyena,

Thanks for the info.

Their top speed and cruise speed seems pretty optimistic to me, but I don't know much about diesel engines.

Anyone want to guess on fuel economy?

Mike

[scot]

Don't confuss those Engines with anything like Detroit Diesel. They are 4 strokes and the DD's are 2 strokes....night and day, completely different animal. I'm not familar with those engines in boats but they did not enjoy much of a reputation in vehicles. Lots of injector pump problems. Yes that is the GM diesel truck motor that has been marinized.

Covington is not a manufacture of engines but rather a company that converted various diesel engines for marine service. They had a reputation at one time for really soup-in up Detroits...In many folks opinion they tried to get too many ponies from the DD's. But they sure built a bunch of them.

The boat, on the other hand looks really clean, nice 63.

My $.02 cents.

[In Memory Walter K]

Mike- I have the basic same boat hull #31-382. What's different about this one is you have a separate head. Most Sportsfishermen came with the head under the center v-berth. As a matter of specs: The 1963 hulls were exceptionally thick. Mine presently has a pair of 210 Cummins 6bt's. With 1 3/8" shafts, 20X20" props turning 2400 rpm the boat cruises at 20-21 kts @ 7 gal per hr per side. Your tank is 170 Max as I was told mine was 160 (same vintage). Not being familiar with the Covington engines I would still have severe doubts that the difference between cruise and WOT could be so much. The 31 is the 31...a day boat with a big cockpit and a lot of good basics. The 35's are more of a family boat with more of the comforts of home should weather keep you in port...ie: Salon, standup head/shower etc. Don't know what your needs are but I hope some of this input helps. Walter

[Rawleigh]

The engine box looks different in that boat than most. What is up with that? Aftermarket decks?

[In Memory of Vicroy]

Those are the 6.2L truck motors. No turbo. Like Walter I doubt the speed numbers. The B31 with the 170 hp Cummins V504s at 170 hp is slow, say 17-18 kts cruise. On the other hand, the boat seems pretty nice. The Hynautic engine controls are a real plus. All the stated numbers for fuel, water, etc, are correct. At that asking price it would be worth a look. Remember, the money is in the iron........ Its a sportfish that has been closed in. Very similar to the Centurion out of here that once belonged to the guy I got AJ from. At that time it had 3208 Cat naturals at 210 hp and was like a battering ram in a head sea, cruise about 21-22 kts. Doc Jordan put 3116 Cats at 300 hp in her later.

Worth a look.

UV

[Brewster Minton]

See if you can test drive it and have a good person look at the engines. The boat looks in the pics like it is pretty clean.

[Capt Dick Dean]

How come the switch. Just because one is almost in your back yard, I'd rethink it. A B35 is no way near B31.
My family would like a 33 but put up with me and the spartan accomodations because I like the 31 that we have.
What's in your wallet? Does the 31 do it?

[colbachlaw]

Capt Dick,


I have not ruled out the 35, but the seller has not come down much in price and I don't want to pay too much on a boat I will have to spend $14K shipping across the country.

I will use the boat pretty much only for tuna fishing 40-50 miles off of the Oregon coast. I will never spend the night on it, as it will be moored 5 minutes from my beach house.

A diesel boat would be more economical, but a big salon in the 35 gas Bertram would be nice for long runs. My only concern about the diesel 31' is that it might be too slow. My target cruise speed is 20 knots, so my run won't be longer than two hours.

Thanks for all of the advice.

Mike C

[Whaler1777]

I personally the 31 is more desirable, even if you need to throw some bucks into it... Esp if you are not looking to stay out overnight... The boat is Ideal for the offshore action, has incomparable handling, and imho is roomy enough to enjoy just cruising with the fam/friends as well... I am not familiar with those engines so I cant put my 2 cents in on them...

-John

[Bruce]

You don't want the 6.2's.
They are a converted gas engine to diesel. Still has the hole for the distributor but blocked off.

Crappy engines. They are the ones Penisular has used along with Marine Power.

Here is a pic of one that came thru the shop last year.

If you can buy it right, do so and plan on tossing the motors at first sign of trouble. Its a repower candidate.

No way of a 30 knot top speed with that hp.

[Whaler1777]

Bruce.. What do they do with all the added compression that a diesel needs?