Question: Have you ever looked into diesel outboards?
Answer: No, we have not. I would expect them to be both very heavy and expensive for a given power. However, even if those two issues turned out not to be the case, our general policy on Morgan’s Cloud is not to install gear that is not widely and generally available. The gasoline outboard and its parts are available just about anywhere there is enough water to float a boat.
John was born and brought up in Bermuda and started sailing as a child, racing locally and offshore before turning to cruising. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, most of it on his McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, including eight ocean races to Bermuda, culminating in winning his class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race. He has skippered a series of voyages in the North Atlantic, the majority of which have been to the high latitudes. John has been helping others go voyaging by sharing his experience for 25 years, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 20 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.
To put things into perspective:
A Yanmar D36 (36hp diesel outboard) costs about 30.000 euro ex VAT.