Marine Engine debate

[Captain Chaos]

yep!

[Too Old]

Originally posted by Cookee
Glad you asked Too Old!

Ignoring Jonny for a moment (I know it's his forum but bear with me!)

On the race boat we run a Mercury XR2 outboard V6 2 litre giving allegedly 200 hp if you're lucky. On the leisure version of the same hull - a 7.2m RIB we are fitting a 225 hp 3 litre outboard.

Getting back to Jonny's comments about being new to this I havn't got a clue what the torque figures are for the outboards but we get 72 mph from the race boat with a 2 litre 2 stroke which isn't very torquey at all!

Therefore for my application a Mazda COULD work for me, and as a manufacturer it would be nice to offer other options although it is a bit "out there", and the spares / servicing situation would probably put people off anyway but there again most of these conversations end up being hypothetical anyway!

ps might have a word about those trim tabs this week ......

OMC (Outboard Marine Corporation) bought a sub-license for the Wankel engine from Curtiss-Wright, announced on March 2, 1966.

OMC 4 rotor outboards raced about six times summer and fall of 1973, winning every race in U class (unlimited). For example, at the Galveston Speed Classic, they placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, lapping the entire field three times (a fourth rolled and smashed). Displacement was 122 cubic inches. Power was estimated at 330 hp.

OMC race tested some RCE engines with an eye to production. In testing they were installed on 18 foot tunnel boats constructed by Glastron. Rev limit was as high as 14,000 rpm. Power was over 200 hp. Rumour has it that they could easily run at over 120 mph, and once made a straight-away pass at 165 mph.

"In 1974 [I think] during Les 6 heures de Paris, there were two Scotti cats powerd by OMC Wankel's and driven by McConnell & Woods." Berry (ref)


:wink:

[Cookee]

Thanks for the info Too Old! Someone said they had raced them, and I think it has been discussed on here before, but it's great to have all that detail - were they banned in the end or did OMC just give up on the project?

In the UK we are stuck with homolugated engines - and they have to be production ones for us to race with - I was thinking of an inboard for the leisure version - very compact and light for the amount of power, the only concern as everyone has mentioned is the torque curve although I would have thought it would at least match a 2 stroke? Not forgetting the spares and servicing in the UK - mind you I suppose the local Mazda dealer would be able to service all the car bits?

There again if they don't have too much torque maybe a Bravo leg would survive indefinitely!