RUDOLF DIESEL
Whether installed aboard of shore battlewagons in chase of pelagic species or sedate
trawlers looking to venture to distant islands, the diesel is a vital component to long-
distance boating. When he invented the compression engine, Rudolf Diesel altered the
course of history in terms of commercial shipping and trucking and even aviation. The
ability to cruise long distances under power for fun is really just a happy byproduct, but
one we boaters couldn’t do without.
Diesel, a German engineer, began working to design a more e cient engine than
the prevailing steam engines of the day, which wasted most of their energy during
combustion. Diesel came up with the compression engine. Rather than igniting fuel
in the piston via spark as in a gasoline combustion engine, diesels use the pistons to
compress air in the cylinder, generating intense heat that ignites the diesel fuel. He re-
ceived a patent for his idea of a “rational heat motor” in 1893 and introduced his single-
cylinder 25 hp four-stroke engine in 1897. As Diesel himself explained, “Because the
air is compressed, the combustion temperature is higher, and the gases will expand
more after combustion, applying more pressure to the piston and crankshaft.”
The diesel engine proved far more e cient and could produce high torque at low
rpm, making it ideal for moving heavy loads over long distances. It’s also perfect for
pushing a 50-foot sport-fi sherman through rollers in the inlet on the way out to the
billfi sh grounds.MODERN MARVEL
THE YANMAR
3JH40
Common rail technology,
which uses an electronic
control module to control
fuel injection to the cylinders
via a high-pressure fuel “rail,”
has dramatically improved
diesel effi ciency while also
helping cut noise, vibration
and emissions. Yanmar’s
new 3JH40 won a National
Marine Manufacturers
Association Innovation
Award as the world’s small-
est common rail diesel. The
three-cylinder diesel produc-
es 40 hp at 3,000 rpm while
weighing in at 423 pounds.ILLUSTRATION: SHUTTERSTOCK; PHOTOS: (FROM TOP) ITAR-TASS NEWS AGENCY / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO, COURTESY YANMAR86 | BOATINGMAG.COM | JUNE 2018