The Neander Dtorque 50 horsepower diesel outboard has a surprising range of special abilities and lends itself to unique applications. Its versatility has seen it embraced by commercial and private vessel owners alike. Perhaps one of the DTorque’s more unique installations is on the private expedition vessel MV Idlewild. The owners of Idlewild modified their amazing adventure machine with the help of Bundaberg Marine Maintenance to cater for a Dtorque as backup propulsion.
There are not many expedition trawlers like MV Idlewild in your average marina, particularly ones sporting a new Neander Dtorque diesel outboard from Power Equipment on the stern. You certainly won’t come across many vessels that hold the kind of record she does either!
Idlewild is a 55 foot aluminium, narrow-beam trawler designed by renowned yacht designer George Buehler in 2003 to cover ocean-crossing miles under engine power.
She certainly lived up to that brief, attaining the record for the longest non-stop ocean passage by a trawler yacht in 2006, running some 4,495 miles from East London, South Africa to Fremantle, Western Australia in just under 30 days. Her original owner at the time wrote of that trip; “We haven’t seen a ship for almost 3,500 nautical miles. This is a lovely, lonely, lively ocean.”
Lively adventures have seen Idlewild’s new Canadian owners Tex and Grete Fimrite seek out a number of modifications since – most recently a redesign of its duckboard to accommodate the backup propulsion of a DTorque diesel 50hp outboard.
Given that this long-range vessel only runs a small (55 horsepower) diesel inboard as her main propulsion, the Dtorque’s 50 horsepower and healthy torque output (111Nm) is a worthy backup engine.
Says Tex Fimrite of the DTorque installation on their adventure vessel; “Grete and I are very interested in the addition of the Dtorque and very impressed with the sea trials so far.”
“We intend to do more sea trials in October and are very excited about its capabilities.”
Efficient hull helps DTorque shine
The narrow beam, (10 feet and 6 inches in the old scale), and a draft of just on three and a half feet were deliberate design imperatives on Idelwild. These dimensions allowed a highly efficient motor cruising vessel with the ability to traverse shallow river systems.
The design also made her safer in ice-prone seas – (yes, Idlewild has traversed the Northern Hemisphere’s Northwest Passage) – and also allowed for her to be dolly-trailered or deck freighted easily if necessary during her globe-trotting.
Continuing adventures like expeditions to the Antarctic and other remote trips, the decision was made to add the safety and capability of a Dtorque diesel outboard as auxiliary propulsion. The job to add the DTorque to Idlewild was taken on by Kent and Ryan Noble of Bundaberg Marine Maintenance. Idlewild currently sits at the Bundaberg Port marina facility in storage and turns many local and visiting heads alike when she is in the water!
Says Ryan Noble of Bundaberg Marine Maintenance; “We fitted a jacking plate to mount the Dtorque so that it can be fully clear of the water when not in use.”
Given that the Dtorque utilises the vessel’s existing diesel tanks, some extra thought went into the fuel supply also. “It was around 11 metres from the diesel tanks to the outboard, so we installed a fuel lift pump between the tank and the primary fuel filter,” explained Ryan.
The Bundaberg Marine Maintenance team are one of Power Equipment’s preferred dealers and aren’t afraid to take on projects with a bit of difference like the Idlewild’s Dtorque addition.
“The owners were wanted an auxiliary for safety, something to give them a couple of knots headway should their main engine stop,” Ryan said.
Sea trials of the Dtorque proved just how much the smooth output of this twin-cylinder, turbo-charged diesel outboard delivers. “We got the best part of 8 knots out of the Dtorque during sea trials – it was very impressive. The outboard pretty much gives it similar performance to the main engine!” Ryan said.
While the Dtorque addition to this 55 footer may seem unusual at first glance, the outboard’s design and abilities offer a world of advantages.
Touted by its designers as “an engine that will always get you home safely”, the Dtorque has literally hundreds of thousands of engine hours in the field, (on top of the Neander’s own testing), and is a proven performer.
Also proven is an incredible fuel efficiency. In an industry showcase event of the Dtorque 50hp run by Power Equipment, the outboard sipped a tiny 11.5 litres per hour at full throttle, and much less at lower than its 2,500 maximum rpm.
In fact, Neander says the Dtorque delivers at least a 40 per cent better fuel efficiency than its petrol counterparts and significantly less downtime with a 250-hour standard service interval.
With full compliance with EU RDC Stage II regulations, the Dtorque 50 is a low emissions outboard engine. Besides using less fuel than equivalent petrol outboards, a huge advantage to running a Neander Dtorque 50 is its ability to access low emissions zones – something the Idlewild is designed to do.
Check out the Dtorque diesel outboard here.
