Caterpillar 3412E Black Smoke issues

Hi All,

New to this forum and appreciate any info that I can learn from.

I am looking at a 1989 Tempest 60 sport sitting near Montauk, NY with I believe 3412E Caterpillar 1050 HP motors.

Per the selling broker boat is unable to be sea trialed as engine loads up quickly and produces black smoke consistently.

The broker thinks it needs Air Filters replaced and Turbos cleaned as well as maintenance brought current.

The boat has been sitting for 2-3 years and the engines are run once a month or so at the dock from the little information I got so far.

Not sure if they have been bottom cleaning the boat regularly or not.

I am waiting on several documents and other info from the selling broker so I can get more insight on this boat.

I am pretty confident in doing the basic maintenance like changing the engine oil , filters , fuel filters , zincs etc but have not worked with Turbos or any other major engine issues on a diesel.

If I can get to a deal on this I will be driving "captain" the boat back to Florida so I will need to get this running in NY or CT.

The owner of this boat is an older gentlemen so he has either lost interest in the boat or he has other reasons for selling.

Questions:

1. Does anyone know an independent Caterpillar diesel mechanic in the Freeport / Montauk , NY area.

I called the Caterpillar dealer HO Penn and they want $280 an hour from the time they leave their office and $3.25 a mile for travel expenses. Not sure but I thought diesel mechanic labor is in the $125-150 range not double that?

When I spoke to the service manager and asked about cleaning the Turbos his response was we don't clean turbos.

2. When a sea trial is not possible and the seller is not able to or willing to get the boat into a condition for a sea trail how would you approach the offer. I have not seen the boat in person yet.

The listing price of the boat is $79,500 - I asked the broker what the sellers bottom line was and he said $60K. But based on everything I am seeing I don't see this worth more than $45K as I see probably 20-30K to get everything current.

Engine hours state 450 hours so I am not sure if these are rebuilt engines since they are 32 years old.

3. Is there a way to check the Turbos turbine intake and exhaust side without removing too many things?

4. Any Caterpillar specfic things I should inspect when I look at the boat.


I appreciate any feedback in advance.

Hi RER:

I can do some stuff but I also know my limits and I will probably need help in many areas on these diesels.

How are you able to see that it is on the market for 427 days? Also this was with a few different brokers as I saw it originally listed a couple years ago for $115K then $99K.

I find it comical in this industry how sellers / selling brokers always state how much has been invested in a boat and can never show any maintenance records or receipts to backup their words and always have some excuse and think you are going to take their word for it.

How are these engines reliability are they easy or difficult to work on?

I am assuming new Turbos are $5-7K and rebuild are probably $3-5K for the parts plus labor costs to install.

I don't know any mechanics in that area and HO Penn's $280 an hour I can't justify paying that labor cost no matter how good they are.

Am I out of line to offer 45K or is that too high based on the initial facts?

Hi RER:

Are you a broker?

From what your saying and what I have read anytime a boat sits for extended periods of time usually causes more issues and unknowns with engines and generators.

I was reading an interesting article on engine hours vs marine age and how marine age can result in far more issues than high engine hours.

I am looking for a semi project boat not one that is falling apart but I am ok with one that needs some work to get it to acceptable condition as I would like to update the interior etc to my liking most boats from the 80's have a very dated interior and electronics.

I wanted to add that I am looking for a liveaboard / office and something fun as this boat has a 30+ knot cruising speed and 48 knot WOT I am sure that this maybe overstated and will probably drink 115 gph at WOT.

Whatever boat I end up with I am looking to keep for 20+ years so resale value etc is not in my equation I will write off the depreciation to having fun and look at overall costs divided by the 20 years.

I am a stickler on maintenance I am currently restoring 2 cars and I only put genuine parts on the car if available unless an aftermarket part has proven to perform better than the genuine part.

The NADA book value is $94K , If I need to spend $60K to get it to that condition then I would offer $35K for the boat as an example.

I am not desperate for this boat just want to gather as much information so I can throw an offer on the table and see where it goes and what I can expect in estimated costs for repairs.

Hi Pascal, Capt Ralph, mapism I appreciate your input.

So what happens to all these older boats they just get sent out to pasture?

I will not be doing all the work myself hence why I asked if anyone knew an independent Caterpillar mechanic in that area.

I know there is a big difference between cars and boats and if something requires more experience then I am willing to pay for the services.

As mentioned I am not tied to this boat just trying to gather information I have been on a few forums and have discussed other boats and I notice most don't like project boats.

I am also not tied to resale value so if it costs me $250K in maintenance and repairs over 20 years and I can enjoy the experience and have some fun

I understand insurance, docking fees , fuel and other expenses are not part of that $250K that I discuss above.

I appreciate you guys giving me the reality that is why I am asking the questions as you all have done the trial and error in the past.

With the reality I can then decide what options are comfortable for me and my wallet.

Has anyone been on one of these Tempest sports I know there was a limited run of these made.