Heavy duty mechanics and diesel experts please chime in. Cat. vs. Detroit vs. Cummins

[Redlyne_mr2]

So I'm hoping some heavy duty techs and diesel guys can offer some advice on engines. My parents boat burnt to the ground because of an arson fire so my dad and I have been out hunting for a new one. The last boat had a pair of Cat engines which worked flawlessly however maintenance was a bit tricky as some of the Cat engine parts were specific and a bit difficult to source out. A couple of boats were looking at have detroit diesels and one of them has a Cummins engine. I know this is sort of a general questions but experience with any of these large engines would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Alak]

How new are these engines? I have alot of experience on the older M11 Cummins engines, and some good experience with C12 and C13 Cat engines. We have some brand new detroits (Mercedes Benz MB9000) but they had some EGR problems initially. I think in marine applications though you dont have to worry about Emissions.


I like Catapillar myself. Yes, some stuff is specific, but you can get any part for a CAT from just about anywhere.

[SKR]

Which Detroits and which Cumminses (Cummi? What's plural here?)?

I'd buy a Cat before a Cummins, and a Cummins before a Detroit, generally speaking. But that's more from talking to people with experience, than from my own experience. Of which there's none.

[Iceman_19]

Im not sure why you would have trouble sourcing Cat parts, you guys must not have been looking very hard.

Cat engines arent all that great to be honest, but anything is going to be good if you take care of it.