Fury 32 Repower: Caterpillar 3208 to FPT NEF 280

We recently had the opportunity to re-power a Fury 32 Flybridge Cruiser. The Fury 32’s are synonymous with Western Australian boating and is an excellent sea-going boat.

Fury 32’s use a stern-facing engine arrangement with a remote V drive gearbox through a shaft drive. THT Re-powered this particular vessel from a Caterpillar 3208 320Hp @ 2800rpm to FPT NEF 280 280Hp @ 2800rpm. Unfortunately, the Caterpillar had suffered economically irreparable failure and the owner was in search of a cost-effective solution. The FPT NEF 280 is a mechanical fuel injection, chosen to keep it as similar to the outgoing Caterpillar 3208 for a simple installation. Installing the NEF 280 saw the engine weight decrease from 770Kg to 600kg.

Existing engine beds in the vessel were reused and the NEF 280 was hard mounted. A very similar engine mounting location was used, allowing for a cheap installation. The NEF 280 is much smaller in physical size, offering impressive power and all the advantages of a low-revving engine in a compact size. Now there is room to move around the entire engine! The existing Twin Disc MG5050 RV gearbox in 2.04:1 ratio was reused, as well as the existing propeller shaft and propeller. No changes were required to any of these components, furthering this was a very cost-effective repower.

The vessel achieved a very comfortable 15 knots cruise at 2300rpm during the sea trial. At full throttle the vessel achieved 22 knots, however, the vessel was moving so fast it began “chine walking.” Ultimately, the client was extremely happy with the performance of the new FPT NEF 280, especially the speed the vessel achieved, in addition to the quietness of the engine.

For more information on this repower, please contact us!

See more information on the FPT NEF 280 here.