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→Diesel Engines
The engine of choice for a boat is a marine diesel from a manufacturer such as: [http://www.caterpillar.com/ Caterpillar], [http://www.cummins.com/ Cummins], [http://www.detroitdiesel.com/ Detroit Diesel], [cwww.deutz.de/ Deutz], [http://www.northern-lights.com/ Lugger], [http://www.MAN-MEC.com Man], [http://www.Perkins-Sabre.com Perkins], [http://www.Vetus.nl Vetus], [http://www.volvo.com/volvopenta/se/sv-se/ Volvo Penta], [http://www.westerbeke.com/ Westerbeke], [http://www.yanmar.com/ Yanmar], [http://www.ZF-Marine.com ZF-Marine]. Diesels are more efficient per gallon of fuel than a gasoline engine and much much safer. The only significant alternatives on the horizon are fuel cells. [http://boatdiesel.com/ BoatDiesel.Com] has a wealth of information on diesel engines, transmissions and propellers.
Invented by Rudolf Diesel circa 1898, diesel engines are pressure ignited. They use the familiar four-stroke [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_cycle Otto Cycle ] of intake-compression-combustion-exhaust.<ref>How Engines Work, http://www.keveney.com/Engines.html</ref> Unlike a gasoline engine, which uses spark plugs to ignite a compressed mixture of air and fuel, diesel engines use the heat of compression to ignite the fuel-air mixture. Diesels use very high compression to do this. Like all modern engines, diesels use fuel injectors to spray fuel into the combustion chamber at the precise best moment.
A good diesel engine will produce about 20 hp per gallon/hour compared to 12 hp per gallon/hour for a gasoline engine.<ref>Fuel Horsepower, Tony Athens, http://boatdiesel.com/Articles/</ref> Put another way, a 300-hp diesel will consume about 15 gallons an hour while a similar gasoline engine will consume about 25 gallons.
