tenders
Innocent Bystander
I think you are going to be very happy with that as long as you keep up with simple routine maintenance.
I don't understand the diesel worship. They have one benefit: range. All other things being equal (age, attention, usage, weight) they are smellier, louder, rougher, and less powerful. With poor maintenance or careless use, they fail as easily as a gas engine if not more, and they are much harder to find parts for and repair.
The knocks on the Atomic Four were valid in the late 80s and early 90s when Universal stopped supporting them, and issues arose like the use of inferior paper head gaskets instead of the old asbestos. But with Moyer on the scene (he was the guy who persuaded Victor to make A4 composite head gaskets) -- and the internet -- to funnel knowledge about the engine onto one website plus his parts support and continued innovation like the new blocks, there is no reason to look past a boat with an A4 that's under the weather, so to speak.
I don't understand the diesel worship. They have one benefit: range. All other things being equal (age, attention, usage, weight) they are smellier, louder, rougher, and less powerful. With poor maintenance or careless use, they fail as easily as a gas engine if not more, and they are much harder to find parts for and repair.
The knocks on the Atomic Four were valid in the late 80s and early 90s when Universal stopped supporting them, and issues arose like the use of inferior paper head gaskets instead of the old asbestos. But with Moyer on the scene (he was the guy who persuaded Victor to make A4 composite head gaskets) -- and the internet -- to funnel knowledge about the engine onto one website plus his parts support and continued innovation like the new blocks, there is no reason to look past a boat with an A4 that's under the weather, so to speak.