Having been a fan of Mermaid Ford marine diesels for years then moving over to Yanmars on two different boats, I am a great fan. I think they are Japanese engineering at its finest.

Whatever the benefits of common rail diesel engines, will a marine diesel stuffed with electronics really be as reliable as mechanical fuel injection? With most marine diesels from other manufacturers electronic for a few years now, it is interesting to see that Yanmar have finally had to embrace this change. It sounds as if the 4LH 4 cylinder 175/190/240 hp models will follow suite fairly soon as well. Whatever the rights and wrongs, a marine environment is mighty punishing on electronics. Surely reliability must be compromised and clearly you are unlikely to get a high tech engine started again, as might have been the case with mechanical injection. Yanmar will be as good or better than anyone, but the common rail diesel is just a different beast.

As car owners know, we are in a different world.