New Member- 31' Tournament Express with a few questions

[addon323]

Hello, I am a new member and owner of a 2000 31' Tournament Express with a single Cummins Diamond 450. We are out of Gloucester Ma and cruise and tuna fish the Northeast Waters.

I am extremely excited with the new boat but am amazed how it handles the seas.

However I am having a few issues that I thought others might be able to help. I have heard great things about this forum and would be happy to offer my experience with the boat as well.

My issue is that my Engine Temp will not go beyond 165 degrees. I was told it should be running around 180 degrees and I just replaced both thermostats. It did not help and remains at 165 degrees.

I have also read that this boat and engine model should cruise at 18 kts. I can hit peak rpm of 2600 and do 16-17 kts. At cruising 2400 cruise RPMS, I am only getting 14-15 kts.

I am noticing the boat is not getting up on plane. The trim tabs seem to be working and at full trim, the tabs extend about 3" from the hull.

Does anyone have any experience with the engine temperature not getting to 180 degrees and the boat not getting to an 18 kts cruise speed.

Thank you,

Rich

[Pitou]

Hello, I am a new member and owner of a 2000 31' Tournament Express with a single Cummins Diamond 450. We are out of Gloucester Ma and cruise and tuna fish the Northeast Waters.

I am extremely excited with the new boat but am amazed how it handles the seas.

However I am having a few issues that I thought others might be able to help. I have heard great things about this forum and would be happy to offer my experience with the boat as well.

My issue is that my Engine Temp will not go beyond 165 degrees. I was told it should be running around 180 degrees and I just replaced both thermostats. It did not help and remains at 165 degrees.

I have also read that this boat and engine model should cruise at 18 kts. I can hit peak rpm of 2600 and do 16-17 kts. At cruising 2400 cruise RPMS, I am only getting 14-15 kts.

I am noticing the boat is not getting up on plane. The trim tabs seem to be working and at full trim, the tabs extend about 3" from the hull.

Does anyone have any experience with the engine temperature not getting to 180 degrees and the boat not getting to an 18 kts cruise speed.

Thank you,

Rich

Welcome aboard Rich and I'm just around the bend from you on the Little River.

Your RPM's and speed are right on for that engine. I've talked with other owners with that combo and you are in sync. I've been told that 13.5 kts. is where the economy is. My 500 hp Cummins cruises at 2200 and 14.5 kts. The single engine model will not win any races, but will provide a stable ride.

If you want to be sure that your temp. gauge is correct get or borrow a laser temp reader. An inexpensive one can be purchased at Harbor Freight. Your surveyor should have already compared this for you. If this checks out just sit back and be happy with the temperature reading. If it's different I'd replace the gauge. Mine settles at 172 and at idle while trolling and trawler speed I'm around 154. if you jump over 180 it's time to service the seawater exhaust first and possibly change your coolant. Cummins recommends every other year on the coolant. There are extended coolants that will give you more time.

Again welcome aboard and I'll have a look for you on my next dinghy ride to the Mile Marker for lunch .. probably tomorrow!

[addon323]

Hey Kevin,

Thank you for the quick reply and great to hear you are nearby. I just spent the last 4 nights on the boat and had breakfast at Mile Marker 1 before coming into work. I must say, I almost didn't make the ride into work because it was so nice on the docks.....

Yes, the single engine rides great but I was hoping to get a little more speed out of it since others have mentioned an 18 kts cruise. Maybe that was an 18 kts top speed for the single... But thats good to hear you are seeing similar speeds with your 500 HP engine.

The surveyor didn't check the gauge since I didn't realize it till later. I don't think its a major issue since it is operating about 155- 160 degrees and everything seems to be running good. Here is a photo of my dash at cruising RPM. I was doing about 15 kts.

Family Ties is at the end of Dock B. Take a look and hopefully we will meet up soon.

Rich

[RobS]

The stock thermostat for the C series is 160 deg F.
IF you run the boat easy (probably not the case as she is slower than you'd hoped) you can change out to a 180 stat for a cleaner running engine...

[irishwake]

I have owned 4 Albins and they all have their quirks, No two are alike. Boat weight, bottom condition,wind and tide flow all have a say in your boat speed.With a half of tank of fuel, 2 people on board, a clean bottom and running with the tide I average about 19 to 20 mph. This is according to my Garmin and my Furuno. With some growth on my running gear it brings it down to 16 mph.
As far as the temperature gauge mine stays at 180 at cruise speed and about 170 at trawling speed. During the winter it runs a little cooler but keep in mind at this time of the year our water temperature is a steady 91 degrees.
My 31 is the best boat I have ever owned! I have owned many boats and for size, comfort, speed, handling, and economy it can't be beat.

[irishwake]

I have owned 4 Albins and they all have their quirks, No two are alike. Boat weight, bottom condition,wind and tide flow all have a say in your boat speed.With a half of tank of fuel, 2 people on board, a clean bottom and running with the tide I average about 19 to 20 mph. This is according to my Garmin and my Furuno. With some growth on my running gear it brings it down to 16 mph.
As far as the temperature gauge mine stays at 180 at cruise speed and about 170 at trawling speed. During the winter it runs a little cooler but keep in mind at this time of the year our water temperature is a steady 91 degrees.
My 31 is the best boat I have ever owned! I have owned many boats and for size, comfort, speed, handling, and economy it can't be beat.

[irishwake]

I have owned 4 Albins and they all have their quirks, No two are alike. Boat weight, bottom condition,wind and tide flow all have a say in your boat speed.With a half of tank of fuel, 2 people on board, a clean bottom and running with the tide I average about 19 to 20 mph. This is according to my Garmin and my Furuno. With some growth on my running gear it brings it down to 16 mph.
As far as the temperature gauge mine stays at 180 at cruise speed and about 170 at trawling speed. During the winter it runs a little cooler but keep in mind at this time of the year our water temperature is a steady 91 degrees.
My 31 is the best boat I have ever owned! I have owned many boats and for size, comfort, speed, handling, and economy it can't be beat.

[irishwake]

I don't have a clue why it posted 3 replies!

[addon323]

RobS- thank you for the information, very helpful. I think I will stay with the stock thermostats.

Irishwake- Appreciate the feedback and it seems we are getting the same cruise speed. I assume you have a single with a similar engine to my Cummins 450?
Our Northeast waters never get to 191 degrees so that would explain my lower temperature. I have owned a few boats and so far the 31 is the best I have had as well. Glad I made the right decision.

[RobS]

So at cruise your getting about 3/4 nm per gallon. That's less than desirable for sure for 31ft boat doing 15 knots. You are over propped if all she can see is the 2,600rpms. You need to see 2,700+ with the boat fully loaded. That will increase your fuel burn performance somewhat.

[jointventure]

I have a 2001 31TE with the 8.3 450 Cummins. The prop is 24x24, 4 bladed, slightly cupped.
At 2600 the boat will top out at 21-22kts - fuel, water, crew, and STUFF load will affect it as will sea and bottom condition.
At 2400 18kts - for fuel consideration I normally run 2000-2100 for 12-13kts.
My temp runs between 160-170.

For sea keeping and live aboard creature comfort , storage and fishability the boat serves my wife and I perfectly.
The boat is in Montauk.

[addon323]

ok- sounds like something may be wrong..... Here is a photo of my engine information and the max RPMs states 2600. Of which I am getting according to my dashboard tachs. However I just spoke to the prop company that sent a lot of the shafts and props to Albin and he stated that the tach guage were sometimes off by 400 RPMs. He recommended I use a tach gun to test the actually RPM from the fly wheel and then see what my readings are. He suspects something is wrong as well.

[addon323]

For some reason I can not add multiple photos to one posting. Here is a photo of my prop. Does anyone else's look similar? I thought it looked smaller then normal for this size boat. Sorry, I don't have the measurements but will measure when she comes out of the water. Thank you all for your feedback and help.

[Pitou]

For some reason I can not add multiple photos to one posting. Here is a photo of my prop. Does anyone else's look similar? I thought it looked smaller then normal for this size boat. Sorry, I don't have the measurements but will measure when she comes out of the water. Thank you all for your feedback and help.

For multiple photos to a post, continue to Click on the "Upload Attachments" tab. It only allows one at a time, but can be done multiple times.


It's tough to eyeball for size, but yes it does look similar. When she comes out of the water, check the hub for stamping of size and if work has been done it will be stamped by the shop.

IMAG0377 (2).jpg

IMAG0375.jpg

IMAG0374.jpg

[addon323]

For some reason I can not add multiple photos to one posting. Here is a photo of my prop. Does anyone else's look similar? I thought it looked smaller then normal for this size boat. Sorry, I don't have the measurements but will measure when she comes out of the water. Thank you all for your feedback and help.

For multiple photos to a post, continue to Click on the "Upload Attachments" tab. It only allows one at a time, but can be done multiple times.


It's tough to eyeball for size, but yes it does look similar. When she comes out of the water, check the hub for stamping of size and if work has been done it will be stamped by the shop.

IMAG0377 (2).jpg

IMAG0375.jpg

IMAG0374.jpg

Ok,and thank you for the info on the prop in the pictures. When I haul out this fall I will check everything on the prop.

I have a 2001 31TE with the 8.3 450 Cummins. The prop is 24x24, 4 bladed, slightly cupped.
At 2600 the boat will top out at 21-22kts - fuel, water, crew, and STUFF load will affect it as will sea and bottom condition.
At 2400 18kts - for fuel consideration I normally run 2000-2100 for 12-13kts.
My temp runs between 160-170.

For sea keeping and live aboard creature comfort , storage and fishability the boat serves my wife and I perfectly.
The boat is in Montauk.

Joint venture, thank you for the specs, I am not seeing the speeds you are.... With one other person on board, about 1/4 a tank of fuel, half a tank of water, and all gear and ice on board, no generator, no AC and heat, 2 8d batteries, outriggers, raft, trim tabs fully engaged, etc. Tide and current does play a factor and I have tried multiple different times of each. I am getting the following:

At 2600, 17-18 kts
At 2400, 14-16 kts

Does anyone think it might be too many layers of bottom paint? At the beach last weekend I checked the bottom and it was pretty clean. Has anyone noticed an increase in speed after removing all the bottom paint and starting over. If so what did the speed increase by?

I can report back once I verify there is nothing wrong with the rpm guage. I am also seeing some raw fuel coming from the exhaust right after a cold start and starting after the engine has been running. Does anyone experience this with the Cummins engine? Thank you.