Sad to see a dream end or get derailed. Wayne and I corresponded some early on when we first purchased Muirgen. Mobius has a 6 cyl Gardner, and Muirgen has the 8LXB. It's been chugging along for 42 years since installed new when our boat was built. The 6LXB would have served just fine in our boat.
An early concern we had was availability of parts. I spoke several times with Mike at Gardner in the UK. He asked me for a list of parts that I was potentially concerned about. I came up with a list including injectors, rings, valves, gaskets, etc. He had everything available for immediate shipment. Plus he stated that for many parts they should be locally available in the US, or British Columbia.
The boat came with a lot of spares such as injectors, filters, etc when we purchased her. All the filters are readily available, either through Gardner, or aftermarket. From my understanding about the only parts that are not made any longer are crankshafts, and the block.
Since we are a single engine boat, we wanted a spare starter for the Gardner. We recently purchased one through Barry at DFI Automotive in Lancashire, UK for $771.00 usd including shipping, duty, and core charge (since it was a spare I wasn't returning a core). He was a pleasure to work with. The starter arrived from England in 12 days, perfectly packaged.
As many know, marine applications are not the only use for Gardners. They are commonly used in lorries, prime power generators, pumps, etc. Parts, except for marine specific parts are readily available from non-marine sources. The original starter is still going strong, and Mike at Gardner's response to me when I inquired about purchasing a spare was, "It's only 42 years old, why would you think you need a new starter?"
In some respects, our boat really didn't need the 8LXB. On our trip to Alaska last year, cruising 3,100 nm at 7.5 to 8 kts in a 90,000 lb boat, fully loaded (at the start of the trip). Including running the hydraulic pump to run the 12kw generator we used a little less than 3 gph over that 3,100 nm. We didn't refuel on the trip, and still had over 400 gallon left when we got back. Try THAT with a "modern" engine!
As Peter mentioned earlier we are leaving the PNW the end of August enroute to Sea of Cortez, and then eventually crossing over to the East Coast of the US. From there, who knows? We're retired!
The Gardner, and and drive train in our boat is way down the list of concerns for the trip. I'm more concerned as to whether we have enough kitty litter on board!:lol:
Question for those more knowledgeable than I:
Would the United States import restrictions still apply for a boat that is now "used" and which would be under new ownership as long as the boat was in compliance in the host nation (Turkey) when it was built?
