Cummins 1710 V-12's at idle

Twin Cummins 1710 cubic inch V-12 twin-turbo diesels at idle, in an 82' Point-class retired USCG cutter, as heard while standing on the dock next to the transom. We had just fired off, which is why the old engines are smoking so much. There's also a 2-71 Detroit genset running for good measure.

Video taken in Richmond, CA on December 15th, 2009, as we were preparing to cruise the boat back to her current home-port in Redwood City, CA. BTW, the 1710 Cummins is essentially a V-12 version of the 855 (now the N-series) inline-6 commonly seen in big rigs. For general specifications on this engine, take a look here: http://www.waterwaysequipment.com/vt-1710-m.htm (although, as a former Coast Guard vessel, this boat's engines have slightly different power ratings).

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Cummins
• 1710
• 855
• VT-1710
• diesel
• turbo diesel
• boat
• ship
• 82
• Point Class
• Coast Guard cutter
• Sea Scouts
• Challenger
• 145
• San Francisco Bay Area

[Nigelk388]

challenger ha more like mentally challenged look at all them dents.love the sound tho

[warden145]

@Nigelk388 You can thank the U.S. Navy for the dents. She spent most of her life with the Navy before we got her in 1998, and the Navy used her as a work boat retrieving test missiles launched from Point Mugu. I imagine they weren't very careful about letting the missile fuselages hit the hull, which would explain the dents. We seriously considered replacing the entire transom when we first got the boat, but decided it wasn't structurally necessary and too expensive for a non-profit to justify.

[FordGuy705]

Served aboard CGC Point Roberts (WPB-82332) from 83-84. Sure miss the sound of those mains. Wasn't a big fan of the hydraulic start, but the VT-1710's would bring you home every time!

[warden145]

@FordGuy705 THAT'S interesting...I didn't know that any of these engines were equipped with hydraulic starters. Our engines had electric starters (I think they were original equipment, but I don't know for sure), and the boat we have now (retired USCGC Cape Jellison) has air starters :-D

[hondarideralex]

when say different power ratings, do you mean higher? hahah. I am thinking that government put more power in these boats than they would want us to know about.

[warden145]

@hondarideralex Yeah, higher...I think they were rated at 900 shp when the boat left the yard. I sincerely doubt they're putting out that much power now!

@lclayton100 you and me both!! I miss her...

@enginemaster01 Yeah, but again, this was an early '60's engine (boat left the yard in 1963) that had just been started cold...she had only been running a few minutes when I took that video. That, and I'm sure the fuel system wasn't completely up to snuff...

[dontbmessin]

Sounds alright but the boat needs some TLC. Lol

[bluecollarboiler]

I worked at a hospital some years back, that had 3 650 KW generators, that had Cummins 1710 diesel engines, we could run all three together, (paralleled) but usually only ran 2 electrically paralleled together

[raginroadrunner]

from the size of the ship i'll bet it had only one engine..I worked on the 1710 for years in the mines for Cummins...they were not a very good engine...they had cylinder head problems along with head gasket failures made them a high maintenance engine. They are still built in Malaysia and all of them go to Russia for their haul trucks. The Russians pay off for well for these motors.

[DrPilotRedC]

S.S.S. Challenger?

[scdevon]

What a beast. Love it!

[Nigelk388]

@warden145 Thats pretty cool story to have.you could eaisly use fiberglass filler

or isopon her to make her look like new after a spray of paint.it must

have some amount of power with the cummins