Step inside the engine room of today's sport-fisherman and you'll find an awe-inspiring collection of polished chrome and painted steel that even Rudolf Diesel himself might not recognize. The modern diesel engine is an engineering marvel, capable of producing enough raw power to propel 100,000 pounds of glorified plastic and wood through the water at a rate exceeding the speed limit on most city streets.

The diesel engine has indeed come a long way over the past century, but never so far and so fast as it has in the past 10 years, with the ever-strengthening cry for speed and durability stretching manufacturers to all-time highs in research-and-development efforts and new-product introductions. The diesel market is more competitive today than ever, in all rpm categories.

"Everybody wants a lot of horsepower these days, but that's nothing new," says Gamefisherman's Mike Matlack, builder of custom boats from 30 to 40 feet in length. "What is out there today that wasn't there 10 years ago is a bigger selection. In 1989 we launched the Tijereta with a pair of Volvo 71s at 358 hp each, and all you had to choose from was that or the 375-hp Cats. Today, you could line up a 400-hp Cat, Volvo, Yanmar and Cummins, and there wouldn't be a great deal of difference in anything."

Dominick LaCombe of American Custom Yachts agrees. "If there was an engine out there that was better hands-down, I'd tell you," LaCombe says. "But horsepower is a simple matter of fuel and air, and if you're interested in going fast, you just look at what engine produces the most horsepower for its weight."

Known in the industry as a go-fast guy, LaCombe has tried several engine packages in his 58-, 63- and 65-foot models. He's built them with 1,100-hp MANs, 1692 DDECs and custom 1696 Bivens engines, and he is currently launching new boats with 16V-2000 Detroits and 1,350-hp Cats. His next 65-footer will be powered by Caterpillar's brand-new 1,400-hp 3412E.

"I don't remember a time when all three manufacturers came out with new engines at the same time," LaCombe says. "We're using 'em all, but I don't know which one's better, because they're all new and they're all unproven. As far as I'm concerned, everybody's on equal ground until the results are in."

That "equal ground" is creating a confused marketplace. "I've never seen it so competitive," says Pat Healey of Viking Yachts. "We install about 200 engines a year and MAN has owned 75 percent of that because nobody else makes a small package with a power-to-weight ratio that can match it. But the new 3412E from Cat could compete with them on the top end, and Detroit's new 60 Series looks like it could put a dent in the low end."

Hatteras Yachts' vice president Bryant Phillips says that the competition for engine installations doesn't end once the boat is purchased. "The engine market is so competitive that it's not unheard of for a customer to come to us with a particular brand of engine in mind and order it, and then have additional contact from other competitors and change their mind."

A Paradigm Shift
One of the primary factors leading this high-pitched competition is a slight change in consumer attitude. Where the need for speed once dominated all else, concerns over durability, longevity, economy and environmental impact now share nearly equal billing in engine design. These factors certainly led Detroit's design team to dream up a clean, light, high-powered four-cycle engine to replace its aging 92 series, a two-cycle engine that was the company's first introduction to the marine-power market back in the 1970s. The replacement: the much-publicized 2000 series designed by DDC and assembled by MTU, available in 8-, 12- or 16-cylinder configurations pumping out 800 to 1,800 horses of power.

The news of Detroit's new engine spread quickly in the marine market, and while the 2000 series is a boon for Detroit today, it actually cost the company in the short term. "Detroit's new series of engines is now posing some stiff competition for the Cat packages, which in recent years has not been there," says Phillips. "The marketplace erroneously perceived that the 92 package would go away and never be seen again, and since the 2000s weren't on the market yet, nobody wanted to be the one to buy that last 92. That opened the door for Caterpillar a bit."

Jeff Dana, marine sales manager for Pantropic Power, a Caterpillar distributor for the southern third of Florida, confirms that Cat's market share has increased dramatically over the past few years, primarily due to customers choosing the 1,350-hp 3412C over Detroit's 12V92.

Even Dave Stevens, technical director for MAN engines, points to Detroit's conversion from the 92 series to the 2000 series as a pivotal point in the diesel marketplace. "When the two-cycle Detroits died, there was a large area from 500 to 1,300 hp to grab," he says. "Cat has been more aggressive in grabbing that area than MAN has, but we're more than holding our own."

The good news for Detroit, though, is that the 2000 series is out now. Since its introduction in late 1998, Paul Findeisen reports that Detroit distributor Johnson & Towers has already sold in excess of $10 million worth of the new DDC/MTU 2000 engines. Based on initial reports, these first 500 engines are finding widespread acceptance and acclaim from boatbuilders and owners.

"All the engine manufacturers are clearly at the top of their game right now," says Healey, "but Detroit's 2000 series is without a doubt the cleanest, most responsive engine I've been around."

Consumer Attitudes
Ten years ago, most boat buyers were like Newark, New Jersey's Mike Versalino, who purchased his first 52-foot Hatteras with a pair of Detroit 892s, simply because that's what the stock boat came with. While Findeisen reports that the local dealer can still exert great influence over buyers, a growing number of consumers come to the boatbuilder having already chosen the engine package they want.

"Many of our buyers seem to be predisposed to an engine package when they come in," says Phillips, who reports roughly a 60/40 split among its convertible sales in favor of Caterpillar over Detroit. "They can occasionally be swayed, but we have less influence on a consumer's purchase of a particular brand of engine than those engine manufacturers want to believe. Today's consumers do their homework, and by the time they get to us, they're armed with some pretty strong information on what engine will do what and what they can expect from it."
While increased consumer education certainly has played a role in the newfound interest in diesel selection, there's still a lot of plain-old brand loyalty out there, despite the decreasing differences among the models available.

"It's kind of like Coke over Pepsi," says Mickey Hayes, who has owned two 47- and one 61-foot Davis boats, all of which were powered by Detroit 92 series engines at his direction. "I had no troubles at all with the 892s in the 47s, but the 1292s in the 61 were a nightmare. But Detroit came back up to the bar and repowered the boat with new engines, and it ran like a charm for three more years. The next time I get into a big boat, I'll go back to Detroit no matter what their new engine is because I've had good experiences with their engines and I got dealt with in a fair way."

Pantropic's Dana recognizes better than most how important brand familiarity and loyalty have become, ironically because of the very similarities the manufacturers offer. In a world where the products become more and more difficult to differentiate, it's the service that becomes the critical factor in the buying decision.

"The people who typically buy diesel engines generally don't have a lot of free time, so reliability, parts availability and product support are very important - and that is what Cat is known for," he says. "The marine industry is a small group of people, and dock talk is a very important part of the thought process."

"Do I have brand loyalty? I don't think so," says Versalino, representing - without realizing it, perhaps - the heart of today's typical diesel consumer. "I'm just loyal to whoever was good to me."