It replaced an aging Perkins 6.354 engine that had provided the Authority with years of dependable service, but that had finally reached the end of its cost-effective life.

The engine for the glassfibre-hulled Lynx was de-rated from its standard 215hp to 160hp at the Wimborne Marine Power Centre where the engines are manufactured. Significantly, this modified engine delivers its maximum power at a very low stressed 1900rpm, to provide the Authority with years of trouble-free service. The existing transmission, a Borg Warner Velvet Drive, was refitted and the complete installation was undertaken by Brixham-based Oxley Marine Engineering. Lynx is now moored at Dartmouth.
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According to Oxley Marine Engineering, the M215C’s build quality, price and low operating cost were very much in the engine’s favour, reporting that the Harbour Authority has found the engine to be smoother, quieter and with a noticeable absence of emissions when compared with the boat’s original engine.

The six-cylinder, six-litre, wastegated turbocharged, charge-air-cooled M215C is, renowned as the “workhorse” of today’s Perkins Marine Power commercial engine range. Oxley Marine Engineering found it to be the most compact engine in its power output class. This kept the complexity of the repower to a minimum and reduced the overall installation cost, as the new M215C was a straightforward “drop-in” replacement for the old 6.354 engine. The economic attraction of the engine was given a further boost with the claim that it also delivers the lowest cost of ownership of any engine in its class.

The engine was supplied by Cannock-based Finning (UK), the Perkins distributor for England, Wales and Ireland. Parts and service support are available only through the Perkins distribution network that today numbers 4,000 distributors in 160 countries. Full details of the M215C and the other engines in the current Perkins Marine Power range, including contact details for the distributor network, are available on www.perkins-sabre.com.