Full production to start at Neander by end of 2016

The German company Neander Shark has reported that it plans to reach full production of its diesel outboard by the end of this year. This comes after a long period of development for its revolutionary outboard motor with the world-wide distribution of this unit now in the hands of diesel engine manufacturer Yanmar.

Already Neander has a large number of pre-production units out in the field in various parts of the world where they are being tested in a wide variety of applications and climates. “In the light of this practical experience we have made several small modifications to the engines and we expect to make a few more in the final production version,” said Product Manager Stefan Utermann. “It has been a long journey developing this diesel outboard but we can now see light at the end of the tunnel and we are confident that we have a product that will appeal to a wide section of the market.”

The Neander Shark diesel outboard produces 50 hp and it is based on a twin cylinder engine that features two crankshafts. This arrangement is claimed to offer much smoother running and reduced noise levels. The engine is turbo-charged and inter-cooled and it can meet the current EU and US emission standards. Once the unit reaches the production stage it is anticipated that there will be scope to increase the power output without compromising the reliability.

“At this stage we see the main market for this diesel outboard to be in the commercial sector where reliability and low fuel consumption are very important,” commented Utermann. “All of our pre-production units are operating in this area with applications ranging from small fishing boats in Chile to patrol boats on German rivers. One of the major attractions of the use of diesel fuel is the ready availability of the fuel even in very remote areas unlike petrol which can be hard to find in many marine areas and diesel is often offered as tax free and is a much safer fuel. Our link with Yanmar gives us a ready-made world-wide distribution and service network which is so important with a new engine.” Fuel consumption is claimed to be 10 to 12 litres per hour at full throttle.

The Neander Shark 111 outboard will be available in both tiller and wheel steering versions and with long and short shafts. In a single engine installation it will meet the power requirements of small fishing and commercial boats and with twin engines the market widens to include RIBs and a variety of faster craft. Currently the units will be priced at around €30,000 which makes the engine about twice the price of a petrol version of the same power but this is likely to reduce as production volumes increase.