Yanmar Power of Choice for New Steber Twin Cab

Up on the north coast of NSW, tucked away in the idyllic riverside town of Taree, the Steber family is already gearing up for the surge of Australian built fibreglass boats in the post GFC era. The resurgence will come, don’t know when but it will come, and Alan Steber is ready for it.

The latest new Stebercraft model that typifies the positive outlook in boating and Australian boat manufacturing is the Yanmar powered Steber 3800 twin cab.

Unveiled at the Sydney International Boat Show, the Steber 3800 Twin Cab is a new model from Steber. This is a flybridge deck moulding with new interior layout, the latest in live aboard technology and a pair of Yanmar 6LY3 engines in the engine room. “We based the new Steber 3800 Twin Cab model on the same successful hull used for our NSW Marine Rescue vessels,” said Alan Steber. “All of our Steber hulls are configured with a recreation and commercial deck.”

At the 2010 Sydney boat show Steber fielded a lot of inquiry from families who wanted a family cruiser with two cabins, but not with the conventional island bed in the bow cabin. They wanted to sleep up to six without having to convert the dinette to a bed by night (the island double bed in the bow is an option).

The outcome is the stunning Steber 3800 Twin Cab. This new model has a front cabin with four single bed berths, superior vee bunk style bedding stacked one on top of the other. This configuration delivers fixed sleeping accommodation in two bedrooms for six people.

Manufactured to comply with 2C Survey, the vessel can legally sleep six and carry ten.

This is a boat that suits a broad range of applications. In survey it can be a hire boat, used for charter work or included in a boat share scheme.

In any of these applications, the selection of engines is of paramount importance. Alan Steber is absolutely resolute when he states that the Yanmar brand is his engine of choice. “Yanmar is not only my choice, but it’s also the engine of choice of many key government agencies across Australia.”

“The Yanmar 6LY3 is a superbly engineered engine, that delivers it’s power smoothly, efficiently and quietly. This is a drive by wire, fully electronic engine that is easy to install and easy for our customers to operate.”

The purpose built marine engine design of the Yanmar 6LY3 engine series and their renowned low fuel consumption are key factors behind their success. Low fuel consumption & low operating costs along with high reliability are critical factors not only when at sea when undertaking a lengthy holiday voyage along the coast and offshore, but also for weekends spent closer to home.

Yanmar’s 6LY3-STP engine is a turbocharged, direct injected, intercooled, 24 valve, in-line 6 cylinder displacing 5.813 litres to produce 440mhp (324 kW) at 3300rpm. Weighing in at only 718kilos complete with Yanmar’s purpose built marine transmission, the 6LY3-STP delivers industry leading power-to-weight Yanmar diesel performance.

The Yanmar 6LY3 features a high-technology electronic control system that governs all engine operations from fuel management to twin engine synchronisation, gear shifting and diagnostics.

The intelligent electronic control system on the 6LY3-STP manages the fuel delivery system and injection timing of the high pressure fuel pump to dramatically increase torque, improve fuel economy, reduce noise at idle and particularly reduce fuel odour and white smoke at start up in cold conditions.

Translated to on-water performance, the twin Yanmar 6LY3-STP powered Steber 38 achieved a top speed of 32.0 knots at WOT of 3339 RPM. Throttling back to a more realistic cruise speed of 21.0 knots, the Yanmars tick over at 2396 RPM with fuel consumption recorded at 40.1 litres per hour per engine. The boat is fitted with a pair of 24” x 33” props.

With a big fuel capacity of 1500 litres, the Steber 3800 Twin Cab could run from Sydney to Brisbane without having to re-fuel. Alan Steber has already run the boat from Taree to Sydney and return, a distance of 350 NM on a single tank of fuel with plenty to spare. In addition to the dual Yanmar 6LY3 engines in the engine room, a single MASE 7KVa gen set is also installed. This is a Yanmar powered, high quality marine generator that delivers ample power for all the on board needs from cabin lighting and entertainment systems, all the way through to the power-hungry needs of fridges and dishwasher.

In a great many respects the Steber 3800 Twin Cab is built and powered to the same demanding specifications as the NSW Marine Rescue vessels; boats that head offshore in the worst of conditions to perform search and rescue missions.

Michael Blair (National Marine Sales Manager for Power Equipment) stated that Power Equipment and Yanmar are absolutely delighted Steber have again chosen the Yanmar 6LY3 series for another new model from their stable. Ian Mills our NSW Marine Sales Manager likewise was very pleased to work with Steber’s engineering team on this model and one only has to take a look inside the engine room to know that the high quality of the overall installation not only compliments the Yanmar product quality but is one that will ensure long and trouble free service for the owner.