Lucky Max (Ideal Engine Temperature)

[hsburt]

When I stripped the cooling system out of the boat, I realized that there weren't any thermosthats in the engines.
I'm guessing (because of the crap in the "water-cooled" manifolds) that the PO pulled the thermosthats to try and keep the engines from overheating. As it was, my Port engine overheated whenever I pushed her past 1600 rpms.
Now that I am totally replacing the exhaust manifolds, risers, piping and silencers, I"m hoping that I'm going to have ample cooling. That I assume, brings the problem of running the engine too cool. Should I install thermosthats or should I try to trim the temperature manually with 1/4 turn ball valves?
Logic says to use a thermosthat and if that is the right answer, what temperature range should I use bearing in mind that this engine does not provide heat to an auxillary heater like it would in a truck for example?
I hope that this doesn't sound too stupid.

Thanks

[john8662]

Ideally between 180 - 190 degrees. I'm not sure how you're going to regulate that temperature, the preferred method will be with the thermostat. A thermostat will compensate for different rpms and water pump speeds, your ball valve can't.

We're a little sparce on boat experience, but would like to see your project progress, and maybe you can teach us some things about using these engines in a true marine application.

These guys are experts with the GM diesel in marine applications:

www.peninsulardiesel.com (http://www.peninsulardiesel.com)

They're a sponsor and are top-notch in just about everything they do.

J