I am looking at a Symbol that has (3) CAT 3208's . I have owned Hatteras 68 and other large vessels but triple power is new to me. Any comments would be appreciated.
I believe the version Dockmaster suggested to steer clear of is the 435hp. If properly maintained, the 375 are solid enough, instead. Out of curiosity, I googled for such boat, assuming that there aren't many around. In fact, I guess this one which I found in half a minute is the one you are considering: https://www.atomictunayachts.com/product/1987-symbol-motoryacht/ If so, she looks fantastic for living aboard. I'd better not show that galley to my wife, 'cause she suddenly wouldn't be happy with ours anymore! But I must say that her engine room, and particularly the central engine installation, is puzzling - see below. Was she possibly designed to run on the central engine alone at displacement speed?
The 3208s are good engines. As with any engine, when you continually push the hp higher problems can arise. With 3208s they really pushed the envelope in later years of production. Certainly the 435hp version fall into this category. Some would say the same of the 375 hp. The 320 hp and lower were known to be pretty reliable. The ad says 1100 hours; is that correct? That is very low hours for a 35 year old boat. Make sure you do a very thorough survey. As the saying goes, if it rests it rusts. That's a lot of resting in 35 years.
I can do that with my twin screw vessel and my single screw vessel. Just use the throttle. Sounds like one more headache to worry about.