If the plane is hit by
lightning will the engines fail ? Have you read the stories on various sites of malfunctions on
marine ecu s . One guy said the first time he got underway it failed . Got towed in . Replaced . Went out . Failed again . Towed in again . Another with a short in a harness on a nearly
new boat . Took two mechanics and more than a week to diagnose and
repair . There are other similar stories out there . You're right and I don't mean to whine . Marine engines can fail for all kinds of reasons . The point is electronic failures can't be repaired in the field . If you get trained to use your computer and the
software youll need and have all the necessary spares I suppose you can
repair your own engine . Although the MB
service guy told me no I couldn't without sending it back to him for reprogramming . Probably not , but I have asked more than one dealer if they could repair one and they said no . You're right if you're comfortable with new technology go for it . Cleaner , quieter , more power, I get it . Make sure you get absolutely clean fuel and filter it perfectly micron , bio , and
water wise (twice the pressure at the injectors ) , never have a bad ground or power interruption , don't get hit or near hit by
lightning , no shorts in harness or defective unit , you should be ok . But if you're risk averse I don't see how adding layers of
electrical and electronic complexity can be a good thing . And I know you can cross oceans under sail only but do you want to negotiate an inlet against
wind and
current engineless ? For instance . In a vessel that may be your home and with loved ones aboard ? A dependable
diesel is a neccesity for cruising .