Quote:
Originally posted by william rogers
Small diesel engines are generaly used in displacement hulls . In a planeing hull such as you Well Craft is I would think there would be very little GPH advantage over The Ford engine to justify the cost..........
William Rogers.........
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Yes and no.
I had a 28' cruiser that had twin Mercruisers with about 225hp I think. At 20 knot cruise, I burned about 20 gph.
[ By the way, this boat had "exploded" after refueling by the the PO. Either forgot the blowers or didn't allow enough time. Blew out the windows, fried all the wiring and scared the crap out of a lot of people. It was the last time the owner stepped on the boat. I found out about this the day of our closing and almost backed out on the deal. But it was practically a new boat and the deal was pretty good. BUT, I always new this boat had a past, and not a pretty one.]
I have a friend with a 36' express cruiser with twin 454's that burns 35-40 gph at 17 knot cruise. He is hating life with marine fuel at $2.50 a gallon.
I currently have a 42' cruiser with twin Detroit Diesel 471's rated at 300hp each. I cruise 17 to 18 knots and with the generator on burn less than 20 gph. Back when fuel was $.70 per gallon, I could run around all summer for about $500.
Basically I burn 1/2 the fuel at 2/3 the cost per gallon as my friend to do the same trip. Not to mention that the diesel boat will hold its value much more than a gas boat will. Mine is still worth what I paid for it 7 years ago and his has depreciated another 40% in the same timeframe.
BTW, the boat is a 1981 Ocean Yacht with about 1600 hours on the Detroits and they have never been overhauled. Still very strong, but there are indeed some expensive maintenance issues. I just had a fuel cooler replaced to the tune of $800. Ouch! Even doing much of the work yourself, the oil and all filters will set you back a bit of change.