36-40ft semi displacement

Perfect example of a fantastic old boat at an affordable price......
Ford sabre engines, can you still get spares?
How much to re engine?
What would an old boat like this be worth with new engines?

:rolleyes::rolleyes::D

Plenty of spares available for most Mermaid/Sabre ford based engines. But put new engines in an old boat and you'll see virtually no increase in actual value, just more saleable.
 
James Dickens also have what looks to be a fab Hi Star 42, lot of boat for the money see here http://www.jamesdickensmarine.com/Brokerage/Powerboats/Histar42.htm , no connection just one we viewed, on the web, when we were looking late last year. :encouragement:
Yup thats the kind of boat I had in mind when suggesting other Taiwanese makes. This one looks well looked after and with loads of kit. The Cat 3208 engines in 375hp form are usually bombproof and should still have plenty of life if they've been regularly maintained. The only thing to watch out for on these older Taiwanese boats is osmosis but a survey would pick that up immediately. Well worth looking at IMHO
 
Perfect example of a fantastic old boat at an affordable price......
Ford sabre engines, can you still get spares?
How much to re engine?
What would an old boat like this be worth with new engines?

:rolleyes::rolleyes::D

I think you can - it's the bigger Sabres that are the problem - Latestarter will know.

Would it be worth re-engining...? Hell, yes!
 
I think you can - it's the bigger Sabres that are the problem - Latestarter will know.

Would it be worth re-engining...? Hell, yes!

I've been following your refit thread with interest, the Cummins seems like a good choice for the re_engine project.
Did you manage to get an adapter plate made?
 
I've been following your refit thread with interest, the Cummins seems like a good choice for the re_engine project.
Did you manage to get an adapter plate made?

Not yet... I picked up one plate on Fleabay for 99p: I just need another now, or I may just use that one as a template to make two new ones using my cunning design (which I have found out is nothing new at all!).
 
Not yet... I picked up one plate on Fleabay for 99p: I just need another now, or I may just use that one as a template to make two new ones using my cunning design (which I have found out is nothing new at all!).

I made an adapter plate for a Cossy 2lr engine and vw gearbox [Darrian kit rally car] . We just offered up the gearbox bellhousing, marked the holes on the adapter plate on both sides, drilled a few holes, cut out the center with a torch......it all worked out ok and no problems.
Had to get a special release bearing adapter turned on the lathe, realitively easy for DIY.
 
Yes 12 to 14 knots with an SD boat compared to a fast cruising speed of say 18 to 20 will be a fraction of the cost per mile in my estimate a half or below.

The thread seems to have gone off post a bit as far as fitting out bare hulls. Many years ago I looked at a recently sunk Fairline turbo 36 fully stripped out following the sinking but intact with the exception of a modest hole which would not have been that expensive to repair cost about 30k, and recent models were selling for 180k plus , I am in the game and I realised that I could not fit out a boat properly and to a good standard for that money, If you in full time work, are highly skilled, don't count your spare time as any cost and have 3 to 5 years of nights and weekends perhaps, ......... but there are many unfinished projects out there for this reason.

If you can find a good Aquastar 38 with a good pair of engines in her and in a tidy condition you could get what you want but perhaps £50 to 60k is a bit low for a good one, Aft cockpit or aft cabin ?.

Large old boats are cheap for a reason so be careful, they are complex and can be a money pit .

The Aquastar 38 is a very good sea boat also consider good planning boats such as the Fairline Sedan 36 ( I had one) and the Turbo 36 and perhaps run them at 14 to 16 knots, you don't have to have the most economical boat in the world and to do thousands of miles a season to enjoy yourself.

If this is your debut into boating probably start with a smaller boat, see if you like it and upgrade in size and condition when you know what you want and whether you like it ( and the family does) .

A smaller semi displacement boat with great sea keeping is the Halmatic 34 AKA Weymouth 34/Humber 34 ( I had one of those too) twin cabin Vee berth in the bows , saloon table goes down to make a small double plus wheel house.
 
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Yes 12 to 14 knots with an SD boat compared to a fast cruising speed of say 18 to 20 will be a fraction of the cost per mile in my estimate a half or below.

The thread seems to have gone off post a bit as far as fitting out bare hulls. Many years ago I looked at a recently sunk Fairline turbo 36 fully stripped out following the sinking but intact with the exception of a modest hole which would not have been that expensive to repair cost about 30k, and recent models were selling for 180k plus , I am in the game and I realised that I could not fit out a boat properly and to a good standard for that money, If you in full time work, are highly skilled, don't count your spare time as any cost and have 3 to 5 years of nights and weekends perhaps, ......... but there are many unfinished projects out there for this reason.

If you can find a good Aquastar 38 with a good pair of engines in her and in a tidy condition you could get what you want but perhaps £50 to 60k is a bit low for a good one, Aft cockpit or aft cabin ?.

Large old boats are cheap for a reason so be careful, they are complex and can be a money pit .

The Aquastar 38 is a very good sea boat also consider good planning boats such as the Fairline Sedan 36 ( I had one) and the Turbo 36 and perhaps run them at 14 to 16 knots, you don't have to have the most economical boat in the world and to do thousands of miles a season to enjoy yourself.

If this is your debut into boating probably start with a smaller boat, see if you like it and upgrade in size and condition when you know what you want and whether you like it ( and the family does) .

A smaller semi displacement boat with great sea keeping is the Halmatic 34 AKA Weymouth 34/Humber 34 ( I had one of those too) twin cabin Vee berth in the bows , saloon table goes down to make a small double plus wheel house.

Thank you one and all for the advise,I am slowly forming a picture of the sort of boat would really suit my needs.I think I could certainly live with cruising at 12-14knts if it made a significant saving on fuel making longer trips more viable,but I think 8 knts would be a bit limiting to the distance I could travel in the days I am free.As bandit has suggested the other option is a smallish planning boat @ 14-16 knts just up on the plane.Could you get 1.5 MPG from a 36ft planning boat at those speeds in normal conditions ? I assume an extra 2-3 feet of boat makes a big difference to fuel consumption ? If you don't mind me asking Bandit what sort of figures did you get from your sedan ? Lastly-sorry- what is the difference between the Fairline Sedan and Turbo ?

thanks again for all the help
Tim
 
Comparing a small(ish) to a big(ish) boat of course does not make sense in respects of use and capabilities. A lighter boat at a lower speed will be easier on the juice - simply because it takes less hp.

3 feet in boat length has more impact on the room inside and seagoing properties than the figure suggest. Boats get bigger in width and height accordingly.
 
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The thread seems to have gone off post a bit as far as fitting out bare hulls. Many years ago I looked at a recently sunk Fairline turbo 36 fully stripped out following the sinking but intact with the exception of a modest hole which would not have been that expensive to repair cost about 30k, and recent models were selling for 180k plus ,
Not sure that any Turbo 36/38 ever sold for £180k. A guy I know bought one of the last Turbo 38s for around £120k. The Turbo 43AC was about £180k when it was introduced but it never sold in any numbers because it offered no more space than a Turbo 36/38 for a lot more money. One of Fairline's biggest cock-ups
 
Fuel burn has a lot to do with total weight, wetted area (whats under the water) hull design, and drive system. An SD boat of @ 35ft will have a water line length of @ 30ft. this gives it a maximum hull speed of @ 7kns. (hull speed = 1.3 x Square root (water line length) as a rule of thumb). After that speed any boat will have to shift a lot of water and work hard to go any faster. An SD boat of this size will burn a fair bit of fuel at 12 - 14kns. A similarly sized planing boat will probably burn the same or even less going at 18kns and in calm conditions will probably continue to plane down to @ 15kns. I used to have a Princess 37 of 1980s vintage that would plane at 18kns and keep planing down to @ 15kns doing @ 1.5 - 1.6mpg and that was a very unsophisticated boat by later standards. A planing boat with outdrives will have a better mpg but if its old will cost more in maintenance (search forum for threads on this)
 
Fuel burn has a lot to do with total weight, wetted area (whats under the water) hull design, and drive system. An SD boat of @ 35ft will have a water line length of @ 30ft. this gives it a maximum hull speed of @ 7kns. (hull speed = 1.3 x Square root (water line length) as a rule of thumb). After that speed any boat will have to shift a lot of water and work hard to go any faster. An SD boat of this size will burn a fair bit of fuel at 12 - 14kns. A similarly sized planing boat will probably burn the same or even less going at 18kns and in calm conditions will probably continue to plane down to @ 15kns. I used to have a Princess 37 of 1980s vintage that would plane at 18kns and keep planing down to @ 15kns doing @ 1.5 - 1.6mpg and that was a very unsophisticated boat by later standards. A planing boat with outdrives will have a better mpg but if its old will cost more in maintenance (search forum for threads on this)

I think this is very sensible advise. There are very few large boat manufactures [none?] producing semi~displ designs because they drink fuel at 14kts, that's why! Even the swift trawler designs like the ST34 and St44 are really planing boats with speeds in the mid 20's.

...but there are planing boats that can plane at slow speed, very popular with commercial operators, like the Botnia targa range which can plane at 10kts, and top out at 35kts. But they have very tight accommodation.....:ambivalence:
 
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