Are petrol powered boats really that evil?

The Carrera is great value
Mine is a 89 with 2 x 151 cs fully loaded..Have No Probs With Petrol Supply (Premier Brighton) Currently 96 p ltr
Out today Flat Carm 22 knots @ 3800 knots
Had about 20 y ago a P385 with Tamd 60cs 1 gallon per mile whilst you cannot compare the Carrera with the P385 somehow I am enjoying this as much whilst the costs are simply not comparable I am confortable with the Carrera even if its petrol not sure I could live with £5+ per mile for a Diesel
 
I'll ask SWMBO

seriously I'll check notes on the boat and get back to you

I'm river based so for most of my Boating is slow

£800-£1000pa seems to be the norm

When you play you are always aware of the cost though

cheers Joe
 
"Water holds no fears for a modern petrol engine"
Except when you get enought water in the bottom of your petrol tank to fill the main filters and the fuel pump bowls therebye stopping both your engines,until you have emptied the system and dried out the plugs.
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No. I was refering to the myth that HT and water don't get along. I learned the condensation in the tank lesson a while ago. There are ways to get a motor going without whipping out the plugs, as long as you've drained off the excess water.
I must admit I've never had a problem bleeding a diesel engine, or car brakes for that matter. It's got to do with having a grasp of what you're trying to achieve.
 
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"Water holds no fears for a modern petrol engine"
Except when you get enought water in the bottom of your petrol tank to fill the main filters and the fuel pump bowls therebye stopping both your engines,until you have emptied the system and dried out the plugs.
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...and a diesel would do what in these circumstances? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I've had all three - Petrol, LPG and Diesel. Anything other than Diesel in a cruiser over 30' with inboards is a compromise and false economy. As Ari pointed out, a diesel boat costing £10k more than an equivalent petrol will still be worth £10k more when you come to sell it so every time you fill up on diesel you'll be saving money. The torque characteristics of a diesel are better suited to larger boats also, this is why you don't get any large petrol boats even in the US where petrol is cheap.

Who wants the hassle and worry of finding petrol and lugging 500ltrs of it to your boat? Not me!! If your boat is on a trailer then petrol would be ok, otherwise...no thanks.

I doubt if there will be a large uptake of petrol installations at marinas even if petrol boats became more popular as I believe the storage of petrol requires much higher safety procedures than diesel and insurance for petrol storage is much higher?
 
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As Ari pointed out, a diesel boat costing £10k more than an equivalent petrol will still be worth £10k more when you come to sell it

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and as I said
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And what happens if the market re-adjusts and diesels lose their premium during your period of ownership?

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That can mean diesel powered boats lose value, not necessarily that petrol powered boats gain value.
Or are you all just hoping and praying it won't happen that way?
 
and as I said
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And what happens if the market re-adjusts and diesels lose their premium during your period of ownership?

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That can mean diesel powered boats lose value, not necessarily that petrol powered boats gain value.
Or are you all just hoping and praying it won't happen that way?

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But diesel will always be better in a sports cruiser than petrol so will always be in higher demand even if the cost of the fuel was the same.

Why would anyone buy a petrol boat if they could buy an identical diesel boat for the same money? I don't think anyone would, they'd buy the diesel. Supply and demand will always make the diesel boat more expensive.
 
There are a lot of larger yachts that use gasoline and not diesel here. In a lot of the large inland lakes, it is not uncommon to find 40+ foot cruisers and yachts using 'petrol'. It depends on the traffic situation. On my lake (Grand Lake of the Cherokees), there are dozens of petrol stations but few handle diesel. considering that some of the yachts can exceed 30 meters, it does limit their choices.

If I were to cruise the navigation channel that goes from Oklahoma to the gulf, I would have more chances of finding diesel than 'petrol' because it caters to the work boats more. There are a couple of stretches that I would either have to maintain optimum fuel usage or carry cans.

Most boats in the states are only used for day trips. Short runs to get to a locations and back. You cannot justify the high additional cost. And there is a lot of maintenance to a diesel with filters and having to have the work done by a trained tech. Modern EFI engines can go for long hours without needing tuneups or ignition parts. My annual service costs are less than $200. A diesel would cost a lot more.

I have a fair amount of experience with diesels in trucks as I and many family members have been involved with commercial trucking to some degree. Two of my BILs have 1-ton duallies for personal transportation. I would like to see more small diesels here and was disappointed that DC did not decide to go with a V6 diesel in my truck. However, diesel is about 10% higher than gasoline and has a bad rep among a lot of the public here.
 
The reason we are so paranoid about petrol v Diesel is that - having done the conversions - a US gallon of petrol (Gas) costs us $7.18 and diesel a few cents more.
 
As I said a diesel engine is better suited to larger boats due to it's torque characteristics, especially if the boat is a planning boat. Petrols give the most torque when the revs are high, maybe 3500rpm and above (not very good a getting on the plane cos the revs are low at 13knots) Diesel engines on the other hand give their torque from fairly low down the rev range (1500 rpm)to almost full revs. IMHO petrol is fine for trailer boats but diesel rules in anything bigger.
 
"and a diesel would do what in these circumstances? "
Dunno,cos have never had a diesel conk out on me,despite far more hours underway.If only the catalogue of woe fom most of the petrol boats owned could be erased from the memory.Still the frisson of not knowing if you will be stranded miles away from anywhere and making lots of new friends with the people who had to tow you home is the upside of owning a petrol boat.
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