Diesel or petrol boat for Med. cruising?

rustybarge

rustybarge

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Hi all,
I'm planning an around the Med. trip, Starting in Cote Azure, down through Corsica, Sardinia and Malta; around Greek islands, Turkey......in fact every and anywhere in the Med.

Lots and lots of sea passages, lots and lots of mileage, no sitting in marinas.

Budget is limited, so I've narrowed the choice down to two very small boats:
Merry Fisher 625 90 hp outboard, or 635 diesel inboard 85 hp.
Why? Semi- displacement, steady cruise in most sea states. Cheap to buy (£15k) and cheap to run.....about 5-6 mpg.

The question: which would you buy? Is petrol readily available in Med. marinas?

Thanks,

Peter.
 
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rustybarge said:
Hi all,
I'm planning an around the Med. trip, Starting in Cote Azure, down through Corsica, Sardinia and Malta; around Greek islands, Turkey......in fact every and anywhere in the Med.
Lots and lots of sea passages, lots and lots of mileage, no sitting in marinas.
Budget is limited, so I've narrowed the choice down to two very small boats:
Merry Fisher 625 90 hp outboard, or 635 diesel inboard 85 hp.
Why? Semi- displacement, steady cruise in most sea states. Cheap to buy (£15k) and cheap to run.....about 5-6 mpg.
The question: which would you buy? Is petrol readily available in Med. marinas?
Thanks,
Peter.
Click to expand...
I don't get it .......

"Lots and lots of sea passages, lots and lots of mileage .... Budget is limited"

And you want to buy a small motorboat ... :confused:

The wind is free, there is a wide choice of small sailing boats within your budget with more comfort and space than what you are looking at. And infinitely more seaworthy.

I really, really don't get it.
 
Barnac1e said:
I don't get it .......

"Lots and lots of sea passages, lots and lots of mileage .... Budget is limited"

And you want to buy a small motorboat ... :confused:

The wind is free, there is a wide choice of small sailing boats within your budget with more comfort and space than what you are looking at. And infinitely more seaworthy.

I really, really don't get it.
Click to expand...

+1
 
If you want to go down this route check out the cruising ranges of the boats. If you decide to go further afield, this will become a deciding factor.
In the meantime there are lots of good value 25-30 foot sailing yachts for sale that will do the job
 
I have to agree with Nortada here. The words lots of mileage making and on a budget with a MoBo simply do not go together.

I met someone last season who had motored from Jersey to Southern Brittany. He had spent more in that one passage on diesel than I have in almost 10 years with the present sailing boat.
 
Barnac1e said:
I don't get it .......

"Lots and lots of sea passages, lots and lots of mileage .... Budget is limited"

And you want to buy a small motorboat ... :confused:

The wind is free, there is a wide choice of small sailing boats within your budget with more comfort and space than what you are looking at. And infinitely more seaworthy.

I really, really don't get it.
Click to expand...

Everyone I've talked too tells me the wind never blows in the same direction in the Med for more than a few hours, so 90% of the time you will be using the motor to get where you want too.

Sailboats will cruise on the engine at 6kts maybe; MF diesel cruises at 14kts all day long, petrol outboard at 18kts.

Both the Merry Fishers will fit on a trailer for use on rivers and lakes, a very interesting option.

Ok so the space is very limited, but the inland/sea use compensate in some way.

Who wants all the complication of sails and heeling over, going very slowly at 4kts in the wrong direction?
 
Although I would not go down the mobo route for long distance cruising the mpg figures quoted by the OP are only about double that which I get from our boat under motor (about 2 litres per hour at revs to give us 5.5 knots). Given the amount of time spent under motor in the Med then perhaps he isn't as mad as all that.

I'd buy the diesel version of the boat because diesel fuel economy is usually better, storing extra fuel on deck is safer than petrol and diesel is slightly more readily available at fuel berths than petrol It's also marginally cheaper than petrol in most Med countries. Finally, a diesel is likely to be less stressed than an outboard and therefore easier to maintain.
 
rustybarge said:
Everyone I've talked too tells me the wind never blows in the same direction in the Med for more than a few hours, so 90% of the time you will be using the motor to get where you want too.

Sailboats will cruise on the engine at 6kts maybe; MF diesel cruises at 14kts all day long, petrol outboard at 18kts.

Both the Merry Fishers will fit on a trailer for use on rivers and lakes, a very interesting option.

Ok so the space is very limited, but the inland/sea use compensate in some way.

Who wants all the complication of sails and heeling over, going very slowly at 4kts in the wrong direction?
Click to expand...

My saily boat will do about 8 miles on a gallon of diesel and will go to any place I want, by sailing her at 5 knt if the wind is above 12kts and that does not create any heel
 
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duncan99210 said:
Although I would not go down the mobo route for long distance cruising the mpg figures quoted by the OP are only about double that which I get from our boat under motor (about 2 litres per hour at revs to give us 5.5 knots). Given the amount of time spent under motor in the Med then perhaps he isn't as mad as all that.

I'd buy the diesel version of the boat because diesel fuel economy is usually better, storing extra fuel on deck is safer than petrol and diesel is slightly more readily available at fuel berths than petrol It's also marginally cheaper than petrol in most Med countries. Finally, a diesel is likely to be less stressed than an outboard and therefore easier to maintain.
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The diesel MF has a top speed of only 17kts, the petrol with 90 hp outboard will top out at 25 kts, the difference being the weight of 1100/1400 kg.
Modern outboards return identical fuel consumption to diesels.
Both versions are semi- displ., not planing hulls, and have a good reputation in the lumpy stuff and will cruise at about 12kts in up to 2 mtr seas.
 
1bobt said:
My saily boat will do about 8 miles on a gallon of diesel and will go to any place I want, by sailing her at 5 knt if the wind is above 12kts and that does not create any heel
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Another point about the MF is that there is 6'4 standing headroom, flat cockpit/ wheelhouse deck, and any normal family saloon will tow the rig.

I'm sure the MF would equal 8 mpg at 6kts?
 
How are you planning to carry enough petrol for the long crossings and what is your plan for when your outboard stops and you cannot restart it?

I have witnessed a few petrol powered boats blowing their decks off through explosions, but they probably had inboard engines.
 
rustybarge said:
Everyone I've talked too tells me the wind never blows in the same direction in the Med for more than a few hours, so 90% of the time you will be using the motor to get where you want too.
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Sheer nonsense, "everyone" you are talking to is either ignorant of the facts or has an agenda.

Yes, sometimes you have to wait for favourable winds and sometimes they die away on passage. Only motorboat people have to rush around and get where they think they want to be, immediately. Unlike most of them, I happen to like being at sea.

This year I motored about 50% of the time I was travelling because I had a guest crew with a time restriction and is probably a worst case situation - that means 50% less fuel used. Work it out for your "lots and lots of mileage" and you will see what you save.

Both the Merry Fishers will fit on a trailer for use on rivers and lakes, a very interesting option. ...

Ok so the space is very limited
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There's the rub, for your plans I guarantee you will not be able to carry enough for serious long-distance cruising.

I believe you have no idea about what you are planning, unless you intend to trailer around the Med. and launch in interesting areas. Otherwise, your itinerary would involve some significant distances at sea. Have you ever experienced what the Mediterranean can sometimes deliver and ever been in a small boat - especially such as you are contemplating - in rough conditions?

Who wants all the complication of sails and heeling over, going very slowly at 4kts in the wrong direction?
Click to expand...

A very silly comment that isn't worth trying to answer.
 
JamesFrance said:
How are you planning to carry enough petrol for the long crossings and what is your plan for when your outboard stops and you cannot restart it?

I have witnessed a few petrol powered boats blowing their decks off through explosions, but they probably had inboard engines.
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Hi James,

I reckon there's about 50- 100 nm or less between most harbours in the Med. built in fuel tanks will take 100 ltrs, so 100 nm on the limit. I can bring extra in portable tank.

Don't know what size standby outboard to buy. Is 6 hp enough to make headway?
 
rustybarge said:
Hi James,

I reckon there's about 50- 100 nm or less between most harbours in the Med. built in fuel tanks will take 100 ltrs, so 100 nm on the limit. I can bring extra in portable tank.

Don't know what size standby outboard to buy. Is 6 hp enough to make headway?
Click to expand...

'Harbours' in the Med? I don't know of any 'Harbours' which will welcome your Merry Fisher. Do you mean 'marinas'? I thought you said 'no marinas for me!'.

Or are you just planning to pop into the marina to buy another €200.00 worth of fuel before you zoom off again at 500 Db?

Nice troll.
 
Barnac1e said:
Sheer nonsense, "everyone" you are talking to is either ignorant of the facts or has an agenda.

Yes, sometimes you have to wait for favourable winds and sometimes they die away on passage. Only motorboat people have to rush around and get where they think they want to be, immediately. Unlike most of them, I happen to like being at sea.

This year I motored about 50% of the time I was travelling because I had a guest crew with a time restriction and is probably a worst case situation - that means 50% less fuel used. Work it out for your "lots and lots of mileage" and you will see what you save.


There's the rub, for your plans I guarantee you will not be able to carry enough for serious long-distance cruising.

I believe you have no idea about what you are planning, unless you intend to trailer around the Med. and launch in interesting areas. Otherwise, your itinerary would involve some significant distances at sea. Have you ever experienced what the Mediterranean can sometimes deliver and ever been in a small boat - especially such as you are contemplating - in rough conditions?



A very silly comment that isn't worth trying to answer.
Click to expand...

I'm willing to accept the 50/50% motor/sail premise for the Med. still makes sense for a small Mobo.

The roughest conditions I've experienced in the Med was a delivery trip on a brand new Trader 42(?)' with massive cat diesels. Blowing force 6/7 for four days off Portabanus as we followed the coast eastwards. Like a slow death ........went on and on and on.............couldn't stand up straight without holding onto something solid.

Eer....that's not why people cruise the Med, and that's another reason to have a reasonably fast Mobo to outrun the weather!
 
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