Diesel or Petrol for Spain based boat

[lamb]

I am buying a Monterey 270 sports cruiser to be kept in Porto Dequesa, not far from Gib.

This will be my first power boat and I am not sure which engine is more suitable.
The choice is a Volvo Penta 270 hp diesel or a mercruiser 425hp petrol. The purchase price of the diesel is about £10,000 more.

As I live in UK there will be long periods when the boat is not used.

I have been told that diesel in Gib is 28p a litre.

can anyone offer advice please.

This is also my first time on this site so if I make mistakes please forgive.

Brian Lamb

 

[Talbot]

Welcome to the forums. This is a complex decision outside of UK. You wil need to do your sums and a bit of research. second hand value of the diesel will be higher, which will off-set some of that £10,000, then there is the question of the amount you will use the boat, and the distance (range) you wish to travel. It may be that the range you desire can only be achieved by the diesel power plant - in which case easy answer. if not you will need to work out rougly how many hours of motoring you will do per year, and how many years you will keep the boat, then work out what the difference in money will be given the fuel price differentials and fuel consumption for the different engines. I suspect that you will find that after a couple of years of reasonable use, the diesel will be cheaper than the petrol, plus it is safer, and will have much longer range. It just wont be as fast! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[lamb]

Thanks,
the saleman says that the petrol range is about 250 miles which is probably ok.
the safety aspect is somthong I hadn't thought of but sombody else has pointed out the extra cautioned required with petrol engines.

regards
Brian Lamb

 

[Solitaire]

[ QUOTE ]

the saleman says that the petrol range is about 250 miles


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think so! A 450 hp petrol engine will burn conservatively a gallon a mile. That means at least 250 gallons or over a 1000 litres. The boat's tank will hold nowhere near that! I suggest you double check with your "salesman". Me thinks he talking major bllx here! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[William_H]

Around here it is a blokey thing to have diesel .. boats or 4x4 it just is not macho to have petrol. That is regardless of all the arguments for petrol.
I reckon that if you bought petrol you would end up wishing you had bought diesel. Thats apart from the resail value and the safety angles. will

 

[Solitaire]

[ QUOTE ]
Around here it is a blokey thing to have diesel .. boats or 4x4 it just is not macho to have petrol.

[/ QUOTE ]

Phew! That's OK then, I've got a diesel 4x4 and a diesel powered boat! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Still doesn't get away from the fact that I don't think that a 27 foot boat can carry enough petrol to cover 250 miles with a 450hp engine! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Solitaire]

I thought you might be interested in <font color="red">This </font> . Makes interesting reading, but remember that a US gallon is smaller than an Imperial gallon. Sea and hull conditios will make a big diference to performance as well.

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

IMO There are only two possible reasons for choosing the petrol engine:

1. You need the higher performance of the petrol engine.
AND/OR
2. You don't want to spend the extra £10,000 to get the boat you want.

If neither of these is true the diesel wins on every count.

There are very good reasons why the petrol boat is £10k cheaper. Petrol engined boats are very difficult to sell without giving them away at a low price.

 

[Tony7]

I have a boat in Sotogrande and confirm gib prices 24p - 28p, why not talk to sun_coast hes based in Dequesa ( if thats the right spelling ) and will be able to offer all the advice you need including training if ness,
Congrats on the new boat.

 

[mercman]

I guess you are looking at the D4 250 that boat they list with a 350 mag standard. Thats 300hp and you are looking at 250hp diesel. Yes i know its supercharged etc but once you are loaded up would it be enuff power. Speak to Solitaire indepth he has driven a few 265 Montereys which i think is the same model see what he suggests. Iwas looking at these boats last year but couldnt get enuff money. I would recommend the 315 yanmar speak to these people the uk importer www.southwater.com

 

[Solitaire]

[ QUOTE ]
I would recommend the 315 yanmar

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, as long as it's not attatched to a Bravo 3 leg! They don't like one another /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif. In fact Southwater no longer fit the Bravo 3 as an option on the 315! To my knowledge, no engine bigger than the 350 magnum has come into this country, so I can't comment on anything bigger. I've driven 265's with both the 315 and 240 yanmars - not prizes for guseesing which one I preferred!