Diesel v Petrol Glastron

[Johnnyma1]

Hi all, first time buying a boat which will be used for family fun within 5kms of shore so don't envisage long trips but who knows in the future. Anyway I have an option of a GS259 with a VP 5.0 GXi sp 2007 or a 2006 GS279 with a Kad32 dp and the condition and hrs is more or less the same with the 279 being apprx 3k more.....as my goal is family fun and maybe occasional wakeboarding if I can convince MRS to drive....my question is is the diesel worth the premium? And last but not least a gs279 with a D4 225 vp dp is also an option but seems expensive at 7k more than the GS259 ....is the D4 worth the premium over the kad32?

Thanks in advance just want to do as much research as possible in advance of doing a deal

Cheers

J

 

[Hot Property]

The 259 with a 5 litre petrol sounds good - if you aren't planning long trips the fuel consumption difference between diesel/petrol will not matter.

The KAD 32 is, I think, only 170 HP and will struggle to get the boat on the plane....

The 269 with the D4 will be better in terms of power to weight but hardly sparkling performance.

Horses for courses, but I would go for the cheaper 5 litre one, run it for a season or two and then decide if it suits you.

Oh, you can always say it guzzles fuel to try to negotiate the price down..

Are you trailering or mooring the boat? If mooring then that is normally the biggest annual cost above fuel and maintenance, (and new toys for it)

 

[DavidJ]

Just check if your local marina sells petrol. Unless you are trailering every time out in which case you just fill at your local station on the way. You really don’t want to be carrying cans of petrol especially at the rate you’re going to use it.

 

[Imperial One]

A no brainer, buy the petrol one and have more fun!
Enjoy.

 

[Whippersnapper]

Petrol FTW

 

[Johnnyma1]

Thanks a mill for all the replies guys, gives me some food for thought

 

[Johnnyma1]

Probably should have added that the Kad is loaded....has everything, bow thruster, teak floor, heating, plotter, electric windlass....the other two are more basic

 

[ari]

Diesel. Costs more but will sell faster and likely retain the difference.

KAD32 is what they put in the similarly sized Sealine S25 and I've not heard of performance issues with those (I doubt the Glastron is a particularly heavy boat in comparison), I'd want to try it to be sure.

D4 would be great in that boat! A far bigger, more powerful and more modern engine than the KAD series.

If you're considering petrol, make sure you're aware of what it costs dockside (it's not the same as roadside). Added to the far greater consumption and I seem to recall reading somewhere that the actual difference per hour at planing speed is about 3x cost. The problem is that it's the most visible cost relative to use. You go out for the day, burn through £200 worth of fuel and feel you can't do it the next day.

 

[Hot Property]

Probably should have added that the Kad is loaded....has everything, bow thruster, teak floor, heating, plotter, electric windlass....the other two are more basic

That means it will be even slower!!!

 

[Johnnyma1]

???

 

[GrahamHR]

Diesel. Costs more but will sell faster and likely retain the difference.

KAD32 is what they put in the similarly sized Sealine S25 and I've not heard of performance issues with those (I doubt the Glastron is a particularly heavy boat in comparison), I'd want to try it to be sure.

D4 would be great in that boat! A far bigger, more powerful and more modern engine than the KAD series.

If you're considering petrol, make sure you're aware of what it costs dockside (it's not the same as roadside). Added to the far greater consumption and I seem to recall reading somewhere that the actual difference per hour at planing speed is about 3x cost. The problem is that it's the most visible cost relative to use. You go out for the day, burn through £200 worth of fuel and feel you can't do it the next day.

D4 is a big engine, length and weight. Complex electronics. Expensive marine only VP parts if it goes wrong. . From 2001 to 2014 we ran boats with VP 5.7 petrols. A 280 and a 320 HP. American car/ truck engines, with cheap parts. A variation of 6x 20l jerry cans and a hand held trolley kept us safely fuelled up, We now have a diesel. I'd go back to petrols given a choice !

 

[ari]

I also ran a petrol boat 2004-2006 and used to fill it with jerry cans, what an absolute PITA that was lugging the things backward and forwards, car always seems to smell faintly of petrol fumes, never again.

It depends how much you use your boat of course, if you only use it occasionally then the diesel savings are small and the dragging cans backwards and forwards is minimal but I use mine quite a bit and the joy of just tying up to the fuel quay, filling up in 10 mins, paying and going, bliss. I'll pay for any perceived servicing cost savings of a petrol boat out of the fuel savings.

Incidentally, not sure how far you'd get trying to put 120 litres into fuel cans on a road fuel station forecourt these days. Never used to be a problem but I hear they've clamped right down on it, health and safety and all that.

Each to their own and all that though, no question petrol boats work for a lot of people. If you only potter out for half an hour a couple of times a month it probably makes more sense than a diesel.

 

[CLB]

For me it would be the diesel one, but I use my boat to go cruising so economy and fuel availability become most importnat. The extras would be the icing on the cake. If you just want to leave the marina, go a few miles, do some water sports and return, then the petrol would win favour as it will offer better performance. Just check availability and cost at your locations. As others have said, filling from jerry cans becomes very tiresome. Been there, done that.

 

[Johnnyma1]

So went for a spin and she got on plane really quickly with 2 of us and 3/4 tank of fuel with supercharger running she was quicker than I expected and saw 26.7knots with the camper covers on so I think 30 has to be possible....albeit it was very calm....the biggest thing I noticed was the handling( if that's the right aqua term ) the turn in and carving was really good....I guess its the relatively light weight of 2450kgs.....so long story short....did the deal and paid a deposit.....cant wait

 

[Johnnyma1]

So went for a spin and she got on plane really quickly with 2 of us and 3/4 tank of fuel with supercharger running she was quicker than I expected and saw 26.7knots with the camper covers on so I think 30 has to be possible....albeit it was very calm....the biggest thing I noticed was the handling( if that's the right aqua term ) the turn in and carving was really good....I guess its the relatively light weight of 2450kgs.....so long story short....did the deal and paid a deposit.....cant wait

And my wife is happy....PRICELESS

 

[ari]

So went for a spin and she got on plane really quickly with 2 of us and 3/4 tank of fuel with supercharger running she was quicker than I expected and saw 26.7knots with the camper covers on so I think 30 has to be possible....albeit it was very calm....the biggest thing I noticed was the handling( if that's the right aqua term ) the turn in and carving was really good....I guess its the relatively light weight of 2450kgs.....so long story short....did the deal and paid a deposit.....cant wait

I'm guessing you're referring to the KAD32 boat? (That's the only one with a supercharger I think). That sounds the sort of performance I'd expect, as I said earlier in the thread, it's a very similar boat to the Saline S23/25, and plenty of those have the KAD 32, seemingly without issue.

Anyway, sounds like a good result, and certainly from my perspective and for the reasons mentioned, diesel is the way to go.

 

[Johnnyma1]

Yeah the KAD32, really happy with the decision and the spec is great for family use so good all round

 

[ontheplane]

You made the right choice.

I ran a 26' boat with a 5.7 Carb V8 for 3 years - and spending over £200 in a day on fuel takes all the pleasure out of it - when I sold it I got back what I paid - I'd have done the same if it had been a diesel, so in reality the running costs of the diesel would have been way less.

Yes you pay more for the boat but you get it back come resale.

I suspect if we all have to switch to white diesel then diesel boats will drop in price a little, but then stabilise and all will be normal again.

 

[QBhoy]

If it was a carb petrol...I’d be saying go for the diesel. But the truth is that the 5.0 gxi 270hp is an incredible thing for economy. I’d even go so far as saying that there won’t be a diesel option available with as much power that will also be as efficient. Problem may be more around the diesel fuel being cheaper (for now) and getting petrol at Marina. Or so I keep reading. It’s not an issue near me though. The petrol will be much cheaper to maintain too. If the petrol is 8-10k cheaper...are you really going to spend that much extra on fuel over the diesel ?? Not so sure.

 

[ari]

= If the petrol is 8-10k cheaper...are you really going to spend that much extra on fuel over the diesel ?? Not so sure.

That money isn't 'spent', you get most or all (or sometimes more) of it back on resale compared to a petrol boat. If you spend it on the extra cost of petrol, it's gone.