Engine Power advice please - new to boating.

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mpg

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Hello.

I am new to this forum, and also new to boating - I am looking at getting my first boat... Please can I ask some advice on the engine power...

Basically, I have seen a nice Crownline 270 that I am interested in, with a Volvo-penta D4-210 diesel engine...

I have been looking around for a little time at boats of similar sizes and types. Most of them seem to have bigger powered engines -some have 350hp v8 petrol engines - some obviously have twin engines, etc

I am looking to use this boat in open water (so not in a river or the like).

So my question - with this combination - the 27ft Crownline with the 210hp diesel engine - will it be "powerful" enough, and will it give me acceleration and speed to enjoy it in the open water? Or would it be a little sluggish and I would always be looking for a little more "oomph". I understand that these type of boats are not like the mad rib type of speeds, but i do want a little fun...!

Thank you for your time.
 
What sort of "open water" and what sort of trips are you wanting to make ? Just days out, or serious passage making from A to B, in almost whatever the weather throws at you ?

Do you know about the RYA power boat qualifications ?
 
Hi,

I mean The Solent, around IOW - 'coastal open water I guess.

Yes, I've seen the RYA courses and will be going on it when I get the boat.
 
I guess the question you have to ask is "how fast is fast enough".
I'd expect a 270 to not exactly be a rocket ship with a D4-210.
But if cruising in the low 20kts and a top speed of maybe high-20's is okay for you, and you will be lightly loaded, then why not?
It's often the case that the sea state and the waves are the limiting factor with regard to speed, unless you have a lake nearby.
On the other hand, if you are planning to run with several people on board or tow toys then more power would be useful.

Petrol engines produce plenty of power at high rpms, which helps top speed.
But diesels with less ultimate power have the advantage in the mid-range, with higher torque figures.

.
 
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mpg said:
Hello.

I am new to this forum, and also new to boating - I am looking at getting my first boat... Please can I ask some advice on the engine power...

Basically, I have seen a nice Crownline 270 that I am interested in, with a Volvo-penta D4-210 diesel engine...

I have been looking around for a little time at boats of similar sizes and types. Most of them seem to have bigger powered engines -some have 350hp v8 petrol engines - some obviously have twin engines, etc

I am looking to use this boat in open water (so not in a river or the like).

So my question - with this combination - the 27ft Crownline with the 210hp diesel engine - will it be "powerful" enough, and will it give me acceleration and speed to enjoy it in the open water? Or would it be a little sluggish and I would always be looking for a little more "oomph". I understand that these type of boats are not like the mad rib type of speeds, but i do want a little fun...!

Thank you for your time.
Click to expand...


Hi,

We had the 270cr with a 350 mag. It took time to get up and over, it cruised we’ll at 20kts but you would not tow a skier that comfortably.


I think that the Volvo might be under powered but not an expert.

Nice boats though, they look great - you WILL need the trim tabs as it needs fine tuning when under way.

They are often Lake Boats in the States but we ran ours out of Falmouth UK with no trouble. It turns well and feels faster than it is and if you like American boats, It’s a good alternative to a bayliner.
 
I had a Monterey 270 as my last boat, almost identical to the Crowline you are looking for. I had a D4 260 and it was pretty fast - mid 30's WOT. But, with full fuel and lots on board it would cruise at around 23 knots comfortably.

The 210 will certainly lose you a bit of power, but you have the advantage of Diesel which IMO is better than petrol for fuel economy and cruising ability. Also the other thing to bear in mind is the boat you are looking at is a single outdrive and interesting at times to manoeuvre in a marina with some wind and tide on you. So the diesel is really good here, because it is nice and torquey, so it thrusts the stern nicely into position.

I have heard a number of these types of boats had D3 engines put in, which would be really underpowered, but I would have thought 210 would give you some good fun.
 
jcwads said:
I had a Monterey 270 as my last boat, almost identical to the Crowline you are looking for. I had a D4 260 and it was pretty fast - mid 30's WOT. But, with full fuel and lots on board it would cruise at around 23 knots comfortably.

The 210 will certainly lose you a bit of power, but you have the advantage of Diesel which IMO is better than petrol for fuel economy and cruising ability. Also the other thing to bear in mind is the boat you are looking at is a single outdrive and interesting at times to manoeuvre in a marina with some wind and tide on you. So the diesel is really good here, because it is nice and torquey, so it thrusts the stern nicely into position.

I have heard a number of these types of boats had D3 engines put in, which would be really underpowered, but I would have thought 210 would give you some good fun.
Click to expand...

Good reply JCW , sadly the 210 is a bit gutless because it doesn’t have the supercharger to get the boat out the hole , the 260 would be better .
 
Might be worth bearing in mind if you intend actually going anywhere as opposed to short trips round the bay, you will soon discover that you need a diesel, best to discover this before you buy any petrol boat.
Petrol is hard to find and expensive, you will get fed up with lugging supermarket fuel to boat and it stinks the car out.
There are good practical reasons, why petrol boats of this sort are always much much cheaper than diesels.
You may well find that petrol boats on the whole seem to be generally in much better condition, this could be because they cost a fortune to run and hence do not get much use. IMHO of course.
 
If you like the image of this type of boat, I think you will rapidly get frustrated with the marginal oomph and fun factor with this engine.
Dealers often offer a smaller engine to get the price down...I'd have a look at what the common engine set up is..that is probably the ideal.
A single engine a bowthruster will certainly take the stress out of the marina berthing as a novice...in fact I would seriously look for a boat with one on a boat with a single engine, though I would have thought a large single diesel is enough.
Often the biggest cost of boat ownership is getting rid of the damn thing to..ummm...upgrade. it might cost more initially to buy a better engine set up, but is probably also the one for which there is then most demand when selling.
Of course we all have some sort of budget when buying..IMHO it is better to get the right boat for you than it is to, maybe,get a cheaper boat to save some money.
I would also just mention that if you asked all the boaters on here how long they kept their first boat ,the answer would be _not very long! The next one always seems to be worth the difference! Which takes me back to my point,especially on a first boat,
be sure it is the popular set up so you can sell it again.
 
gjgm said:
If you like the image of this type of boat, I think you will rapidly get frustrated with the marginal oomph and fun factor with this engine.
Dealers often offer a smaller engine to get the price down...I'd have a look at what the common engine set up is..that is probably the ideal.
A single engine a bowthruster will certainly take the stress out of the marina berthing as a novice...in fact I would seriously look for a boat with one on a boat with a single engine, though I would have thought a large single diesel is enough.
Often the biggest cost of boat ownership is getting rid of the damn thing to..ummm...upgrade. it might cost more initially to buy a better engine set up, but is probably also the one for which there is then most demand when selling.
Of course we all have some sort of budget when buying..IMHO it is better to get the right boat for you than it is to, maybe,get a cheaper boat to save some money.
I would also just mention that if you asked all the boaters on here how long they kept their first boat ,the answer would be _not very long! The next one always seems to be worth the difference! Which takes me back to my point,especially on a first boat,
be sure it is the popular set up so you can sell it again.
Click to expand...

+1
Though I kept first boat 6 years to avoid rapid boat changes for cost and grief to change reasons and then jumped 21 to 34 foot and kept that 6 years before going to 40. Buy well to sell well (or at least give yourself a better chance).
 
Hi we have a Monterey 275 on petrol, costs us around £500 per year in fuel, circa 100 hrs. We chose this size thinking overnight stays etc, proved to be to small looking at a 40+ footer now. Would definitely do rya courses as we found them extremely helpful. From our point of view I would say make sure the boat is right size and has as many items on your wish list as possible, you can rest assured that you will want to change to a bigger better one at some stage
 
Ratkins said:
Hi we have a Monterey 275 on petrol, costs us around £500 per year in fuel, circa 100 hrs. We chose this size thinking overnight stays etc, proved to be to small looking at a 40+ footer now. Would definitely do rya courses as we found them extremely helpful. From our point of view I would say make sure the boat is right size and has as many items on your wish list as possible, you can rest assured that you will want to change to a bigger better one at some stage
Click to expand...
Something rather unusual about your consumption figures? Do you have alot of very low speed hours? Underway (ie 20 plus knots) I would expect a petrol engine on a 27ft boat to be burning at least 40lph.
 
100 hours is very impressive. most boats struggle to do 50 over a year.

Petrol @ £1.65 per litre, even at 20L per hour that only 15 hours running ?
Sure theres not a 1 missing before the £ :)
On those figures you are achieving 3 litres per hour, just possible if you were based on the upper Thames perhaps .
 
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I don't think we are missing a 1 in front but rather a zero at the end. My 28ft Monterey with 350hp Mercruiser burns approx. 40l per hour. So 100 hours equates to 4000l, getting us closer to 5000£ in annual fuel cost.
 
Dont burst the denial bubble boys. I'm not sure how much fuel I use but it's got to be about 500 quids worth too :p
 
I'd love to raggie if they weren't so darn slow and tip over sideways all the time. I like to be able to fill my glass, not take half measures.
 
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