Given the question involved, this is actually pretty good advice.
Although I never smelt petrol in our humble Birchwood 25, I would NEVER look at a twin Petrol for river use. It won't be good, reliable or economical.
So, for once I agree wholeheartedly!
I have read and acknowledged all of the great advice in here, I have also searched extensively online for info on these engines....ok they may not be as "robust" as diesels are but they are used extensively and have provided good reliability for a very long time. I note the "risks" associated with electrics and petrol engined boats but they are not new. I would not want to argue pros and cons of each fuel type, we could be here for ever. Service and maintenance are key with petrol and clearly the odd diesel service could be missed or at least it would most likely be a bit cheaper.....but try telling that to the guys who service my merc!!Oh well gonna cop it for this but
You can say it won't be economical BUT
you can't say from there it wont't be good or reliable that depends on the boat and servicing.
All good points, tho we have had a hectic year, notwithstanding recovering from a pretty serious injury for four months which meant something we started back in spring has taken until now. We had to purchase something now whilst we had a short time to see it on the river, personally I am off down to OZ for a month in a few weeks and our aim was to lift our boat from the water for wintering...and have something complete and ready for the new season thus avoiding the mad rush of people that seem to have fun competing with others to buy something.....plan sounded quite good to me, and pretty consistent with your advice, Thanks.
I dont mind advice, generally speaking in here it has been quite constructive, though to call an awful lot of people in here ridiculous as seemingly they don't agree with you is a bit strong, no?We only give you the facts my friend.
Not the intellectual apparatus with which to decipher them.
Choosing to blatantly ignore such advice usually ends in ridicule, in addition to the inevitable suffering for the resultant mistakes.
Thats just the way the world is.
I'll put it another way. lets say you're a climbing instructor, and you get asked by some guy about climbing a really steep mountain with no safety gear, on a cold wet windy day.
Being nice, you give him the obvious answer.
He ignores you.
You inevitably think he's a bit of a c0ck, and shake your head as he heads up towards base camp.
Capiche?
)
actualy some of us tried to give balenced advice but I think it got lost somewhere.
Usual pattern, usual suspects........
Thanks for the kind advice put sensibly and in a polite way. To be frank we are at no more than 50/50 on the petrol boat, however the decision to walk is difficult as we dont seem able to find a boat that provides the accomodation in the way the 255 does. We have ruled out other 255's even with diesels simply due to the condition /presentation. We may recommence our search / uplift our budget by £10k but thankfully we know an awful lot more about boats than we did a month ago.I have to agree with you (again, we must stop this
20 year old petrol engines in a boat are just asking for trouble. Mind you it will be a good thing there are two of them, chances are you will still have one running from time to time.
It seems that you have made up your mind regardless of the sound advice you have been given, so i of course wish you well with your choice. It wouldnt however be the choice of anyone who has owned a boat before. You will of course find out why in due course. Sorry if this sounds harsh but it is the truth.
