Larson 240 cabrio (2006)

H

hg2016

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 Sep 2016
Messages
186
Visit site
Hello to all,
Ive been looking at a Larson 240 cabrio (2006) fitted with a mercruiser 5.0 mpi. Can anyone give me some advice on this boat. Build quality etc and how it compares to any other sports cruisers in this bracket. eg searay 240 sundancer, bayliner you know what I mean. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
Some might comment that the Larson build quality is poor but we had a Larson Cabrio 254 for a while and had no issues with the build quality.. Exactly how it compares to SeaRay or Bayliner is really in the eye of the beholder.. If the boat feels right for you and there are no obvious expensive issues then go for it.. :)
 
Hi,

Many factors to consider but the Searay I will consider one of the better US boats while Bayliner .. along with Glastron are of less quality. Larson is a medium product in my eyes. Generally speaking - most of the US manufacturers produce the boats for use on lakes and their hull is not as strong as many boats out of European producers. One thing you also need to be aware of ... the model you look at is a 2006 (so used..) Make sure it is CE certified or you will not be able to sign up for an insurance ... and it will be very difficult to resell.
 
Diesel is my preference not only due to fuel cost but also availability at the waterside.
 
I understand the diesel thing but it smells and is to noisy and to slow. But that's just my opinion. I think if you worry about fuel cost on a boat then you shouldn't be buying one. The fuel thing isn't really an issue for me. I know its going to be pricey. I'm more concerned if there are any particular nasties that I should look out for with this boat.
Thanks to all that have replied so far.
Please keep them coming, it would be my first boat so any info is helpful.
 
hg2016 said:
I understand the diesel thing but it smells and is to noisy and to slow. But that's just my opinion.
Click to expand...

I think i responded to the wrong thread !
However i dont get your point about the smell - Petrol stinks to high heaven.
 
ari said:
I'm going to make a wild guess that you've never actually owned a boat with a modern diesel engine..! :D
Click to expand...

I do; with a D4-300. It's not that loud ( in part due to the noise insulation installed by the OEM' It is louder than the V8 petrols I had previously. The noise from a V8 is nice, The noise that gets through from the 4 cylinder diesel engine is crude.
 
GrahamHR said:
I do; with a D4-300. It's not that loud ( in part due to the noise insulation installed by the OEM' It is louder than the V8 petrols I had previously. The noise from a V8 is nice, The noise that gets through from the 4 cylinder diesel engine is crude.
Click to expand...

The first AD31 diesel I owned sounded like a helicopter, and not in a good way.
Subsequent KAD32 diesel was more mellow, but still obviously a four cylinder diesel.
Two KAD32's in the S28 I thought sounded quite good when they were running well ... a kind of warble, and it could do 34kts on a good day.
Current D4-260's are smoother and quieter than the KAD32's, and have a reassuring rumble, but are slower than the S28 was.

The V8 that my brother had on his Rinker 232 knocks all the above into the corner, sound wise, and on flat water was much faster than my S28.
But in a a chop, the S28 made better progress without the passengers having to reattach arms and legs.

.
 
Last edited:
Is a S28 a sealine boat?
I take it the S28 was better in chop due to the hull design rather than anything to do with the engine. you'll have to excuse me, I'm very new to the boating world and not very clued up yet.
 
hg2016 said:
Is a S28 a sealine boat?
I take it the S28 was better in chop due to the hull design rather than anything to do with the engine. you'll have to excuse me, I'm very new to the boating world and not very clued up yet.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was a Sealine S28 - it weighs 4000kg, which is quite heavy for a 28ft boat, but it went well.
Ours went to Holland, Paris, Normandy, Channel Islands as well as blatting around the Solent.

Fairline Targa 30 is also a great boat that's a similar size.
 
hg2016 said:
clearly I haven't as I have already said that it is to be my first boat. The clues are there.
Click to expand...

My apologies, I'd thought you were here to ask for experience and advice rather than give it.

You carry on believing that modern marine diesels are smelly, noisy and slow then. :)
 
I am here to get advice and I haven't given any advice, just an opinion. My budget of around £25k probably wont allow me to buy a modern diesel as they seem to be much more expensive. The question for me is, would I ever get the difference back in fuel savings with the amount of cruising and playing I plan to do. How much that is, I don't really know until I start. All I know is that I'm looking forward to it and I certainly don't want to argue with anyone about it on the Forum. Just thought you reply was a little cocky and didn't actually give any advice at all and still hasn't, unlike all the other replies I've had. If you do have some advice I welcome it any time even though we do seem to have got of on the wrong foot.
 
Thanks for that info. I'll have a look at the fairline. I know they are quite a well built boat as I used to work for them making the Targa 55 over in corby. Nice boat.
 
hg2016 said:
I am here to get advice and I haven't given any advice, just an opinion. My budget of around £25k probably wont allow me to buy a modern diesel as they seem to be much more expensive. The question for me is, would I ever get the difference back in fuel savings with the amount of cruising and playing I plan to do. How much that is, I don't really know until I start. All I know is that I'm looking forward to it and I certainly don't want to argue with anyone about it on the Forum. Just thought you reply was a little cocky and didn't actually give any advice at all and still hasn't, unlike all the other replies I've had. If you do have some advice I welcome it any time even though we do seem to have got of on the wrong foot.
Click to expand...

It was a flippant response to what I thought was a rather flippant comment - that all diesel boats are essentially crap. :D

However, to give a more serious response. Firstly, no they're not. Modern marine diesels are a million miles from smokey old Mermaids in a 70's Princess 37. Anything late Nineties on from the bigger players like Volvo Penta are likely to be smoke free (other than a wisp on start-up perhaps) and (depending on suitable boat and installation) quiet and powerful. As smooth, quiet and powerful as a V8 petrol? No. But fuel is cheaper and far more plentifully available. Received wisdom about these parts is that petrol boats also explode with monotonous regularity but it's not a theory I subscribe to.

So, the cost thing. Petrol at marine pumps (if there are any where you're based) is typically 50p/litre dearer than road prices, so think in terms of £1.60-£1.70/litre at current rates. Then factor in that at planing speeds, you're probably burning 1/3 more petrol I guess? So very very roughly think in terms of double the cost for every (fast) mile you do. Of course you can hump it down in cans, but you'll soon get fed up of that, and many petrol stations are really clamping down on how much you can put into cans (legally, it is surprisingly little).

Which brings us on to the next point. Will you save enough to cover the extra cost of buying a diesel boat? Probably not but why does that matter? The premium you paid for a diesel boat will still exist when you come to sell. In other words if it cost you £5K more to buy a diesel boat, it'll probably still be worth £5K more when you come to sell it. So it hasn't actually COST you any more to own a diesel boat, because you get the extra back at the end (and arguably a diesel boat may be easier to sell - less of them and they tend to be desirable, hence that premium in the first place).

Final point, can you afford one with a £25K budget? I'd say so. Seekers in Weymouth recently had a Sea Ray 240 Sundancer with a Volvo Penta KAD 32 for about £22K. Just checked and its gone now, but there will be others.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying 'diesel is better', it isn't that simple. If you prize performance, smoothness and quietness above all else, and/or you don't use it much or simply don't care what it costs, absolutely buy a petrol.

What I am saying is don't write diesel off as 'smelly, noisy and slow' because they're not, and there are some very significant advantages.

Here ends the party political broadcast for the diesel party. :)
 
That's a great bit of advice and very informative. Thank you. I really like the part about the cost of buying a diesel and the re sale value. I hadn't really thought of it like that. Do you have any idea what the performance would be on the diesel 240 sundancer. cruising and top speed etc.
Thanks.
 
sorry, didn't thank you for the links you sent. very interesting, nice boats. Love the Monterey and the performance sounds great too. I'm really surprised Great post and very helpful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top