My 1st month as a diesel head!

[Solitaire]

My 1st month of diesel power!

Well, it’s exactly a month since Solitaire hit the water with her new diesel power plant. After years of trials and tribulations with petrol and LPG, I decided enough was enough. Since launch on the weekend of the August Bank Holiday I have completed a total of 41 hours, used 518 litres of diesel at a cost of £144.35. I’ve covered 466 nautical miles at an average of 1.11 litres per nautical mile and burnt an average of 12.64 litres per hour.

The only problem was traced back to the fact that the secondary fuel filter had not been changed (despite having been told to the contray by the engineer!) when the new engine was installed and after 30 hours it got blocked. The original prop needed changing as the boat in which the engine and leg came from was to heavy for the power unit and had been “tweaked”. Maximum speed attatined NOW is 32 knots and the boat cruises very comfortably at 26knots.

The ride has also improved; I think this is due to a better weight distribution now the LPG tanks are gone and there is more even balance in the stern.
Yes, it cost money – I reckon around £6k but as I love the boat and anyway, can’t afford a new one, it’s already worth it. There will be those who say that red diesel will/may go in a few years. To them I say, So what? I did not have the tank replaced so I have the original 44 gallons, the only difference is I now get 200nm+ whereas I was lucky to get 80 nm out of the same “gallonage” of petrol – so to use an old saying, “frankly my dear, I don’t give a damm!”

Am I /forums/images/icons/smile.gifing? You bet, I don’t have to think so much about can I afford to go boating this weekend? I just go. The whole rig is safer and my insurance premiuim has gone down as well. Oh yes, and I’m told that the boat has increased in value by about the same as it cost me to buy the engine. I just hope the weather holds for the next few months/forums/images/icons/smile.gif


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[martynwhiteley]

Hi David,

Nice to see someone else as exited as I was after my dieselisation!

I know exactly how you feel, and it's still lasting with me, after a two months and a bit! I went out in the Humber on Friday evening just for an hour and a half's blast with a couple of friends. Pounded along at 20 knots and enjoyed every minute of it, saw the most magnificent sunset with the Humber Bridge infront of it in sillouette (? spelling!), and it cost me less that the couple of pints I was bought afterwards by the two enthrawled passangers!

Like yours, mine seem's to handle lots better too.

And still some peeps sit on the fence /forums/images/icons/wink.gif



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[Solitaire]

Martyn,

Hindsite is a very rich man! I wish now I'd not even bothered about the LPG conversion, but hey ho! Im glad your gettingthe same buzz from your diesel as I am. For ever may it last/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[tico]

Welcome to the diesel swap society!!
Best thing I ever did
Now I dont have to carry bl**dy cans of petrol for miles , can lean on the throttles without a care, go out ' just to see' without worrying about the cost, dont worry about the engines stalling on pontoon approach.........
I could go on for hours

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[hlb]

I feel a bit like John Wesley now. He traveled the country Preaching Methodism for years pefore anyone took any notice..../forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

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Haydn

 

[Guest]

This is the second recent post where the cost of converting to diesels has been £6k. How do you do it? With marine prices, I would be surprised if that would cover the labour cost.

I wonder if we are comparing like with like? are these new or secondhand engines?.

As to the consumption, I thought the ratio was 8:5 (largely accounted for by the density difference of the fuels)

I realise the availability is to some, a nuisance but on the south coast and the middle Thames where I was previously based, I have never had any problem (except the marine/garage price ratio)

I have twin 220hp mercs and the cost of replacing them would be little short of £40k. The engines alone are £17-18k each. A ten year morgage on this would be about £5k a year, don't forget to add on the cost of servicing.

The fact remains, that you can't save money you don't spend. If your petrol bill is £2-3k a year ( £500 on the river) as mine, how could I justify the price?

Geoff




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[martynwhiteley]

Geoff,

I suppose if your using a boat with 440hp to potter about on a river, then your right, the economics will never favour a swap.

To make it worthwhile (and indeed stupid not to), all you have to do is use the boat for an average amount of hours, at the sort of speeds the boat was designed for. Just look at some of the magazine test figures for 30 ft boats fitted with twin petrols. 30 gph is not uncommon. A large twin petrol cruiser will cost over £100 per hour to run at high cruising speeds, or £5,000 pa, if you do only 50 hours.

If you do 100 hours pa. your £5K mortgage would look a real winner.

The other consideration is that most swappers, do it because their petrols are old, and needing new manifoolds/risers etc. Your faced with spending £2K on old petrols, or putting it towards diesels.

I sold my old BMW's for £2,000. Managed to get a NEW Merc D120/Alpha package for £8K c/w controls, power steering, instuments etc. (inc. VAT as well!).

I did all the work myself, inc. converting 'twin to single' and it cost me only about another £750 for all the bits and materials. Net cost = £6.75K for a brand new under warranty, engine and drive package.

Sure I've taken a performance drop, down from 24 to 20 knots, but at that speed it's doing 4 gph, not 10 gph, and the fuel is a third of the price. My running costs are thus about 1/6th of before, servicing is cheaper, parts are cheaper, boat is safer etc. etc.



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[Solitaire]

First things first - the "new" engine was in fact second hand - 639 hours run. Secondly, of course it depends on your useage. as I pointed out in my original post I've done 41 hours in a month - that's heavy usaeage! A lot of boats don't do that in a year! The average is less than 100 hours for most boats. You operate on the river, you have a 30ft Bayliner with twin petrols, your speed is limited to around 5 knots, at that speed petrol vs diesel is quite frankly an irrelevant discussion. I have a friend who has a 27ft Bayliner which he has just bought - he is already finding it a great financial drain and thinks very seriously about it when he goes out.

Again your right in terms of the cost of a new diesel engine plus fitting but you need to keep your ear to the ground. I'm lucky I live in the heartland of boaty land and I've got to know peope. I found my engine by simple walking into an engineer who had just moved into the boat yard where I keep my boat. "I'm looking for a good secondhand 4 cylinder diesel, know of anyting?" Your in luck sir! 10 days later the engine was back in the yard and ready for installing. Erm, this is giving me the gem of an idea here! Mind you, good used engines are like rocking horse shit if you don't know where to go.

The engine cost me £4k - I needed some bits done, turbo rebuilt and new power steering pump but the engine fired up first turn after having been sat on a pallet for 8 months. It starts first time every time now and whats more in over 40 hours the oil level has not moved.

There is no point in you converting while you remain on the river.

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[Guest]

Martyn

Perhaps I have mislead you. In actual fact, this boat is based on the coast. The river figures relate to an earlier one that used a gallon an hour over 400 hours.

I looked at the GPS yesterday and see that I have averaged 14kts this season with a max of 33kts.

I think the thing we tend to forget is that we hardly ever achieve the headline fuel consumption figures that worry us so much.
In my case over the 70 hour season (which doesn't seem untypical), an hour each run is spent at 8kts getting out to sea and when there, if the conditions are worse then 'slight' (which seems to be the norm here) , I find cruising flat out is too unpleasant to contemplate for anything other than short periods. So I tend to cruise at 20 to 25kts. which doesn't ruin me either financially (or physically !)

Geoff







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[martynwhiteley]

I would be the first to admit that my case is far from the norm, and the success mainly due to the twin to single aspect. This is not an option that many would consider, and certainly not advisable once at 30ft or above.

'If it aint broke, don't fix it', perhaps fits well if your petrols are purring along like they did as new, parts are available, and you can refuel without resorting to cans.

But once the petrols are getting tired, or suffer a major rupture, the economics must surely tip the scales well in favour of the oil burners.

Having said all that, your gas guzzlers must be on the Atkins diet if you don't feel financially ruined at 25 kts /forums/images/icons/smile.gif



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[Guest]

Yes Martyn I agree with that.

The most expensive part of owning a boat I find is not the depreciation, nor the servicing or petrol but the cost of mooring in a marina which can run into several thousands a year.

Geoff

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[martynwhiteley]

Yes Geoff, and I agree with you!

I thought the £800pa mooring I pay was more than enough, considering the Humber is not exactly a prime cruising ground, and the average house price around here wouldn't buy a garage in the home counties, but I was amazed to find out that Med Martyn pays circa £3K on Windermere!

Must cost me about £4K a year to run my boat, and for one that only sips red at 2 gph on average, and worth just a bit over £20K. Bringing the cost of the capital into the equation and your lucking at about £5K a year, and we still want to go abroad on holiday twice a year!

When you add it all up, it's got to be the mad passion about boats that justifies it, 'cos it's in no way cost effective. Does make me think that I could charter a week in the Med, a week on the Thames, a week off the West Scottish coast, and still have change for a couple of weekends on the Broads!

Maybe SWMBO's moans have some validity!



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