Petrol or Diesel in a small cruiser?

Whitelighter

Whitelighter

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For those with experience in the 23-26ft range, if you were buying a new, small cruiser for use in the UK in the next 6 months or so, would you be inclined to go petrol or diesel? Accepting that the two fuels will cost about the same next year ish, is it still worth the extra costs. Looking at two boats, one with the 4.3 V6 VP petrol lump costing £40k, and one with a D3 190 costing £49k, would the efficiency of the diesel really make it worth while? A boat like this weigh around 2 tonnes I guess? so GPH figures are going to be 6-7 for petrol and 5 ish for the diesel? Plus petrol will go better for sking, ringos etc etc.

How many hours does this type of boat do a year? At 2 gph difference, that's £9.00 at pace. So you are talking 1000 hours of use to get your money back on running costs?

Opinnions please
 
I believe that these sports cruisers suit a Petrol better. However if likely to go for a cruise I would prefer Diesel. At £5k difference I would stick with Diesel, at £9k I would go to Petrol with the largest tank I could get.

I have had 3 Petrol cruisers in that range and a Diesel.

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Interesting. Understand the safety arguements, so not interested in dragging them up again (or is that again, again, again - I loose track, no matter), but could you expand on the reliability issue? Are you assumeing a carbed engine from days of old - the new V6/V8s are pultipoint injection with potted dizzy blocks etc etc so much more impervious to damp - or is it something else?
 
As you know I went with the petrol, got a good price on the boat and it doesn't seem that thirsty, going to run it down to Troon next week and see how that goes, should only take an hour. I suspose it might depend on your area, if you have plenty of close places then you are only doing short runs between them, if going for the long haul then Nordhavn please. Got their DVD and they sent me a copy of their mag for free, nice people, nice boats /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Unless I've missed something, I can't remember the diesel/petrol arguement moving to the availability route. I accept the safety aspects (although very good arguements have been voiced about the reliability/safety of well serviced engines) but the main reason my next boat will be diesel is the availability of fuel.
As Jezbanks is talking about a 23 - 25 footer, this type of boat will usually do a lot of coast hopping. On the Solent petrol is reasonably plentiful, but move out of that area and diesel seems to be the leader by a long way.
 
Diesel, diesel, diesel!!!

then sell it on for what you paid.

with the extra cash we paid for ours, at the going rate we only need 5 years of boating ind it would have paid for itself
 
Ah, yes. I accept that has traditionally been the case. But, will that trend continue when the £60ppl + cost difference is taken out of the fuel?

Let me ask you another question, how long do the estimed forum think the average boater keeps their 24 footer for? Accepting that there will be not such a financial benefit for diesel boats, a good well made petrol should hold its money also - or depreciate by the same %. If the length of ownership is a couple years, would the extra outlay be worth it. Say 50 hours per year, so 100 hours - petrol cost is another £900, or £450 a year.

Just playing devils advocate - really interested to here oppions - thanks for those already received.
 
Jez I have a Carrera with Twin 131 Volvo's and average 60-
70 hours per year and your figure are spot on DEPENDING on usage
Spares and servicing make her so cheap to maintain(car Based)
As you say is the premium worth the convenience?

cheers Joe
 
I would probably base the decision on what I was going to use the boat for.

If it was short trips, messing around with skis / wakeboards / ringos etc. I would probably go for the petrol.

If I were cruising, i.e. longer distances, I would probably go for the diesel.

I'm really not sure about the reliability thing any more, as modern diesels seem to have more electrickry than petrols, and the modern petrol EFI engines are miles better than petrols of yore.

Not too sure about your consumption figures, brothers petrol seems to burn about 9-10gph at a fast cruise...

dv
.
 
All my boats have been in the range you have been talking about. All have been petrol.

The last new boat I bought was 2000. The argument of petrol V diesel was'nt about cash, availability or safety - it was about performance. They were 'sportscruisers' so a heavy KAD32 giving 170hp just wasnt enough.

Now things are a lot different. The new generation of diesel engines are lighter and more powerfull. With a price differential of 20% and similar power I would go for the diesel.

I can't believe I just typed that !

I would'nt be looking to get my money back with running costs, but I would expect easier resale and the same price differential as new(or slightly better) to apply when selling secondhand.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Then again, you did say your brother was a bit of a lunatic...

[/ QUOTE ]

I said no such thing (cough).
He just has no concept of slowing down BEFORE you hit the wave /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

dv.
 
Evening Jez..

Well i've been running a 23ft Sports/Cruiser with a 5 litre V8 petrol for the past 3 months or so and i have a slightly different slant.

Firstly i bought petrol cause the boat was in lovely condition compared to many and the price more than justified the extra fuel bill. To be honest i dont think i could of afforded a diesel version in the same condition so money kind of made the decision for me.

Anyway, purely on cost it has been cost effective for me to go petrol as even using the boat regularly it will take atleast 10 years to get the fuel usage/ price difference back buying a diesel. (even on Red)

On safety and reliability well yes i own a 'troublesome' carb model so cold starting has a bit of finesse to it. However its a simple engine and i'm confident enough to get to know how it works should i experience problems.

For me the only real issues im concerned with is Tank range and fuel availability. For that reason in the next couple of years, unless Petrol becomes more available at marinas etc (unlikely) i may be tempted to re-engine with a diesel. Yes i will never get the the investment back but i love the little boat and would like to go further afield than i think my petrol range will allow.
Looking in Motorboat Monthly on a cruise below max RPM i think diesel consumption would be around 50% which makes a big difference on a small boat with a small fuel tank.

This is purely my opinion based on my first few months with a petrol boat..

regards,

Nik
 
Of course,

We have to consider in this argument different styles of 24ft boat. You have sports cuddy (Rinker 232) , sports cruiser (S25, Doral 250) Scandanavian HT (Aquador 23Ht.Finnmaster 7060), Walk around cruiser (Aquador 25WA, Cap Cammarat 725) and then sports fishers, (merry fischer 760).

The first two I would get a Petrol, the last ones a Diesel!

Clear as Mud!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Nag, Nag, Louise was asking the same thing.

I reckon I still have about 3 weekends of stuff to sort out. Nothing major, just routine tweaking and fixing.

Still To Do
------------
Replace Clock
Attach Tender standoff pad
Fix Leaking Stanchions
Repair Top Canvas Stitching
Helm Seat Zip
Paint Props
Antifouling - Outdrives plus Hull
Lubricate steering shaft bearing
Change air filter
Change crankcase breather filter
Change fuel filters
Change outdrive oil
Adjust Valve Clearances
Change Ring and Bar Anodes
 
The Main difference with a Petrol to a Diesel in this size of boat is that because of the engine tendencies it is easier to cruise at 2500/3000RPM. With a Petrol I cruised a lot faster at 3500RPM and that is why Fuel consumption is up on a Petrol!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Er, ok but...

Still To Do
------------
Replace Clock <span style="color:blue">Why bother, go home when it gets dark </span>
Attach Tender standoff pad <span style="color:blue"> Not sure what this is, so don't bother </span>
Fix Leaking Stanchions <span style="color:blue"> Yeah, ok. Need to do mine as well </span>
Repair Top Canvas Stitching <span style="color:blue"> It's summer, that can wait till next year... </span>
Helm Seat Zip <span style="color:blue"> ? </span>
Paint Props
Antifouling - Outdrives plus Hull <span style="color:blue"> Gonna regret saying this but here goes <span style="color:white"> would you like a hand with that? </span> </span>
Lubricate steering shaft bearing
Change air filter
Change crankcase breather filter
Change fuel filters
Change outdrive oil
Adjust Valve Clearances <span style="color:blue"> oh I am impressed, isn't that what an engineer does? </span>
Change Ring and Bar Anodes

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I think I have shortened the list a little there...
 
Marine environment. Throw buckets of salt water at a diesel and a petrol engine and see which one stops first.
I have been swamped in a whaler and the H2O diesel, virtualy submerged, continued running. The number of times I have known petrol cars that will not run because of damp!!!
 
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