sealine 215

[Beamishken]

I am corrently looking to purchace a second hand sealine 215 (about 10 years old)but cant decide which engine option to go for. I want the boat as a family weekender, I dont realy want a gas guzzling monster but i dont want a plodder either. can anyone give me an honest idea of fuel consumption for the different engines fitted .Is a gas conversion a good idea or is a diesel engine swap better

 

[Geoffs]

Hi Ken, I think a lot of the usual experts are away at the moment, so I’ll try and help you.

A Sealine 215 eh? It is an unfortunate fact of life that petrol boats are expensive to run. If going to sea you’ll want reasonable performance, probably want to cruise at about 20 knots, which probably means a V8 engine. At 20 knots that means burning 7 or 8 gallons an hour. I know, it was a shock to me when I got my boat, at that’s a relatively economical 3 litre engine.

An LPG conversion is a good idea, we’ve had many discussions here about this. Reckon about 2,500 quid for the conversion. It’s only worth doing if you’ve enough room for tanks to give a reasonable range. Probably going to want 250 litres at least. LPG about 32p /litre, and readily available on the south coast, but not much else where.

Yeh, diesel best option, but big money. I’ve never been able to get a firm quote, but reckon well over 5 grand. You probably won’t get quite the performance of a petrol, but if you look, you can get diesel for less than 30p / litre. The cost of marine diesel will go up in 2007 when tax harmonised with EU. A little way off yet.

Hope none of this spoils your Christmas, boating isn’t cheap, but worth every penny.

 

[Col]

Go for 4.3ltr V6 mercruiser as prob best cross between power and economy.
2bbl carb = 175hp. 4bbl carb =205hp
more hp = more£££ ( usually )

 

[DavidJ]

4.3 Volvo engine is a good motor. Consumption is horrific at about 2 miles per gall but you won't be doing hundreds of miles so just price it out over the year as cost of ownership and it won't be too bad.
If you are towing, power to weight is a consideration so this may disclude diesel
I've had a Sealine 195 and 240 and just ordered another Sealine, great boats but get the hull checked because 10 year old GRP may be prone to osmosis
Volvo bits are expensive but people like Keypart offer equivalent part at more realistic prices.
Best of luck with your purchase,
David

 

[miket]

No experience of Sealine that you are considering, but as a rule it is rarely worth re engining with a diesel unless you can do the work yourself. Far better to buy diesel to start with.

It may be that at this size there were few original diesels, so this may be a problem.

It is not certain that the tax on diesel will be upped to petrol levels in 2007. Hopefully RYA will battle on our behalf again. Has to be a possibility though.