Sealine 218 -pre buying nerves!

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celtictemple

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I'm relatively new to this game and have sought out this website in desparation although I regularly subscribe to MBM. I am in the process of buying a sealine 218 (1992) with what I believe has a Volvo V6 4.3l sterndrive engine. In last years MBM, there was a letter reply re. estimating fuel economy for various engines and refering to Volvo's website t obtain economy curves but I cannot find them anywhere on the site. So, has anyone got a Sealine 218 with similar engine who could give me some idea as to gph or gpm! The brokerage said it would do 300 miles on 1 tank which I believ to be about 210 litres? I am beginning to wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew....
Ay help gratefully welcomed
Cheers
 
I think the only way you'll get 300 miles on 45 gallons of petrol is if the boat is on a trailer and you're towing it, I'm afraid. A quick Google suggests you might use up to 18 gph flat out. These figures are for a smaller, lighter boat, so ignore the speed and mpg and focus on the gph figures:
l180.jpg


I'm guessing that a sensible cruise will burn around 10 GPH and the 218 will be running at around 25 knots at that speed. That would give you a maximum range of 4.5 x 25 = 112 miles
 
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Are those test results American gallons, or English Gallons?

I'd guess that with a 4.3L V6 you'd be burning something like 9 gallons an hour. Range would be about 100miles on a tank.

dv.
 
Wiggos figures are about right but they are in US gallons so sound slightly worse, and a Sealine 218 will only top out at 30knts on a good day. The 300miles on a tank is b******s, maybe at 1gph at river speeds of 4-5knts.

Don't worry though, Sealine 218 is a good little boat but after cars a Boats fuel consumption does come as a bit of a cultutre shock to a newbie.
 
sealine 218

Thanks to all who were kind enough to reply and the advice and informtion was what was needed. Sure I am a newbie at this game and culture shock is about right but I will stick in and master it, especially as I have an 18 mile sea loch outside the front door!! I have since found out that the engine is a volvo AQ205A. According to their website it was produced in 1988-1989 yet the boat is claimed to be buit in 1992- is this normal?
 
Build plate

Who told you the boat was 1992? If same broker who said you would get 300 miles from one tank of petrol I would view with scepticism!!
Boats often have either a builders plate with a build number or failing that a HIN number stamped into the hull, often on the transom.
If you have either of these, phone Sealine and the check with them.
Having said that, engines are some times a little older than the boat. Bought for stock.
 
I cruised in company back from France with a 218. We did a steady 26kts and it just managed 90nm with a full tank.

I'm sure a Sealine expert will be along in a minute but I think the 218 was only made up to 1989, after that it became the 220. Having said that the age of a boat like this is much less important than the condition.
 
I had a 218 it left the factory 05/05/90 ( i got this info. from factory )you can tell the year from hull number on stern, there is a letter among the hull number this worked the same as the car registration. From memory i think it read SIL 218 G _ _ _ GB G being 1990 the blanks being hull number.I believe the 220(integral bathing platform the 218 has bolt on bathing platform) came into production 1991.Boats of this age with V6 205 hp.(431B)check exhaust risers/manifolds also check under bellows where it joins the downpipe (aluminum) probably corroded.
 
celtictemple said:
I'm relatively new to this game and have sought out this website in desparation although I regularly subscribe to MBM. I am in the process of buying a sealine 218 (1992) with what I believe has a Volvo V6 4.3l sterndrive engine. In last years MBM, there was a letter reply re. estimating fuel economy for various engines and refering to Volvo's website t obtain economy curves but I cannot find them anywhere on the site. So, has anyone got a Sealine 218 with similar engine who could give me some idea as to gph or gpm! The brokerage said it would do 300 miles on 1 tank which I believ to be about 210 litres? I am beginning to wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew....
Ay help gratefully welcomed
Cheers
Click to expand...

I run a sealine 310 with 2 of the same engines and can confirm that the only way you will burn 1 gallon an hour is a just over tickover on mine that is about 4 knots on one engine.

I would expect that you will run 1 engine at about the same speed as my 2 to obtain a cruise around 22 knots about 3500 rpm at which mine burn 9 gallons an hour each.

the good news is that as the boats get bigger you will be able to look back fondly at how you once did 100 mile on 210 litres
 
I owned one of these in past. At 18-20knots burnt about 4-5 galls per hour and hence approx same miles per gallon.
With a 45 gallon tank you might just scrape 200-miles but would end up empty and good practice says should always leave 20% contingency in tank on any journey.

I am now on boat number 8 and still miss the 218 as it was the most fun boat of all of them. Only reason I sold it was kiddies came along and it did not have enough space.

Enjoy!
 
everyone gets scared about fuel consumption , but , to be fair you can have a lot of fun on 30 -50 quid of fuel , it costs more than that to get into most places with a family
 
My first boat was a 17yr old Sealine 215 with a 5l V8. If both the engine and drive in the 218 are original, then I would be much much more worried about the condition of those than the fuel consumption. In the 15 months I owned my 215 for every £1 spent on fuel I reckon I spent at least £5 on fixing the engine and drive. I strongly suggest you have an engine survey carried out by a qualified engine surveyor in addition to the hull survey, which will only be superficial on the mechanicals. I didn't do this and regret it to this day; it could be the best £300 you ever spend!

Otherwise, when it was working, my 215 was good fun, but it was very lightly built. The bow would swing around if a seagull farted... My most memorable incident was in Brighton Marina. I'd decided to just go and fill up, but the engine cut out as we got to the main fairway. Decided to return straight back to berth, but the engine kept cutting out. We ended up piroueting back between the show boats adjacent to the boardwalk and the first pontoon, driven mainly by the wind. We ended up all but poleaxed on the anchor of a Prestige 36 opposite our berth. Luckily the only damage was to my pride - we had quite an audience by the time we managed to get the boat back on berth.

Sorry, bit of 'fred drift there.
 
Sealine 218

Cheers everyone- All answers have been very helpful and I love the humour- I suppose I'd better get used to laughing or I might end up crying all the time! It's true what was said that one can have a lot of fun on £50 of fuel-as long as I don't get carried away and forget to calculate fuel for return journey....
 
I've got a Sealine 218 berthed at Rhu on the Gareloch, bit further south than you. I'm a complete beginner but we've had her for about two years and I've tried hard to get out at least every fortnight in her to practice. Furthest I've been is across the Clyde to the Holy Loch to pick up some petrol. Yeah - I'm not brave, I know. BUT...she's fantastic. She was built in 1989. I'm told, by a guy who runs skippering courses from Oban, that Sealine built sturdier GRP hulls in those days. The only issue I've had was air leaking into the manifold, but the local yard took care of that for me. She sometimes struggles to get onto the plane - then, it's not something I do often because of the local swells we get here. One thing to consider about the fuel consumption, perhaps. Think about how often you're going to realistically use your new boat. Then spread the cost over a season. I got a fright when I first filled up. But you don't use it as much as your car - so it's not exactly a direct comparison. Good luck! I hope you enjoy your new boat - whatever you get.
 
I had a 215 and later a 218. The 218 was a 1990 and only sold it two years ago. As Apollo said I also expected to burn 4 to 5 gallons an hour at circa 20 knots. Flat out !!!!! well you know.
We also only sold ours because we needed more space for the family.
Really good fun boat learnt loads, but can confirm that they do bounce around a little and take a little work to keep straight at speed, but most boats that size are the same. Still all that said we had the most fun in that boat.
As with all boats get a good survey on hull and engine, money well spent.
 
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