sealine 255 - new to forums

For the 215, with the 168hp engine, it was quoted as top speed 21 knots i think, on one of the sites it was for sale on, which scared me off a bit, then again i would imagine it should get to at least 25 knots with that engine. /shrug.

i'm torn between the 215 and the 255 now, 255 is the bigger boat, more room, but put off by the comments on the volvo 290 171 twin engines., maybe the boat i said in the above post is the answer:D
 
Solitaire has a good point. Sprints are great boats, but like him I am also biased.

I would keep away from AQ171 engines. I know a Volvo Mechanic well and he really does hate them. If they do go wrong, they are a pig to fix and are pricy.

V6/V8 are quite heavy on fuel I reckon on about 8-10gph cruising at about 22/23kn with my AQ211 but the engines themselves are bombproof.

Fairline build quality can't be faulted. Sealine 255 is bigger but depends on what you really want to do with the boat.

Hope this helps

Cheers

JH
 
If the 171 plays up, you will regret it. They were a complicated engine and prone to trouble. As i said in another post, the local VP mechanic is a friend, and he advised me very strongly against the AQ171 when I was considering a boat fitted with them.

One other consideration is that if you go for a V6 or V8 at the right price and love the boat, you could always drop a GM V8 diesel conversion into it later. The bolt pattern and footprint is exactly the same as the V8 petrol. Just another option to consider.

Cheers

JH /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
One other point is that having twin engines means you will have more instances of engine problems than having a single engine - what having twins does do is mean that you should have a spare engine to hand when each one fails......although there are some problems that may afflict both engines together in any case.

There is also an element that if you at all are on a budget then a well-maintained single should be more reliable than poorly maintained twins (also bear in mind you may not know the maintenance history in any case so any precautionary work will cost twice as much on twins). Sorry if you are already aware of all this but too late is too late....

Good luck!
 
Thanks again guys, the boat i have my eye on now is a 255 with twin 135 hp mercs 3.liters, all fitted new in 1999 with two new alpha legs.

don't know much about this setup though.

also thanks i'll keep an eye on the sprints about.
 
why don't you look at the smaller falcon boats? I have a 275 (facelift version of the 27) and am very impressed with the quality. I think the smaller ones are equally good.
 
Hey,

Thanks i'll have a look into those aswell.
my hearts quite set on one of the sealine models, but i'm keeping an open mind.

Anyone know if the volvo 171 290's are so bad that i shouldnt consider a sealine 215 with a single one in?.

Also anyone have any experience with 1998/99 mercruiser 135 3.0lts,are they less hassle, cheaper than the 171 volvo (168hp 88 modlel).?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Anyone know if the volvo 171 290's are so bad that i shouldnt consider a sealine 215 with a single one in?.

[/ QUOTE ]

Personally I'd steer clear, the 171's (and others) original Volvo datasheets can be found here

As you can see the 171 is based on a 2.5l block - and that will limit the torque output, power gives you top speed but the engine's torque figure will give you a guide as to how easily (or not) it will plane and what will happen if she is loaded up with crew/fuel/cruising "stuff" etc - as well as planing into wind/weather.

I'd expect the 215 to weigh a little bit less than my Sprint and I certainly wouldn't want anything less than the 4.3l fitted torque-wise. So IMHO it is a marginal engine/boat combo assuming the engine is fine, add reliability issues and I'd give it a wide berth.

Of course you can test with a sea trial but I'm not sure that pulling out of the purchase contract because performance isn't as good as expected is a valid reason unless there is actually a problem with the engine, if the engine is giving a normal output you may well be committed even if you find you don't like it.

Remember you can always throttle back an engine with excess power (which will give you a power reserve as well as make the experience more relaxed for you and the engine), you can't ask the engine to give of more than it can.....
 
Thanks for the link/info.

Is it just the 171 to look out for, or would the 151, or the larger 220/200hp have simular probs?.

Found about three 215's on the market, each have the volvo 171:(
 
No, anything larger is probably based on a V8 5.0/5.7/7.4l block so good on torque....the 4.3 V6 sits in the middle and smaller motors are generally in-line 4's so easy to tell with a quick look at the enginebay.

Perhaps the fact that all the 215's have 171's tells us something???
 
Thanks again, do you think a sealine 255 with new twin (99) 135hp 3.lt mercruisers would offer a good deal/performance?.

engines seem a bit low, but don't know how that would affect overall performance.
 
Well I wouldn´t use the phrase "new" - they are half the age of my boat! 6yr-old engines are still worthy of caution.

I´ve never driven/owned anything mercruiser so I can´t really comment on these particular engines. 270Hp in a 255 on twins sounds OK though, I think the usual twin-fit was Volvo 151´s so probably comparable in Hp terms.
 
I'm afraid the questions you are now asking are in fact unanswerable. You will have to go and seatrial these boats. It's the only way you'll find out what suits you. Most, if not all of us have made mistakes, I appreciate you don't want to, but anything marine, internal combustion driven with electrics that is over 2 months old will fail! It's been devised that way /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Boating can be summed up as taking a cold shower while ripping up £50 notes. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Let's be blunt - it's going to cost you money! Expect that a weekend on the sea with the sort of boat you are talking about with it's fuel consumption you are not going to get any change out of £150/£200. Then there's the mooring fees - lets say around another £350 a month. Then servicing - around £300+ per engine per year. Then there's anodes. I've just replced an anode on my drive £47 + vat - last time replaced - 4 months ago. And that's cheap, Mercruiser drive anodes can cost up to £100 a time - oh that's per drive! Then there's the lift out to antifoul - lets say at least £200 a time.

Then of course, there is the time when the engine blows. Last time that happened to me - it was £8K. So don't fool yourself into thinking it's going to be cheap once you made the initial outlay. It aint!!!

As I said when you first posted. Try as many boats as you can. Wheel and deal and when you think you've got the deal, get a survey, hull and engine. It will pay you in the long run.
 
Thanks.

The last boat i had was a co owned 20 ft diesel boat (£3,500) went about 6 knots max, make a heck of a racket.
£150 should be ok, i understand its one of the most expensive hobbies around, but then again if boatings in your blood you can't help it:). been boat crazy since i was born.

I'll try and sea trial a few of these,

i'm probably worrying too much about the engines on some of these being from 88, i suppose you just cant tell when somethings going to go wrong as you said.

Thanks for all the replys, lets hope my next topic is "i love my new boat"

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Thats a bit hard on Solitaire, It wasn't his fault........it was when it got hooked up to a gas bottle.

Should have tried cooking on it rather than powering the boat with it eh David!! He had the biggest V8 gas stove in history cos afterwards that ws about all it was good for /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

being honest, I'm glad I didn't do it now after all the trouble Solitaire had.

JH /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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