sealine S28, Fairline targa 29 which engine??

ozzie

ozzie

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I am in the early stages of looking to change my boat. I have had a Drago 600 with outboard engine for 3 seasons after selling my Rinker 250 "Lorna Jane" to ogaryo, and it has been trouble free boating, but the time has come to go bigger again and venture further afield!
I have narrowed the search down to a British boat with side decks, with my preferred options being a Sealine S28 or Fairline Targa 29 of mid to late 1990s vintage. We viewed a few Sealines at Southampton last weekend and I was surprised how scruffy and unloved some of them were!
Having not owned a diesel before, I would like some advice on engine choice, particularly reliability (I am not mechanically minded) and economy. The boat will primarily be used for bay hopping and cruising from Torquay to Salcombe or the Solent in the opposition direction.
So far all boats have had Volvos :- AD41 single, KAD400 single, KAD 32 twins and AQ31 twins. Is a single engine viable or should I steer clear, and how does AD and AQ compare to a KAD.??
 
S28, 2x kad 32. Single kad43 underpowered.

S28 got to be 2xkad 32.

If your just going on the rivers buy a single engine boat.

The ad 31 in both was underpowered as it ha huge turbo lag, when the bottom is dirty it struggles to get over the hump.
 
I was in similar position 9 years ago. I found plenty of unloved boats from all sorts of brands...if your not happy move on, theres plenty out there that are loved and looked after. We found fairlines nice but not quite as good layout etc for us and went for an s28 in the end. never looked back and have no desire to change yet, its been an excellent boat. its got the the kad32's. easy to look after and powerful enough. A friend had a ad31 and was happy with it. its nice to have twins but is extra servicing costs. Kad are popular as acceleration is lot quicker, something we now appreciate as my lad is getting into wakeboarding. kad300 has lot more electronics and valve timing to look after. also tighter at the front of the engine to service belts etc. I'd did consider an s29 until i learnt of the long list of potential problems with the d3 engines which puts me off big time. I like twins and for me to consider a single engine boat it would have to be significantly cheaper and be preparred to sell it cheaper. But in theory it would be doable.
 
gimmesunshine said:
I was in similar position 9 years ago. I found plenty of unloved boats from all sorts of brands...if your not happy move on, theres plenty out there that are loved and looked after. We found fairlines nice but not quite as good layout etc for us and went for an s28 in the end. never looked back and have no desire to change yet, its been an excellent boat. its got the the kad32's. easy to look after and powerful enough. A friend had a ad31 and was happy with it. its nice to have twins but is extra servicing costs. Kad are popular as acceleration is lot quicker, something we now appreciate as my lad is getting into wakeboarding. kad300 has lot more electronics and valve timing to look after. also tighter at the front of the engine to service belts etc. I'd did consider an s29 until i learnt of the long list of potential problems with the d3 engines which puts me off big time. I like twins and for me to consider a single engine boat it would have to be significantly cheaper and be preparred to sell it cheaper. But in theory it would be doable.
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T29 with KAD32's - 35 knots will put a big grin on your face.
 
I must admit that I had a suspicion that KAD 32s would be the preferred option. Are they user friendly for self servicing? I think I will have to get my head around doing some servicing/maintenance myself!
 
ozzie said:
I am in the early stages of looking to change my boat. I have had a Drago 600 with outboard engine for 3 seasons after selling my Rinker 250 "Lorna Jane" to ogaryo, and it has been trouble free boating, but the time has come to go bigger again and venture further afield!
I have narrowed the search down to a British boat with side decks, with my preferred options being a Sealine S28 or Fairline Targa 29 of mid to late 1990s vintage. We viewed a few Sealines at Southampton last weekend and I was surprised how scruffy and unloved some of them were!
Having not owned a diesel before, I would like some advice on engine choice, particularly reliability (I am not mechanically minded) and economy. The boat will primarily be used for bay hopping and cruising from Torquay to Salcombe or the Solent in the opposition direction.
So far all boats have had Volvos :- AD41 single, KAD400 single, KAD 32 twins and AQ31 twins. Is a single engine viable or should I steer clear, and how does AD and AQ compare to a KAD.??
Click to expand...


Great to see you back on the forum :) Lorna Jane is no longer with us I'm afraid but is berthed 50yds down the pontoon with her new owners and will hopefully be as good to them as she was to us. Since Nov 2011 we've been looked after by a 2005 vintage S28 and would recommend going that route over the Targa for the space the S28 affords over the slightly narrower beam of the Targa. The Sealine provides more of a U berth up front rather than a V berth if you know what I mean. We're in Ocean Village Southampton these days and you're welcome to have a look over our 'much cared for' S28 next time you're over this neck of the woods if you want to get a feel for the s28 in the marina and would be happy to take you out for a spin so you get a feel for the handling too :) KAD32's btw

cheers Gary and Debbie
 
We had a Targa 28 for 4 years, with twin KAD32s. Pocket rocket out the hole every time , WOT 37k cruising 26/27K 3200 RPM over 2MPG excellent hull ,T29 has same hull with extended bathing platform and slightly differant interior
They normally have AD41twin 150hp. Slower out the hole. and 31ish WOT fuel not much differant
Friend had S28 single KAD43' with crusings gear on board, and any slight fouling, struggled to get on the plan if at all boarder line of power to weight ratio

Personal choice Targa better GRP lay up and finish, interior far superior finish with KAD32s
 
I have the s28 with twin Kad 32s great engines, not had a single problem with them in 7 years, It's a great option, we have taken her all along the west coast, and to Holland, France right into Paris. Moved to the med this year to give that a go. Your right about some not being loved, I have seen a couple in a very sad state.
 
I did follow Lorna Janes new life with you on the forum, and was glad to see she was well loved. Those stern drive issues you had--that engineer I paid large amounts of money to maintain her should wear a stetson!! Your Sealine looks good, one of the reasons its high up my list. So you also considered a Targa then? At the moment I have not viewed one, but hoping to tomorrow if the broker can be bothered to return my phone calls, but thats another issue! My brother in law is in Mercury, so if we are down viewing in the area we will stay with them and try to call over to see you for a catch up.
 
We too looked at both the s28 and T28, they are much the same for size as you would imagine.

The main differences I would say are the build quality and interior finishing, the sealine always pride themselves on interior fit out, but you need to have the right colour combinations to have a nice one, some are seriously dodgy.

Sealine make a lot out of veneered interiors,something you either like or dislike.

For us the targa offered a better hull, a classic design interior which hasn't dated, excellent build quality and unbeatable ride.

Def Kad32's for either.
 
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