Time to ask again. Petrol or Diesel?

PaulGooch said:
As far as i know, no petrol between Levington and the Humber, at least.
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I'm pretty sure there is none in Chatham either - they have two pumps, but both are red diesel - one is just faster for filling big boats. As far as I remember, Gillingham only has one pump.
 
Fairly sure MDL at Chatham had a price for petrol last time I went past.





My first 2 mobo's were petrol. All I could afford at the time.

All my prior boats were petrol because thats what my cash could buy,even the very inadvisable purchase of a dreadful american heap of a Regal "sports boat" with twin mercruiser outdrives which never ever failed to let me down or cost me a fortune in bits even when it was running.
About as robust as an egg carton and about as reliable as a promise of good weather in August !
 
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You would have to go through mutford lock to get petrol at lowestoft and from there you are right, no more petrol going north until possibly Grimsby. Don't know as I never turn left.

Chatham do have petrol but Gillingham are BP price plus about 5p
 
ian38_39 said:
You would have to go through mutford lock to get petrol at lowestoft and from there you are right, no more petrol going north until possibly Grimsby. Don't know as I never turn left.

Chatham do have petrol but Gillingham are BP price plus about 5p
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none in Grimsby and Hull stopped last year
 
Even if the fuels are both as they are on the road, ie diesel about 7p per litre more expensive, you still get significantly more MP£ than you do with petrol. In my Bayliner the difference was getting on for double. That's almost twice as far on a single tank. That together with the wider availability will mean diesel will always be favoured for cruising boats.
 
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neale said:
Even if the fuels are both as they are on the road, ie diesel about 7p per litre more expensive, you still get significantly more MP£ than you do with petrol. In my Bayliner the difference was getting on for double. That's almost twice as far on a single tank. That together with the wider availability will mean diesel will always be favoured for cruising boats.
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I'm puzzled why that should be - assuming that both boats are similarly powered - the difference for cars is a lot less than that.
 
maby said:
I'm puzzled why that should be - assuming that both boats are similarly powered - the difference for cars is a lot less than that.
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Well to be fair I was going from a fairly old Carb V8 to a modern 4 cylinder diesel but performance was pretty much the same. Top speed 30 knots,crusing speed 24 ish. Petrol engine used 10gph, diesel uses about 5.5gph.

I guess a modern fuel injected petrol would be more efficient than my old one but I doubt you'd get down to 5.5gph at crusing speed.

But even if you had identical consumption, availability still lets petrol down the way it stands at the moment. When the boat was petrol powered, every cruise was planned around fuel stops and I always carried jerry cans and often filled up with them from roadside garages. It was a pain in the arms :D
 
neale said:
Well to be fair I was going from a fairly old Carb V8 to a modern 4 cylinder diesel but performance was pretty much the same. Top speed 30 knots,crusing speed 24 ish. Petrol engine used 10gph, diesel uses about 5.5gph.

I guess a modern fuel injected petrol would be more efficient than my old one but I doubt you'd get down to 5.5gph at crusing speed.

But even if you had identical consumption, availability still lets petrol down the way it stands at the moment. When the boat was petrol powered, every cruise was planned around fuel stops and I always carried jerry cans and often filled up with them from roadside garages. It was a pain in the arms :D
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Well, I can certainly appreciate the latter point. I'm sure that diesel is a bit more efficient than petrol, but the 2:1 ratio seems improbable to me
 
Not necessarily if you are talking latest generation.

The new high tech petrols are giving torque and consumption figures at least in line with modern diesels and they are still substantially cheaper to buy.
 
maby said:
Well, I can certainly appreciate the latter point. I'm sure that diesel is a bit more efficient than petrol, but the 2:1 ratio seems improbable to me
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Well I didn't claim 2:1, but I did claim 1.8:1.

These figures are taken from the same boat that I have owned for 13 years. 7 of those with a V8 petrol and 6 with the current diesel. Fuel figures taken over many many fill ups, the boat has been from Essex to the Channel Islands twice, once on petrol and once on diesel as well as countless trip locally. I am happy that they are as accurate as you will find.
 
neale said:
Well I didn't claim 2:1, but I did claim 1.8:1.

These figures are taken from the same boat that I have owned for 13 years. 7 of those with a V8 petrol and 6 with the current diesel. Fuel figures taken over many many fill ups, the boat has been from Essex to the Channel Islands twice, once on petrol and once on diesel as well as countless trip locally. I am happy that they are as accurate as you will find.
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Neale was that a leg change and single to duo prop as well ?
 
I have a 26' or thereabouts V8 petrol powered boat; filled up via Jerrycans, Fuel consumption doesn't bother me that much, if I was worried about the cost of fuel per mile/ nautical mile I wouldn't have a motorboat at all whether it was petrol or diesel powered. I would probably change to a diesel powered boat when the circumstances are right, not for economy/ cost, but for the ease of refuelling as my marina only sells diesel;
 
GrahamHR said:
I have a 26' or thereabouts V8 petrol powered boat; filled up via Jerrycans, Fuel consumption doesn't bother me that much, if I was worried about the cost of fuel per mile/ nautical mile I wouldn't have a motorboat at all whether it was petrol or diesel powered. I would probably change to a diesel powered boat when the circumstances are right, not for economy/ cost, but for the ease of refuelling as my marina only sells diesel;
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+1 although with a growing family restricting use it will probably be a petrol rib next so I can do my own thing !!

Jez even petrol boaters are allowed an opinion :eek:
 
Whitelighter said:
Oh, and just to throw the cat amongst the pidgeons, the next boat i buy will have a petrol engine.

I just dont plan on using it very often (the engine that is, not the boat)
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I've got a baby Fairline and I'm glad I havn't got a sealine so a good point well made :D
 
Sorry but rules have exceptions. On another forum despite having a Sealine with the same hull as an s34 I openly said that there was no comparison with the Targa 34 while discussing the recent mbm head to head.
I will always say what i think is right, even if that isn't't what others want to hear.
 
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