Twin V8 Petrols!

CLOUD9

CLOUD9

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Home in Bath, Boat in Cala d'Or, Mallorca
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Not sure if Im looking for encouragement alone the lines of 'you only live once', or questions about my sanity and dire warnings about resaleability to drum some sense back into me.... but I have been looking for a day-boat to fill the gap that taking CLOUD9 to the Med has already created.
Most of the craft I have looked at so far have been relatively sensible. Mainly single diesel affairs plus a couple of twin outboard set-ups, but my head has been turned by a lovely looking boat with 640 petrol derived Horsepower!
The serious question in all this I guess is, is there anything in particular that I should be looking for with regard to the Volvo 5.7l Gxi Mpi motors. About 8 years old with 400 hours. I know they are basically GM blocks. Are they as bomb-proof as they sound?
Im also interested in what I should expect to see with regard to service history for the Volvo duo pro sterndrives? Might they have needed a serious rebuild by now? (I know this is a big subject, but its a long time since I've had anything with a sterndrive). If I get into this I want my eyes to be fully open....
Any thoughts appreciated.
 
The blocks might be okay, but manifolds and risers can cause major issues. A few hundred to replace, thousands if they fail.
Sterndrives, all the usual caveats apply. Mine are at 900+ hours and 13 years with nothing major, but they were regularly serviced.
Fuel consumption can be eye watering: could easily be 100-120 litres per hour at a fast cruise.

The upside of the V8s is that with the right exhausts, they sound amazing :)
 
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As far as sterndrives are concerned the possible need to rebuild is certainly not usually due to a mere 400 hours which is next to nothing and certainly not due to a mere 8 years.
My sterndrives are 13 years old and have not been rebuilt. In my hands they get an inspection at least every year.
But if the sterndrives have not been services and have been run of left standing with significant water ingress that's a different matter.
The presence of water in the oil can easily be checked during a normal pre purchase survey survey
 
Have you discounted something with outboards? Having had all the various option (bar jet or surface piercing) I would go for big outboards over v8 petrols. Main reasons being weight, fuel economy which on newer ones can be good.....ish and flushing. Most people will flush or at least keep their outboard tilted out of the water thus draining the water down after each use.

When I had petrol inboards, all the issues where sea water cooling related.

Out drives as has been said is all about servicing. Bellow changes, correct oils used etc...

I think we need pictures to assist as if it's a formula 419 sr1 or hunton, I would say ignore the above ��
 
exhaust manifolds and risers is the thing to check on the volvo petrol v8's. Mercruiser swapped to dry joint manifolds in around 2002/3, so they dont fail in the same catastrophic way, but volvo still use wet joint manifolds which if they corrode across the gasket face can leak water into the cylinders and wreck the engine.

In salt water they reckon these risers/manifolds need replacing something like every 5 years, they're effectively a consumable.
 
As FlowerPower is in to. 8 years in the Med and I would recommend to replace manifold and risers if it hasn´t been done
Manifolds might be freshwater cooled if the engine has cloosed cooling system
 
I'd check availability (and cost!) of petrol wherever you will keep it,and check the tank size, coz that is going to drink alot of petrol and your range might be a bit limited !
 
On the plus side smoother and quieter or at least with a better running sound and oodles of power and comparatively cheap to maintain when there's a hiccup
 
Rick, I would think long and hard about whether you want a second boat that will need that much maintenance, and will cost so much to keep running.

We did something similar when we first moved the main boat to the med, although we bought a twin diesel to keep in the UK. Everyone's different of course, but i'm happy to admit that for us it was a costly mistake.

Remember you moved to the med because you didn't get enough use out of your boat here due to the weather. How much do you think you'll you use a second boat in the UK if you spend most of the summer in cala d'or? Do you want to have to organise 2 lots of servicing, antifouling, polishing, cleaning and the ongoing repairs you will definitely get with an older twin engine boat on outdrives? Keeping boats running begins to feel like a full time job. Do you want to have to pay for the above, plus another berth rental and insurance?

OK, we have kids at school, so are more limited time wise, but then again we live 2 mins from the marina and still didn't get much use out of the boat here. You get spoiled by the med weather and lifestyle, so we found the idea of a cool day on the Solent became less attractive, even on the few occasions it wasn't too windy.

I've now swapped it, taking a big hit on depreciation, and have a small day boat with a brand new outboard which I keep on a river mooring. It needs very little maintenance, and the annual running costs are in 3 figures. We only use it a handful of times a year, but the costs and hassle factor are low so it's OK.

Sorry if that all sounds a bit negative, but as you said it's best to go into it with your eyes open! :D
 
I would charter a boat here if you really wanted to as by the time you add up all of the costs listed above it makes much more sense.

That said I've looked at these sorts of boats myself - Cigarette / Hunton / Donzi etc. You basically buy the boat and get the engines for free as fuel costs are so high here.

How about a Sunseeker Superhawk 48 with triple Yamaha diesels for £55k!
 
Thanks for all your thoughts. I will certainly take a close look at the exhaust manifold and risers.
Nick_H, clearly the voice of common sense! I do agree with all the observations and have been worrying particularly about a change of perspective when we get used to the sunshine and warm waters of the Med.
We have a little holiday home in Dorset and a mooring there, so the second boat is right outside the front door which means I get to mess about with it constantly. We currently have a 13ft Whaler there with a 40HP Merc. It costs nothing to keep and one option is to definitely leave things as they are for now (Mrs T's preference!!), but we can't go far and we get soaking wet every time we use it. Ive looked at slightly bigger Whalers and that does feel more sensible. Perhaps the jump from 40hp to 640hp is a bit extreme (typical me according to SWMBO!)
 
yadda yadda yadd... you know what's coming......

Common sense never entered the boating equation. You could quite possibly easily do without a bigger 2nd boat but you also wont really know what you are or aren't missing until you do. If you can afford it, why skimp? Time marches constantly forward with no opportunity for second attempts
 
I had a 255 Conquest with twin F200s on - much more sensible than inboard V8s and was a great boat. There's a 255 with twin F150s in Poole which are 4 cylinder so even better on fuel and will probably cruise at 26 knots and around 36 WOT. It's been up for sale for a while asking £35k I think will probably take £28k for it.
 
CLOUD9 said:
We have a little holiday home in Dorset and a mooring there, so the second boat is right outside the front door which means I get to mess about with it constantly. We currently have a 13ft Whaler there with a 40HP Merc.
Click to expand...

13ft is a bit far the other way IMO, as it's not really a sea boat. I ended up with a 24ft whaler type with single 300hp outboard. It does 45kts+ and will take a bit of sea, but only needs a service once every 3 years and can fit on a trailer.

If you're having trouble sleeping, here's the thread; http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?380243-American-trailerable-sport-fishers&highlight=scout
 
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