Volvo Engine Choice (V6 Petrol)

[Tafflad]

Looking to change my boat.
Current boat and new boat almost identical in terms of length, width, beam, hull type.
22', 8'4", 3,400LB and a 20 degree vee hull

The current boat has Mercruiser I/O V6 200hp and standard Alpha drive, and easily provides all power I have needed.

Looking to get myself a Volvo Aquamatic this time .. like the idea of fresh water cooling, as all my use is in salt water, plus the variable valve timing & direct injection has many benefits.
All Aluminum means a lighter package. (been lots of problems with Mercury Bravo III drives)

Dilemma is what do I get ... would be the V6 motor, but do I get 240hp or pay £2k more and get 280hp
You would think it easy choice go for larger HP .... but looking at performance there is no difference in power up to 4600rpm , and torque is almost identical .... difference only comes in 4600 to 5800 which is not the Rev band I normally operate in.

The 3 graphs tell a lot ... see file at
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l85mgpabq68qt66/volvo.pdf?dl=0
(I could not attach due to forum limit)
Getting extra 40hp and duoprop in itself will be a big boost ... going 280 may not be worth extra cost.

Advice/comments welcome.

 

[scottie]

Is fresh water cooling standard and would it include exhaust risers?
Are the base engines not GM for both VP & Mercruiser

 

[Tafflad]

Fresh water cooling is standard on Volvo.
Volvo uses new all Aluminum GM unit .... (not the old cast iron block for past decades) as used in the corvette.

Mercruiser no longer uses GM block (GM ceased manufacture of it), they have it cast for them
It does not have freshwater cooling (can be added at $1200)

 

[Grubble]

Have you taken into account the difference in spares costs between Mercruiser and VP?

Alpha drives are cheap and pretty basic - can you say the same for VP?

Mind you everyone seems to be going the outboard route these days rather than having all the complexity of an outdrive sitting permanently in the water.

 

[julians]

I haven't specifically looks at these two engines side by side, by based on my experiences of spares prices on a volvo d4 vs a mercruiser v8, Id go mercruiser everytime

 

[Tafflad]

I haven't specifically looks at these two engines side by side, by based on my experiences of spares prices on a volvo d4 vs a mercruiser v8, Id go mercruiser everytime

Thanks for comments
I do see this as a common point ..... so I phoned 2 local outlets who are Volvo & Mercruiser distributors, they advised in US it may be true - but in UK they see no difference in spares prices between them.
In past 20 years of having inboards - all I have ever needed is annual service & winterize, I did check service costs - there is a premium for Volvo drive oil .. but rest is about the same.

I'm not 'pro' Volvo as have never owned one ... always been Mercruiser.

My concerns so far on Mercruiser is that the 4.5L is new (ish) dealers have little experience of this engine, and several of the US forums have had issues with number of connections ... they advise it has a huge number of pipes & joints compared to Volvo (not seen one myself to compare)

The Bravo III has had a very poor history, with severe corrosion issues, Mercury initially refusing to accept there was a problem, only after a class action did they finally agree to pay for repairs. They now fit SeaCore parts to the drive and also a Mercathode system to combat the galvanic corrosion issues. Which I accept may mean they are now fine.

This is the reason for me choosing Volvo.
Fresh water cooling as standard and a drive with huge history of reliability.