96 40 Sedan Bridge w/7.4's

dgrumm

dgrumm

New Member
Feb 25, 2008
169
Midland ON
Boat Info
400DB
Engines
7.4l Bluewater
Wondering if anyone is running 7.4's in a 40 Sedan Bridge. I know diesel is the preferred choice, but the price is right. They seem to be advertised to be cruising around 22MPH and max at 27MPH which I am okay with. I was told it is 370hp, but I thought those motors were 340hp? Any experience is appreciated.

Thanks.
 
This is a heavy boat. I've run one with small Caterpillar engines and its a bout a 20 kt cruise when you get her loaded up with fuel and gear, but it burns only 22 gph. The gas version has to be under powered and a gas hog....think in the order of 32-36 gph and no more than 20 kts.

there are no free lunches in boats and there is a reason the 40DB is cheap with gas motors.......there are very few buyers for them. If you do this, plan to get old owning the boat since there will be fewer buyers in the future as fuel gets more expensive.
 
I know the diesel is the preferred setup The specs say the DB is 22000lbs and the DA is 20000lbs. DB has straight drives which should be more efficient, and weight is further forward. So, I am thinking the DB can't be any worse than the DA with gas engines.
There are DB's listed with gas engines, so I don't think this one is rare.
Point taken though, more power is always beter and the diesel setup is sought after by many prospective buyers, so resale won't be as easy. But everything sells at teh right price.
The cost of diesel also seems to be rising on the street more than gas... any idea what marina prices will look like?
 
dgrumm said:
The cost of diesel also seems to be rising on the street more than gas... any idea what marina prices will look like?
Click to expand...

It has been a cold winter. Diesel and heating oil are pretty much the same thing. So the price for diesel during the winter is high because of heating oil demand. Watch the price of diesel drop in the spring once home heating season is over.

Best regards,
Frank C.
 
fc3 said:
It has been a cold winter. Diesel and heating oil are pretty much the same thing. So the price for diesel during the winter is high because of heating oil demand. Watch the price of diesel drop in the spring once home heating season is over.

Best regards,
Frank C.
Click to expand...

Yeah!
 
BTW....what are folks who heat with oil paying per gallon this winter? That would be diesel without the road tax...right?
 
The DB has a deck house and is stern heavy so it takes a ton of torque to keep them up on the water. With gas engines you get torque with rpm's whereas diesel torque curves are pretty flat. That all means you will have to turn some rpms to keep a stern heavy boat on plane.

Diesel prices will always be cheaper on the water than at the pump because off-road diesel does not have any highway taxes on it. Expect diesel to be 30-40 cents a gal cheaper than gasoline.

Your point is well taken, if you buy the boat cheap and are prepared to sell it yourself very cheap, then you are going into this with the right mind set. However, where you boat has a lot to do with this.........If you boat on a land locked lake, then a gas boat is a maybe, but if you are a coastal boater then this is a mistake.
 
Thanks for the replies. Still undecided... The boat is really clean, but the 7.4's worry me. Carb too, not EFI. Could have the boat for about $130k I think. It is a 1996. I spoke to someone who drove one with the same setup, and said it actually worked well at about 23MPH cruising. I am just concerned about having a hard time getting rid of it if the time comes. W boat on the great lakes, not too many hours per year.
 
dgrumm
my boat is significantly smaller and lighter than yours (16500# dry) and there isnt a day that goes by when i dont WISH i had diesels! i cannot afford to run this boat (powered like your prosective buy - see my signature) at 23mph and i cannot keep up with 35 foot express type and dancer friends who all cruise their gassers at 23-25mph. at that speed i'm over 36gph on the floscans.

my best cruise is at about 19mph - this keeps the other two barrels closed and consumption under 30gph.

the argument is age-old. you will not recoup the extra coin you lay out to buy a diesel version, even if you run it 100 hours a year for 10 years. but the ease of handling and the torque that diesels generate to power you through those heavy following seas or into a 25kt headwind cannot be matched by gas. and your resale experience will be much easier, also, given the much greater lifespan of a diesel engine.

if the extra expense of diesel power is cost-prohibitive and will prevent you from buying the 400DB, buy the gas! but if it is at all within your means, listen to frank and search around for a diesel model.
 
dgrumm said:
Thanks for the replies. Still undecided... The boat is really clean, but the 7.4's worry me. Carb too, not EFI. Could have the boat for about $130k I think. It is a 1996. I spoke to someone who drove one with the same setup, and said it actually worked well at about 23MPH cruising. I am just concerned about having a hard time getting rid of it if the time comes. W boat on the great lakes, not too many hours per year.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that's the right price in this market - with diesels, maybe. Gas - no.
 
That is the selling price... not asking. It isn't really listed. I thought it was low too. Always fresh water, and very clean boat. I just want to be able to cruise w/o the 4barrels being open!
 
That'll be a slow ride.

I'm not scared of a 400DB with gas. I have friends and neighbors with gas DB's (one has 7.4's, the other repowered with 8.1's after an overheat).

Peformance w/ FI is better than many expect, economy, not so much. If you' don't plan to do a lot of cruising, that doesn't have to be a deal breaker

The 4-barrels are a bit of a bummer, but that sounds like a good price to me, and it's a lot of boat. (and good looking - keep her waxed and no-one would guess her true age)
 
diesel about 30cents higher here than gas FYI Look 4 both of them to be high this summer.In Va u get back 18.5 cent back per gallon from the state highway tax.I was at the boat yesterday diesel 31cent higher.
 
Still tossing and turning at night trying to decide what my max price will be... somewhere btwn 120k and 130k I think. Speed doesn't bother me too much, just resale/value.
Roller Coastr - if I put something together on this boat we may see you out there this summer. I see you are in the Cedar Point area. We are looking at Bay Point Marina. Stil lundecided on that too though! One step at a time.
 
with this boat in gas, unless you run her at displacement speeds, you will be running in the secondaries. my boat planes with two barrels, but she still drags.

i guess a florida boat doesnt do you much good (at least this one is on the west coast) but these boats CAN be had with diesel for not that much more than the selling price of your gasser.

http://www.boats.com/listing/boat_details.jsp?rev_srh=sfm%3Dfalse%26bdi%3Dtrue%26duom%3D126%26Ns%3DPAll_sortPrice%257C1%26fromLength%3D40%26fromYear%3D1996%26No%3D200%26uom%3D126%26luom%3D126%26slim%3Dquick%26psdistance%3D500%26psdistance%3D1%26currencyid%3D100%26Ntk%3DboatsEN%26pszipcode%3D07733%26pszipcode%3D07733%26toYear%3D1999%26ic%3Dtrue%26locale%3DUS%26sm%3D3%26toLength%3D40%26wuom%3D126%26man%3Dsearay&srh_next=No%3D201%26rt%3Dboat%26ro%3D1%26r%3D1273483%26entityid%3D12734831%26rs%3Dyachtworld.com&entityid=18292351&srh_prev=No%3D199%26rt%3Dboat%26ro%3D1%26r%3D1845213%26entityid%3D18452131%26rs%3Dyachtworld.com

btw, i saw the listing for your boat (in sandusky) and she is REAL hard to pass up!
 
Last edited:
"Carb too, not EFI"

We have twin carburated 7.4s. Though they do not start as quick as the EFI's, they are strong and run great. A little tuning here and there and the are good to guy.

I once heard an engine expert answer this question on a call in show. A guy called in stating he was replacing his gas boat engines and wanted to know if he should stay with the carbs or go EFI. The expert said stay with the carbs, too much can go wrong on the water with the EFIs...a carb will always get you home.

BTW, I think your intuition is telling you to not buy this boat...to many "I am not sures" INHO. Listent to that little voice.
 
"but these boats CAN be had with diesel for not that much more than the selling price of your gasser. "

Yup, we looked at 2 with diesels in Virginia, where we live. Nice boat, low cabin head room though for us.
 
hy guys i am buying a 96 400 db with gas 7.4 MPI the boat is in great condition new canvas ,new carpet ,bow truster, sat ,newnelectronics, under 90,000 i could not pass on it .i alwayse wanted diesel before .i probably going to use about 50 hours a year i think i am doing the right decision . i welcom any comments
 
Similar to the earlier comments on this thread... a gas version of this boat is acceptable, as long as: a) you properly set your expectations about cruise speed, fuel consumption and range; and b) you pay a low enough price up front so you don't get too slaughtered on the back end.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,202
Messages
1,428,452
Members
61,108
Latest member
asigman
Back
Top