Gas or Diesel ove 35 ft

Gas or Diesel 35 to 45 ft

  • Gassers

    Votes: 71 28.0%

  • Diesels

    Votes: 183 72.0%
  • Total voters
    254
JustUs2

JustUs2

New Member
Jul 8, 2009
135
Kent Island, Md
Boat Info
2011 450 Sundancer
Engines
CMD 380's - Zeus
With a lot of discussion over Gas or Diesel I was curious, for boats between 35 an 45 ft, how many are gas and how many are diesel?
 
I'm not sure what you are getting at - didn't you just upgrade to a 390? I do think that the range that you are requesting data for is too wide. Most under 40 are probably gassers, while most in the 40-50 are probably diesel. But, I'm not sure. Without being able to get a more exact LOA, compared to the gas/diesel designation, I'm not sure what this poll is going to help conclude.
 
Art - I looked at gas vs diesel before purchase and with the relatively low number of hrs per season I use, gas seemed like a good choice. Assuming that almost all under 35' are gas and almost all over 45' are diesel, I was curious as to the ratio of gas vs diesel in this range. thought others might be curious too. Especially someone deciding which to buy. Didn't think the range was too broad but could be.
 
40' and under is typically gas and 40' plus is typically diesel. There are some regional differences. For example inland lakes often will go a little bigger with gas, because of the limited cruising areas. You are right at the size where it depends on how you use your boat. All I can say is that I think my boat uses lots of gas and when I talk to people that have or had 40' boats with gas engines - they are complaining about the fuel the boat uses.
 
A more fitting survey is: When do you switch from gas to diesel?

I think I could go to a 360 with gas for local cruising, a 380 on inland lakes and idle waterways, and a 390 and above on a pond. For any long range cruising, anything above a 340 should have diesel for me. It's not gospel, just my opinion.
 
I have gas but only because I could not find a diesel. When the motors go I will think about putting diesels in.
 
For me I'm looking at the 340/375 DA she has diesels in and costs the same to fill up with diesel as my 280/315 does with gas, no brainer for me.
Plus here in NZ we pay a lot less for diesel that isn't used on the road.
 
Kiwi Graham said:
Plus here in NZ we pay a lot less for diesel that isn't used on the road.
Click to expand...

Amen to that! I was fortunate enough (right time/ right place) to purchase a diesel powered vessel at much lower cost than I would have done for a gas powered boat of the same size and year. Even an older gas powered Sea Ray would still cost me more. That's the peculiarities of the NZ boat market in a deep recession but the point is that unusual purchasing conditions aside, a lot of consideration generally needs to be given to the advantages and disadvantages of buying a diesel powered vessel.

Newer members might not be aware of David Pascoes musings on this subject. He is rather blunt and would look on my boat with some considerable disdain, especially its LOA and with a diesel engine that has been optimised to extract every last ounce out of it. I'm not sure how old his comments are, which may not be entirely valid for newer electronically controlled engines, but they are instructive with regard to the size of vessels most suited to diesel or gas. Anyway, here's his link. There are two parts. They are both worth a read. :thumbsup:

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/GasDiesel.htm

Edit: The articles were posted in 1997/98 and revised in 2001 and therefore don't consider the technological advances offered by electronically controlled and fuel rail fitted diesels.
 
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Hindsight says I should have skipped buying the 330DA and should have purchased a 370DA or 380DA with 3126 diesels instead. Oh well.
 
I cringe when ever I see that Pascoe article reference posted again.............so, one more time, here goes the qualifier that most people never include in the gas vs. diesel discussion:

A school kid can do the math on the cost of fuel differential, the added range, lower consumption, and a reasonably experienced boat owner can guess at the difference in annual maintenance costs, but nobody ever seems to address either the shorter life span of gas engines and the cost to repower or the difference in the quality of investment when you choose diesel over gas.

While a diesel boat may cost more to acquire, it will also retain more of its value than a gas boat of the same model. That lower depreciation is never mentioned in the "diesel doesn't make sense for pleasure boat" articles.

My own situation is a case in point.......I buy good boats and tend to keep them a long time. I owned a 390EC with 7.4 Mercs for 9 years and during that time, I had to take several big hits on maintenance for replacing cast iron engine parts, water pumps, etc just to keep the boat functional and preserve its value. I've owned my diesel powered 450DA for 13+ years and my personal experience is that I am spending a fraction of the cost to maintain them than I spent maintaining the gas boat.

For Sea Ray boats, the gas vs. diesel issue is a big complex question that a buyer cannot answer with a one line poll or by reading a simplistic article posted on a website somewhere.
 
But Frank, you cooled those gasser with salt, effectively killing them.

If you saw what it costs (or doesn't cost) in fresh water, your jaw would drop.

Now fuel burn on the other hand.... :grin:
 
fwebster said:
I cringe when ever I see that Pascoe article reference posted again.............so, one more time, here goes the qualifier that most people never include in the gas vs. diesel discussion:

A school kid can do the math on the cost of fuel differential, the added range, lower consumption, and a reasonably experienced boat owner can guess at the difference in annual maintenance costs, but nobody ever seems to address either the shorter life span of gas engines and the cost to repower or the difference in the quality of investment when you choose diesel over gas.

While a diesel boat may cost more to acquire, it will also retain more of its value than a gas boat of the same model. That lower depreciation is never mentioned in the "diesel doesn't make sense for pleasure boat" articles.

My own situation is a case in point.......I buy good boats and tend to keep them a long time. I owned a 390EC with 7.4 Mercs for 9 years and during that time, I had to take several big hits on maintenance for replacing cast iron engine parts, water pumps, etc just to keep the boat functional and preserve its value. I've owned my diesel powered 450DA for 13+ years and my personal experience is that I am spending a fraction of the cost to maintain them than I spent maintaining the gas boat.

For Sea Ray boats, the gas vs. diesel issue is a big complex question that a buyer cannot answer with a one line poll or by reading a simplistic article posted on a website somewhere.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbsup: ...not to mention safety :wink:
 
I rack up more hours than most every year... in the area of 175 to a high of more than 300 a few years ago. I'm doing a little research on this gas vs. diesel question myself. It's a no-brainer for me. With those kinds of hours, fuel savings alone are enough to make diesels the right choice. Read Franks post on maintenance. There's the other things too... the resale, the engine life, safety, having one fuel for all the systems... I was wanting to move into a 340 / 8.1's but not any more. My 290 cruises fast at 30mph+... I realize the diesel will be slower but I'm ok with that. No gas 34' plus boats are speed demons anyways.
I really like the DA layout but a command bridge sure is nice! Finances will dictate I'm sure.
This would be nice!
 
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Yes, the 400DB is very nice boat. Concur with all said above but feel more may need to be said wrt resale. maybe my experience will be helpful to someone. When I tried to move my 400DB this summer I spoke with no less than 10 brokers/dealers on potential trades. Nearly all were interested in my "totally-freshwater, low hour, loaded and in great shape" 400DB until they learned it was gas. Every single person I spoke with in or near salt or non-landlocked body of water said they just simply couldn't move a gas 40--as there was llittle or no market--definitely and especially if it was a sedan bridge.

When I tried to list & sell outright, brokers indicated I had to be in a price range similar to repo boats if I truly wanted to move it. I ended up getting very lucky as the dealer with my 480 had a lead on a guy who just retired and had never owned a boat of any sort before AND was on a local lake, so, they basically had my boat sold before I traded for the 480.

So, although my situation did work itself out, I strongly believe that gas 40s are bad news when it comes to resale. So, if it'll be a last boat or just used on lake or small body of water, it may work out. Otherwise there is just a much, much smaller market...that is, unless you can absorb the hit to make it a can't miss deal for someone.
 
I think we've hashed out the scientific engineering based arguments for both powerplant directions. So I'm going to take the emotional route. As one who recently went from a 30ft gasser to a 39 foot diesel, all I can say is WOW! That sound, that feel, that power! Why did I wait so long? It gets the same MPG as the 30 footer, but diesel is 40 cents a gallon cheaper so my fuel cost are less, all for a larger better riding boat. Go for the diesel, you'll never look back.
 
OK, I have, perhaps, almost the in-between size. For me on lake, where I travel very short distances and anchor a lot, gas is the answer. If I had a diesel, I would have to get fuel trucked in....and maintence would be out of the question for me except cleaning and changing oil and a few filters. I've worked on cars and gas engines since I was 14, but wouldn't think of messing with a diesel.

Now, if I were boating on the Gulf where service is available, and there are distances to travel, I wouldn't own anything but a diesel.

And BTW, on the coast, there wouldn't be any covered slips and my antenna would be striaght up! :grin:

Don
 
Ok I am depressed, just picked up the same boat as justus2. Apparently I am stupid to enjoy it and think I got a great deal on it. It tools along happily drinking gas at a high rate and seems comfortable at 30-32 knots with a good bit of throttle left. I guess I will have to give it away because no one would ever want this pos.
 
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