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
Gas works for me. I know gas, have had gas all my life, I'll probably die with gas. So far I've had my boat for three weeks and have not been out yet (windy every weekend). So we do what the admiral and I do a lot. Sit at the dock with gas!

Seriously though, diesel was not that big of a deal for us. Got a great boat at a great price, and hopefully will enjoy it greatly!
 
Working on diesels..........?

Just nuts, bolts and hunks of metal. Take one off and put it back where it came from, they don't bite and are very forgiving. For my money, they are easier to keep running right than gas engines. All you need is fuel, air and enough compression to cause an explosion.....no spark, no wires, no computers to make behave (on older ones, anyway). Like docofthebay says, once you try them, you'll never go back.
 
fwebster said:
Working on diesels..........?

Just nuts, bolts and hunks of metal. Take one off and put it back where it came from, they don't bite and are very forgiving. For my money, they are easier to keep running right than gas engines. All you need is fuel, air and enough compression to cause an explosion.....no spark, no wires, no computers to make behave (on older ones, anyway). Like docofthebay says, once you try them, you'll never go back.
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I can't wait! Everything I am looking at currently follows Frank's advice. I can have a boat that is more than 10' larger than my current with similar performance and fuel burn!
 
2K WINGIN' IT said:
I can't wait! Everything I am looking at currently follows Frank's advice. I can have a boat that is more than 10' larger than my current with similar performance and fuel burn!
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Exactly :thumbsup:
 
When I bought my 270DA brand new in 2001 I actually considered the 7.3 diesel option instead of the 7.4 gas. The Sea Ray dealer wanted around $20,000 more for the diesel. Even with all the advantages of the diesel, I decided I could buy a lot of gas for $20,000. Nine years later I do not regret my decision. Now if I had a 35+ footer, I may look at it a bit differently.
 
tgalloway said:
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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hey, owned 2 big gas boats, enjoyed the hell out of both of them for 10 years and some of those times are our most precious family memories. Dont misunderstand as no one ever opened the hatch and said "well, you have gas engines so we better not play Bob Marley today"--boating is boating. seen many a boating family tooling around in 17' pontoons looking like they were on top of the world. Fuel is the still about the cheapest part of boating so in the big scheme of things, how much does fuel burn really mean to you. Plus, you say you bought low, if it comes to it, you can sell low and all is well. great position to be in.

Gas allowed me to get into my first large boat affordably and probably much sooner than I thought. That was my focus at the time and all I needed to sleep at night.

With that being said, there is information--be it fact or simply preference--that boat owners should atleast be knowlegable of to make the best personal decision. What you do with it, no one should judge. Ignoring information is the only thing that is stupid. my 2 cents.........

btw, great looking boat
 
tgalloway said:
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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Not stupid at all. It's your money and your decision to make. Enjoy it.
 
searay40dad said:
hey, owned 2 big gas boats, enjoyed the hell out of both of them for 10 years and some of those times are our most precious family memories. Dont misunderstand as no one ever opened the hatch and said "well, you have gas engines so we better not play Bob Marley today"--boating is boating. seen many a boating family tooling around in 17' pontoons looking like they were on top of the world. Fuel is the still about the cheapest part of boating so in the big scheme of things, how much does fuel burn really mean to you. Plus, you say you bought low, if it comes to it, you can sell low and all is well. great position to be in.

Gas allowed me to get into my first large boat affordably and probably much sooner than I thought. That was my focus at the time and all I needed to sleep at night.

With that being said, there is information--be it fact or simply preference--that boat owners should atleast be knowlegable of to make the best personal decision. What you do with it, no one should judge. Ignoring information is the only thing that is stupid. my 2 cents.........

btw, great looking boat
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Well said. There are indeed a lot of variables that go into the buying decision. The best answer is the one that works for you!
 
JustUs2 said:
Well said. There are indeed a lot of variables that go into the buying decision. The best answer is the one that works for you!
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I was attempting a little tongue in cheek humor...seemed like we were getting dumped on a good bit as gassers. I had the chance to buy this boat out of stock for great deal. No way I would have even entertained buying another boat if I would have special ordered with the price tag of deisels attached. I was happy with the 350DA with the twin 375hps. It would fly for a boat of that size. Besides...I am looking at gas pumps on the river from where I sit....about 75ft from the slip. Time is money.
 
tgalloway said:
I was attempting a little tongue in cheek humor...seemed like we were getting dumped on a good bit as gassers. I had the chance to buy this boat out of stock for great deal. No way I would have even entertained buying another boat if I would have special ordered with the price tag of deisels attached. I was happy with the 350DA with the twin 375hps. It would fly for a boat of that size. Besides...I am looking at gas pumps on the river from where I sit....about 75ft from the slip. Time is money.
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Markets vary. You almost never see diesel engines in 35-40 boats on the great lakes. The money does not make sense. With gas, you don't pay the upfront charge, the expensive ongoing maintenance, experience the premature engine wear associated with salt water, and if you keep a clean boat, it sells for a good price when you are done enjoying it. Florida is a whole different story. The boats we see on Lake Michigan in this size range with diesels are usually older salt water boats that people bring up to Michigan to rehab. They are bought at a discount relative to a comparable fresh water diesel boat and the owners end up doing a lot of cosmetic work and replace risers and other wear items that fresh water boaters don't have to worry about. I looked into this a few years ago because a local marina owner was bring up wide body 37 expresses and doing cosmetic work on them for sale. The prices were too good to be true. I'm not sure you end up saving much if you really do all the stuff they needed, but the finished products look good. As someone saidl, it's a personal choice about how you want to spend money.
 
I went from a 32 gas SeaRay to a 35 diesel Tiara, yes the older mechanical diesel. It is like night and day. Someone in an earlier post said diesels were slower? My 32 did 27mph at cruise turning 3800-4000 rpm burning 30-32 gph. My Tiara diesel does 30 mph at cruise turning 2600 rpm burning 23 gph. Slow is not what I call this diesel boat. I actually have to run a lot slower so my gas buddies can keep up at 25mph. Once you get used to diesels, they are relatively easy to work on just like a gas engine. When you say you can work on gas engines I say BS. Unless you have the computer to hook up to you new electronics and diagnose all the sensors, you have no idea how to work on gas engines of this day and age. Of course, a new diesel has the same problem with electronic do dads and sensors. But once you feel the torque of a diesel while docking or feel the turbos spool up and the boat take off, you will not want to go back.
 
trit21 said:
I went from a 32 gas SeaRay to a 35 diesel Tiara, yes the older mechanical diesel. It is like night and day. Someone in an earlier post said diesels were slower? My 32 did 27mph at cruise turning 3800-4000 rpm burning 30-32 gph. My Tiara diesel does 30 mph at cruise turning 2600 rpm burning 23 gph. Slow is not what I call this diesel boat. I actually have to run a lot slower so my gas buddies can keep up at 25mph. Once you get used to diesels, they are relatively easy to work on just like a gas engine. When you say you can work on gas engines I say BS. Unless you have the computer to hook up to you new electronics and diagnose all the sensors, you have no idea how to work on gas engines of this day and age. Of course, a new diesel has the same problem with electronic do dads and sensors. But once you feel the torque of a diesel while docking or feel the turbos spool up and the boat take off, you will not want to go back.
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I agree. I owned a 36 Sedan Bridge with Gas and the same exact boat with Diesel. It is a world of difference as far as speed and fuel consumption. The diesel boat runs much faster than the gas version ... about 30% faster and runs 30% faster on 20% less fuel. It was a sub-20 knot boat with gas and is a 24+ knot boat with the Cummins Quantum B 380 mains. The diesel boat is quieter than the Mercury version of the boat also.
:thumbsup:
 
It was me that said diesel was slower. I know that's not the case when you get into the bigger boats. I think the 496 HO is the most reliable power you can get in a gas engine at 425hp. That would have about 475 lbs. ft of torque. The eqivalent hp diesel would make about double that. No comparison...
 
magster65 said:
It was me that said diesel was slower. I know that's not the case when you get into the bigger boats. I think the 496 HO is the most reliable power you can get in a gas engine at 425hp. That would have about 475 lbs. ft of torque. The eqivalent hp diesel would make about double that. No comparison...
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Faster or slower depends on the hull. A 32 Tiara is offered with 4 choices of power. The 8.1s (385 HP version) are faster than two of the diesel options and offer about the same speed within a half a knot of the remaining diesel choice. Look at the performance charts where the rpms produce the greatest economy. It's pretty clear there is little difference other than range. The 8.1s also produce a very good range because of the surperb design of the hull.
 
sbw1 said:
Faster or slower depends on the hull. A 32 Tiara is offered with 4 choices of power. The 8.1s (385 HP version) are faster than two of the diesel options and offer about the same speed within a half a knot of the remaining diesel choice. Look at the performance charts where the rpms produce the greatest economy. It's pretty clear there is little difference other than range. The 8.1s also produce a very good range because of the surperb design of the hull.
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I was talking about diesels vs. gas in general, not in a specific hull. Yes of course, hulls are designed for a range of speeds appropriate for the size.
Superb hull design? Are you trying to sell me on Tiara now too? Nah nah nah... I don't want to look awkward having to chat on other manufacturer forums! :lol:
I looked up Tiara... Wikipedia states it's a cone shaped crown. I don't have a conehead so I can't join your club. I haven't seen you guys for years! Good to have you back...

coneheads.jpg
 
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