In need a i/o History lesson...

[paulspaddle]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Thanks for catching that and putting in the history link....that's what I was looking for.

My neighbor at the cabin has a 1994 Yamaha ProV150 (two stroke) on the back of a 70's 18' Starcraft Deep V. More than enough power to put 4 adults and 3 kids in a go tubing and skiing. Speedo doesn't work, but I'm guessing 45-50+mph...it feels a bit faster than the boat 'should' go. BUT...it drinks gas like crazy! We blew through 10 gallons of gas in an hour of 'playing'.

Just my brother and I in the boat, light cruising with a few (minutes) of WOT and we went through 5 gallons in about 45 min.

Nearly $50 of fuel alone every few hours would take some of the fun out of it for me....is this what to expect from an 4.3 or 3.0?

Sure "pay to play", but are there 'estimates' on the efficiency of an engine?

 

[QC]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Depends on what you do, where with what. I got through this long weekend on about 40 gallons. 23 footer, 320 Mercruiser 6.2 We were on the beach a lot. Cruised some, tubed some. When I go to big lakes I may use 30 - 40 gallons a day. There is no simple answer other than horsepower, speeds, uses, distances, actual hours engine on etc. etc.

If you have a cabin with a dock and she stays tied up, she'll use nothing . . . If you like to cruise 80 miles and play a little too, then she will use more. If you like 25 footers, that is one thing. If you like 40 MPH 18 footers, that's another. If you like 80 MPH bass boats, and you actually go 80, then that is yet another.

 

[Dave1251]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Volvo Penta used volvo car based engine until 1993. That when the 230b and 250b went out of production. We see them every day in our service shop and there is no problem to get parts, they are just expensive.

 

[Wakesilver]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Nearly $50 of fuel alone every few hours would take some of the fun out of it for me....is this what to expect from an 4.3 or 3.0?

I used about 6 gallons on Labor Day running a 3.0 for about 4 hours runtime on the water, loaded with people and pulling a tube.

 

[QC]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

I mean no offense, and I reply only for clarity, but that ^^^^ is almost impossible. If you ever put her on plane, then you exceeded 1.5 gallons per hour (6 gallons, 4 hours). Most people forget to count all of the key off time . . . Idling of that engine is .5 gal/hr and the 3.0 won't even plane a boat until 3.5+ GPH . . . This is math, plain and simple and you can get good data from BoatTest.com to back check it out.

There' an old engineering line that used to be my signature: "In God We Trust, all others show us your data . . ."

 

[QC]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Bubba,

PM me your email addy and I'll send you a pdf. Go to pages 21, 22 and some of 23. Almost all of the inline 4s and 6s of that era (60s - mid 80s) are Volvo engines . . .

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

I searched for "Volvo boat engine" on youtube and there were many many videos showing all types of Volvo brand engines in boats.
This one is out of the boat but sounds good and has all it marine bits on it. Volvo straight with six tri power
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4jaVZdFq54&feature=related

Those Volvo engines were tough in their cars too, probably good little boat motors.

 

[Don S]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Volvo used all of their own automotive engines (inline 4 and 6 cylinder engines) as marine engines from the 60's to 1993.
In 94, after the joint venture with OMC started. They started using the GM 3.0L engines and dropped the Volvo engines..
The only NON Volvo engines were the V6 and V8 engine. They were Chevy and some early Fords.

 

[Wakesilver]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

I mean no offense, and I reply only for clarity, but that ^^^^ is almost impossible. If you ever put her on plane, then you exceeded 1.5 gallons per hour (6 gallons, 4 hours). Most people forget to count all of the key off time . . . Idling of that engine is .5 gal/hr and the 3.0 won't even plane a boat until 3.5+ GPH . . . This is math, plain and simple and you can get good data from BoatTest.com to back check it out.

There' an old engineering line that used to be my signature: "In God We Trust, all others show us your data . . ."

None taken, I can't figure it out either and I could be mistaken by a gallon or two. Eight gallons would give me about 2 hours on plane and 2 idling using the 3.5 /.5 gph numbers.

Thanks for the link and the math check!

 

[QC]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Cool. Thanks for the positive reaction Fuel use is always an interesting discussion here . . .

 

[45Auto]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Good job, QC and Wakesilver! I was trying to hold back on my reply, QC, you did a nice job !

I do believe that this is the first discussion of fuel consumption I've seen where two posters on opposite sides were able to come to a logical agreement!

 

[QC]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

I was wondering where you were . . .

 

[Wakesilver]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

10 gallons an hour or a 10 gallon day, it's all good if the boat's running.

Hey, how about a word from our original poster Paulspaddle:
Did you come any closer to a motor/outdrive combo that looks good?

 

[All Wet]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

I just bought my first boat, a 1985 Sunray. I think it was their model 1650. It has a 3l Mercruiser with an Alpha1 outdrive. It was a boathouse queen as it only has 150 hours on it. The paint is not faded at all. The canvas looks like its 3 or 4 years old and the engine looks new with new belts. They even replaced the diaphram.
We spent 10 hours on the water over the long weekend and the boat burned less than 130 litres. I went WOT twice for about 30 minutes in total. The rest of the time we were at 3500 rpm except for about an hour at 2500 rpm. There were 4 adults in the boat.
I can't believe how little fuel this boat uses.
And I paid $5000 Cdn for it from a marina. It comes with a "good faith" warranty.
I'm still smiling and can't wait for next weekend.

 

[BF]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Hey PP... Good to see another Manitoban on here! In July I did exactly what you're thinkin' of doing... I went down and bought an I/O in Minnesota and brought it back... I got a 1990 SeaRay 160 with 3.0 Mercruiser / Alpha One drive. I've had lots of outboard boats, but this is my first I/O. It's in VERY good condition, but needed some catchup on maintenance. FYI I paid $3000 usd... no trailer. I brought my own to pick it up. Importing the boat alone was no problem, if it had been on it's own trailer, it would have been a bit more border hassle (and $$), but still doable.

Between tax at the border, exchange, and the cost of parts (gimbal bearing, impeller, gear oil, plugs, gasket kit, grease)... I figure I'm right around the $4000 cdn mark. Of course that's not paying a marina to do the maintenance stuff.... That would've easily cost another thou in labour. If you're new to boats, you'll be shocked at the expense of having work done.

Anyway, we've used the boat for the summer and it's been great.... I'm happy with the buy. In Wpg I'm pretty sure it would be a $6-7000 boat easy.

Good luck!

 

[paulspaddle]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Hey Cool, Manitobians here!

Thanks for all the great information. This was a great thread.

Sounds like some good deals. BF if you don't mind I'll mail you privately and ask some more about your experience of bringing it over the border.

As far as what type of set up I'm deciding on. I'm leaning towards a 18'+, bowrider with a 4.3 Mercruiser alpha drive. Sounds like it's worth it to spend some money on a good stainless steel prop. while I'm at it.

Our cabin is on a big lake so I'd like a longer boat to handle the waves and most people tend to agree that with 18 or more feet the 3.0 is at it's limits, especially if you load it up.

The challenge would be to stay off the throttle....and that is another discussion.

Cheers!

 

[BF]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

Hey PP,

I'll send you a pm (private message) with my email addy... yes feel free to email me. BTW, I think you're wise to go to a larger boat with the 4.3 if your cottage is on big water (e.g. LOTW or Lake Winnipeg). Ours is on a small lake, and I'm hoping that my smallish boat can be made to fit into our existing boat house. An 18'+ definitely would not. On issue might be towing... I/O's are not light. for 18'+ I think you'd definitely want a decent/full sized tow vehicle. 4x4 if you have to use a gravel launch.

But, now that I have the boat I have, I can see going larger in a couple seasons... (and rebuilding boathouse). FWIW, I was talking boats with a friend of mine last night (who has had several I/O's) and he said a bit bigger boat with the 4.3 is also surprisingly fuel efficient (he's had one before). Don't worry... the chop on big water usually keeps you off the throttle..... Gas costs aren't that bad really... our summers are so short, you're lucky to get through a few tanks of gas.

so... check your pm's.

 

[basalt51]

Re: In need a i/o History lesson...

This was a great thread and thanks for all the info. I actually just bought my first boat last weekend. Wish I had read this thread first but looks like I did alright. I bought a '93 19.5 Fisher w/4.3 and merc outdrive (gen II I assume) with 138 hours on it (probably closer to 1000 on the 15 hp kicker ). I think I have some fuel delivery/linkage issues to sort out, but even still it planed quickly and hit 31 mph at full throttle, though I don't think "full throttle" was truly WOT due to the linkage and the RPMs didn't seem all that high. I would guess in the 3500 rpm range.

I think it will be great for tubing. I don't think it will be that great for skiing, but I'm used to a Malibu with a 350 so I might just be spoiled by that!

Oh yeah, For comparision I paid $6600 here in California

I haven't filled up so I can't tell you how much fuel I went through on my first outing. But I spent most of my time running the kicker too!