Re: stern drive diesel questions
fair enough, and in the end, I may end up going with an outboard anyway, because it would be easier and faster to install, but I am pretty comfortable with working on diesels already. I have had a lot of diesel VWs and my truck is an older cummins/dodge. And I have to point out that yamaha parts aren't exactly cheap either. I have spent almost $5 EACH for spark plugs and I don't even want to think about what i will spending someday when some electronic control box burns out on my P60, or how screwed I will be if I am out on the water somewhere. I do remember what electrical stuff for my yamaha motorbikes used to cost. several hundred dollars for a little black box which the bike won't run without. That's why I am wanting to stay away from the computer controlled diesels as well as computer controlled gas engines.
And there are no yamaha dealers anywhere near me either, so when I have needed parts, they always have to be special ordered in seattle and mailed to me.
As far as gas costs goes, last summer I spent over $300 in fuel for six days of ocean fishing in my mercruiser boat. I probably spent closer to $1000 in that boat for the year, and that was a year that I wasn't out that much. I figure a decent mechanically injected Volvo will probably last for a pretty long time if cared for properly. Let's say that I can get 10 years of use out of it, well if I can run free fuel for that long, that is $10k at today's pump prices, let alone tomorrow's. Even if I spend $300/year on maintenence, which is an awful lot more than my gas engines have consumed, I'm still ahead with a diesel. And then there is the flammability issue as well. I'd rather have 50 gallons of diesel on board than gasoline.
but thanks for your input. the reason I come to iboats is to get feedback from people more experienced than I am.
