On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 12:15:55 -0500, DSK wrote:

It makes good sense *if* you plan to use the boat for a long
enough time to amortize the diesel.

I'm in a similar sort of situation, but with a functioning A-4. Try as
I might, I really can't see a way to amortize the diesel replacement
unless one is covering a lot of distance under power. At about C$10K
for a diesel replacement I would have to save something like C$1K on
fuel each year to pay it off in 15 or 20 years. I didn't get up close
to spending that much on gas this year, even though I lived on the
boat for 3 1/2 months straddling the Katrina spike and spent most of
it on the move.

The only way I could see paying off a diesel replacement in fuel
savings would be if I was making the powered ICW trip both ways each
year. Of course that may change if North American fuel prices move up
to match Europe.

Besides, I really like my A-4. I can replace the entire ignition
system out of an auto parts store for $120 and I can trouble-shoot all
the problems I've hit so far without calling in a pro. It's very good
for the ego.

Ryk