Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 11:37:08 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:


I've been looking at these:

http://www.topazboats.com/Site/32Express/32x.html

but I don't really want diesels.


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Trust me on this one, you absolutely do want diesels. In order to get
decent speed with gas engines on a boat of that type you will be
looking at a fuel burn of over 40 gph. Diesels, about half that.


I forgot to follow up with Tom on that, although he seems to have a lot
more boating experience than I. The issue of vibration is boat specific
I think. The Egg Harbor I used to have had a resonant RPM while
accelerating that caused all the hatches in the cockpit to vibrate
loudly and the Cat 3126 engines were noisy, but it was not a big issue.
The Navigator sounds and feels more like a Greyhound Bus, probably due
to the extensive engine room insulation and the smaller Volvo diesels.
It is very smooth and quiet with the auto syncs on. The only time the
boat vibrates is at closed throttle idle, in neutral and with the syncs
off. Exhaust smell and "station wagon" effect is non-existent when underway.

On smaller boats I prefer 4 stroke outboard(s). On bigger boats, I am
hooked on diesel power and will never go back to gas.

It's really a matter of personal preference.

Eisboch