20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

[Maxum21]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

thanks, I appeciate all your opinions!.. i will probably be staying away from this deal now..thanks again
-Jamie

 

[tractoman]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

You should try and get a sea trial if you are serious about it. You may be fine with the 3.0. Keep in mind though that you'll want to test it as if you were out for the day with your family, kids, cooler, dog etc. Plus you can get a lot of stuff and people into a 20 footer and that may be when the 3.0 feels underpowered. I have a 4.3LX in an 18 foot boat and it is a good combo for what we do. I agree about the gas issue, don't worry about it. Nobody owns a boat to save gas. I also wouldn't worry about resale. It may be a good deal for you and if you get out on the water that's the point of having a boat.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

I have a 20' bayliner with a 5.0L V8 and it really rips, 53MPH GPS and it really planes fast. I also have a 19' sea ray with the 4 cyl and it is a dog, but still ok in my opinion. Over 4 people and it will be pure misery. My 4cyl will take some time to plane, but once up it is fine and I can get 28 out of it. That is slow by the way.

Me not owning a boat before makes 28MPG feel ok. Im just happy to be a part of it, and be out in the water so I could be happy with anything.

I would shoot for the 4.3L drive, it is just right. I see people that have the same speeds as my V8. The 5.0L drive is also good, but drinks fuel a lot more.

 

[45Auto]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

Do a little of your own research and look at some real data before you take someone's advice on boat fuel economy or performance. Lots of people with no real data except "it feels faster" or "it uses lots more gas because it's a V8". Neither one means squat.

Here's some data from Boattest.Com on 2 identical Sea Ray 185's (18 foot) except that one has the 3.0L I4 and one has the 4.3L V6. I also added a Larson 206 (20' boat) with a 5.0L V8 for comparison.

Sea Ray 185, I4, 135HP:
http://www.boattest.com/boats/Boat_video.aspx?ID=968#Test-Result

Sea Ray 185, V6, 190HP:
http://www.boattest.com/boats/Boat_video.aspx?ID=967#Test-Result

Larson Senza 206, V8, 260HP:
http://www.boattest.com/boats/Boat_video.aspx?ID=954#Test-Result

You can see that at any kind of normal cruising speed the I4 gets the worst fuel economy. It is also 15 MPH slower than the other boats. The acceleration will be equally unimpressive.

 

[Steve Mahler]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

very cool and hard to believe, but charts dont lie right

Certainly gives the 4.3 the overall advantage; guess that is why it is so popular.

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

I have an '85 19' Bayliner Cuddy with the 2.3L VP engine.

It will do 36mph with 2 or 4 people on board, and cruises smoothly.

When pulling up a skier or wakeboarder, it takes about 6 seconds to get up,
rather than a quick-up of 3 seconds. Once up, it does just great. We do
that about 10% of the time for our usage. The rest is cruising, and for
that, this outfit is hard to beat. We are not racing or doing speed maneuvers,
so I believe it is ideal for our usage. The mileage is unbelievable.

I would suggest giving the outfit some consideration for the condition that it
is in and the usage you have in mind.

Good luck!

 

[bigbad 4cyl x2]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

well ,that chart is probably right as most 4 cylinders are not fuel injected ,were most 6 cyl are and some v8's again are not. fuel injection is key to good fuel economy and starting

 

[captmello]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

I have an '85 19' Bayliner Cuddy with the 2.3L VP engine.

It will do 36mph with 2 or 4 people on board, and cruises smoothly.

When pulling up a skier or wakeboarder, it takes about 6 seconds to get up,
rather than a quick-up of 3 seconds. Once up, it does just great. We do
that about 10% of the time for our usage. The rest is cruising, and for
that, this outfit is hard to beat. We are not racing or doing speed maneuvers,
so I believe it is ideal for our usage. The mileage is unbelievable.

I would suggest giving the outfit some consideration for the condition that it
is in and the usage you have in mind.

Good luck!

I drove a similar bayliner,1985 19' open bow with the 2.1 ltr VP. I found the boat to perform quite well. It was fast to plane with very little bow rise.

The boat in my sig is the other end of the spectrum. 20' bowrider with a SBC. Much faster and better performing with a full boat.

I'd have to give the boat in this thread a test before passing judgement.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

Also keep in mind, you can "baby" a V8 to gain fuel economy, a 4 cyl on the other hand, you can't, or you will be going very S.L.O.W. .....

A 4 CYL at WOT will consume more fuel than a V8 at 1/2 throttle and you will be going the same speed hull for hull.

 

[fat fanny]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

I have owned a 17.5 Searay bow rider for 8 years now and that lil 3.0LX has never failed me but I do also believe its like the lil engine that could always pushing it's top end envelope and for that I comend the enginuity of it's creators but for anything any bigger than a 17 or 18 footer is just too much boat for to lil engine and the performance will just suffer and if your like most of us you eigther need more room,power or size it's just the nature of things I believe as a boater I do know for sure that my next rig is most definately gonna be a v6 and @ least 20 foot. If your gonna buy get something you will be satisfied with and not something you have to ask questions about because when it comes down to it you have to satisfy yourself. But the chart earlier is proof alone if economy versus speed is the issue I know like the v6 comparison.

 

[Boatist]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

I have a 20 foot 9 inch Crestliner I/O with a 3.0L stringer and I love it but
I am a fisherman and mostly ocean.
I have two props a 19 pitch 3 blade stainless and it makes 38 MPH at 4200 RPMS.
Second prop is a 17 pitch 3 blade Stainless and it makes 35 MPH at 4600 RPMS.
I fish the ocean a lot and rarely cruse over 20 mph do to Sea Condiions.
Boat carries 34 gallons of fuel and we take as many as 5 200 to 250 pound fishermen.
Boat has no trouble getting up on plane and in the ocean I allways use the 19 pitch prop for fuel mileage..
On a trip out to the fishing banks 26 miles out we go to on the really nice days I will travel about 70 to 71 miles.
The 19 pitch prop will take 15 gallons of fuel to fill the tank.
The 17 pitch prop will take 18 gallons of fuel to fill the tank.
The boat is a Aluminum Hull and weights 2800 pounds dry.

I had 10 people on board one time with the 19 inch prop which was not the right prop.
I had not planned that but ended up taking that group to a big party island in the California Delta.
The boat took over 1 miunte to get up on plane. The 17 pitch would be much better.
I will never take that many again as the boat is really rated for 6 people.

I love this boat it is perfect for what we do, mostly fishing offshore or
fun in the sun inland.

If it were only a fresh water boat then I would want the a 4.3 L EFI or MPI.
Since it is a salt water boat I prefer the 3.0L mostly because it has plenty of power for offshore.
Also with only one manifold and riser the maintenance cost is half that of a 4.3L.

It is not a speed boat but will pull a skier with no problem but have only done that a few times.

Most would probably like more power but for me I would run the same speeds anyway.
I would like the fuel injection and the turn the key and back off the trailer with no warmup.

If My 1980 OMC Stringer ever fails and I have to replace the engine and outdrive
I would have to think long and hard as to what to buy.

Due the extra cost and maintenance I would prefer a single manifold and riser.

However I would want electronic fuel injection, and a light engine.

Anyway just a little information about my boat. May be lighter than that Bayliner.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: 20' boat with 3.0 i/0?

While the chart is interesting, you can note that the mpg is never more than about .75 mpg apart (10mph+) from the 4.3L to the 5.0L, so fuel economy really isn't too much different, and they are practically the same from 42+ mph. You also note that the 5.0L is likely in a heavier boat (20') versus the other 2 engines in thr 18' models.

Not direct comparisons, but close. However, compare the power difference of the 3.0 to the 4.3L and 5.0L and it will be evident that you are getting more power/performance per gallon. Pass on the 4-cylinder, especially in a 20' boat.