Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

[bear_69cuda]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

Would have loved video from along side.

Deck boat was purchased from Pharo Marine.

Would love to meet up sometime this summer!

Peace!

 

[jkust]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

From Boating Life.com

Stingray 185LX

* Vital Stats Length Overall: 18'5"
* Beam: 85"
* Dry Weight: 2,219 lb.
* People/Weight Capacity: 7/1,070 lb.
* Fuel Capacity: 21 gal.
* Maximum HP: 150
* MSRP (w/Volvo-Penta 3.0L GXi): $20,742
* NMMA Certified: Yes

* Test Drive Test Engine: Volvo-Penta 3.0L GXi
* Test Prop: 21-Inch Stainless Steel
* Test Load: People (225 lb.); Fuel (8 gal.)
* Top Speed: 49.9 mph @ 5,000 rpm
* Time to Plane: 3 sec.
* Time to 30 MPH: 7.0 sec


The Stingray is fuel injected with more HP and has a high pitched prop and is stainless. It is also feather light for an 18.5 footer. I won't even go out with only 8 gallons of fuel and the last time I only had 225lbs in my boat it got 6mph more on GPS than the usual realistic load and it overreved to boot. Like someone mentioned above, our small boats get a lot slower with a realistic load.

 

[mrcool]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

Would have loved video from along side.

Deck boat was purchased from Pharo Marine.

Would love to meet up sometime this summer!

Peace!

Oh ya, we have to get together this summer, seems like a long time till I get the boat out of the shed!!!

 

[jdurbin79]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

FWIW I have a '98 Stingray 180 RS and I can run low-40s no problem on the speedo with 4 adults and full fuel at a WOT of 4800. That is with a 21p aluminum, but if I go with my 23p aluminum hustler prop with 1/2 tank fuel and only one person, I can nail 50 on the speedo. I know speedometers are usually a few miles over GPS, but I can blow Bayliner 175s and similar away on the river where I live. Stingrays are designed for speed, but they do ride rough in a small boat like a 18'. If you want to know what a 3.0 CAN do, check out Stingray's speed tests:

http://www.stingrayboats.com/produc...itial=1&enginemake=SD&defaultyears=5&sorter=2

 

[strokeoluck]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

I'm looking at a 18 ft. runabout bowrider for just cruising local lakes...It has a 3.0 Mercruiser. What are your thoughts about the 3.0?

I've not ridden in a boat with a 3.0. However, our boat is just a touch bigger and I purposely bought a boat with a 4.3L based on the input I received from iboat folks. I love the 4.3L. Yet, with two families on board (4 adults, 4 kids in the 8-12 age range) it can still feel just a touch sluggish at times. And with 6-8 adults on board you can feel it even more. But overall, I love the 4.3L.

Another point, don't worry about overall gas consumption. If you can afford a $6k boat you shouldn't be worrying about whether you spend $12 in gas for the day, or $15. On our longest day on the water we put about $20 worth of gas in the boat. I don't know for sure, but I'm thinking the 3.0L would have consumed $15 anyway - so it's not a significant incremental cost.

Finally, how long have you looked around for boats? $6k for a 15-16 year old 17' boat with a 3.0L sounds pricey to me. I know prices can vary widely by region, but I would be 100% certain that was a good deal before pulling the trigger.

 

[waju]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

My old Bayliner 19' with 3.0 did 39 mph GPS, with Stiletto 14.25 x 19"P @ 4800 rpm. Two adults and full fuel. Would I ever have a V hull 18-20' boat with 3.0 again? Nope. It was a great boat, but my next bowrider 19-22', will have minimum 4.3 220hp EFI V6, or more likely 5.7 Gxi or Mag....
Where in Wisconsin are you from Lodi? You may want to look around more, I see plenty of similar boats with V6-8 for $6k....

Happy New Year!

I had a 19 ft Bayliner Capri cuddy with a 3.0 but it was a 1988 model. Same results as above (38 avg mph with 2 average adults, 2 elementary school kids and full gas) but with OMC Cobra drive setup.
I sold it fall of 2007 for $6500 Cdn on Vancouver Island and had people from Calgary and Yellowknife wanting to buy it as well.

 

[jkust]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

FWIW I have a '98 Stingray 180 RS and I can run low-40s no problem on the speedo with 4 adults and full fuel at a WOT of 4800. That is with a 21p aluminum, but if I go with my 23p aluminum hustler prop with 1/2 tank fuel and only one person, I can nail 50 on the speedo. I know speedometers are usually a few miles over GPS, but I can blow Bayliner 175s and similar away on the river where I live. Stingrays are designed for speed, but they do ride rough in a small boat like a 18'. If you want to know what a 3.0 CAN do, check out Stingray's speed tests:

Keep in mind like though that Stingray is built like a feather with an interesting hull design so you will pay in other ways for the speed. 18 feet but only 2074lbs versus some 18 footers that are near 3000lbs but need at least a v6 and ride much better. I love speed but the family loves a nice ride so nice ride won out. At least I can go faster in rougher water. If I had a collection of boats, my 'speed' boat would be a larger Stingray. Here they depreciate fast and the newer, larger, >21 ft ones are actually pretty nice. There are a lot of outboard options in the era you are looking at too. Heck one of my boats is a 16 foot Bayliner with a tiny 85 HP that will push 43 on GPS. It's actually fun to kill nice, expensive boats out of the hole for at least a short distance. Outboard, 2 stroke boats are a lot of fun.

 

[wgoodhoofd]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

My $0.02

My family has a 2006 Four Winns 180 Horizon with the 3.0L Mercruiser. The boat is 17'6" and weighs about 2500lbs with gear. I find the 3.0 to be adequate with our usage: wakeboarding, tubing, cruising and quick ice cream runs. I have never been able to get about 42 mph, and that's with just me in the boat with full trim. Fuel economy has been acceptable, I think, as we can get a few solid days of boarding in before the tanks need to be filled.