Diesel vs Gas Engines for Bigger Boats - Which is Better?

There's a pretty hot debate about diesel vs gas engine boats - some boaters swear by diesel engines while others say they'd only buy gas boats because they think diesel boats smell or are a lot of maintenance. We have had both diesel & gas big boats - and have had our current Sea Ray 410 Sundancer with twin 3126 CAT diesel engines for 10 years. We share our experiences with both and thoughts on what we think is the best choice for bigger boats.
00:00 Intro
00:30 Why Diesel Over Gas
01:43 Ease of Maintenance
02:28 The Price of Diesel Engine
02:44 Performance and Longevity
03:15 Debunking the Diesel Smell Myth
04:32 Fuel Cost Diesel vs Gas
05:10 Why Diesels for Bigger Boats
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#boatengines #dieselengine #bigboat
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[@jetlag4754]

I think it depends on how you use your boat also. If you slow cruise short distances I think gas is fine. If you travel long distances, like the Great Loop, go diesels.

[@MyBoatLife]

Sure use case always a factor, for us efficiency is more important than speed, gas version of our 41 ft boat is gas guzzler

[@markdimaio8396]

I read that the rule of thumb is any boat 16,000 or more better off with diesels. Although in Europe it's common to see 26 & 28' cruisers with diesels

[@MyBoatLife]

That sounds about right - too many gas engine bigger boats are underpowered. Diesel is definitely more common in Europe.

[@Itsfinegoboating]

Looking at a 2000 sundancer with 2 cats for the next boat !! we currently have 280 Sundancer with the 4.3. Two months in. And ready for something bigger 🤦🏻‍♂️😂😂

[@MyBoatLife]

We love our CATS and the 410 is a great boat for space & performance. Good luck on your search!!

[@SCFoster]

Just found your channel. Have a 2000 Sea Ray 380 with CAT 3116 diesels. Have it at North East River Yacht Club in North East, MD. Plan on taking this boat places, so I ruled out gas engines in my search. Removed both engines and took them to T&S Marine in Crisfield MD, one for an overhaul and the other a full service. The torque of the diesels is great for moving the boat around at idle and just using the transmissions for steering.

[@MyBoatLife]

Thanks for checking us out! Wow, so you removed diesel engines for overhaul? Or you mean 1000 hr service? Glad to hear running good now - we pretty much always dock with our gears. 380 is a great boat btw.. very similar to our 410DA!

[@SCFoster]

@@MyBoatLife Bought the boat from the original owner. The starboard engine and generator had issues (boat priced accordingly) so pull the port engine while I was at it. Boat at Bay Boat Works in North East, MD. Removal and reinstall wasn't all that difficult.

[@randomoldbloke]

Anything with a inboard enclosed should be diesels, petrol is just to dangerous fumes ect make boat go bang

[@MyBoatLife]

yeah go bang is not good 😩

[@LITTLEROCKSHORES]

Any boat over 40’ needs to be diesel for sure. The 8.1L and 8.2L gas engines made a 37’ to 40’ pretty appealing in gas. Those 454’s are not enough for anything over 36’, especially a heavy boat like SeaRay, Regal or Cruisers.

[@MyBoatLife]

💯 agree!! 👏👏

[@610boating5]

Looking at a Regal 3880 now, gas and diesel. Of course diesel is the better option but when you boat 50 hours a year the extra purchase price of a diesel is hard to justify.

[@MyBoatLife]

A few things to consider… less moving parts so less maintenance, more power for bigger boat (tho 38 might be ok) and resale value - diesel’s longer life maintains value on market. Good luck.. that’s an awesome boat either way and thanks for watching!!

[@jimpatrick8021]

50 hrs a yr, maybe join a rental club.

[@610boating5]

​@@jimpatrick8021sure, for a CC or bow rider, that's not what we are looking at.

[@tlteal]

Diesel for sure. I've had both and also had 502's on a 41 foot boat and while it ran good, it also sucked down fuel like no other.

[@MyBoatLife]

literally a gas guzzler! 😭

[@tlteal]

@@MyBoatLifeyes and was slower than my 46 footer with cummins.

[@Torvikholm]

Where im from it would be unthinkable to have a petrol inboard. But the main reason comes down to cost of fuel. Petrol is a good 50% more expensive than diesel. That in combination with higher fuel burn makes them quite unfavourable. The rule of thumb here is that if you use your boat less than 40 hours a year, petrol ends up cheaper due to lower maintenance costs and price of purchase. But pretty much every petrol boat would be an outboard.

[@MyBoatLife]

I think no that all makes a lot of sense! 👍

[@Mordalo]

Diesel. On a big boat your diesels should go 10K hours before you do anything to them aside regular maintenance.

[@MyBoatLife]

Yeah definitely thousands!! 👍

[@bstanz5266]

No need for blower before starting

[@MyBoatLife]

Exactly!! 👍

[@saputramaulana7731]

Ya, Terima Kasih, Sama-Sama, 👍🏼👍🏻❤ 🥵🥵

[@MyBoatLife]

😬