The Boating Forum - Volvo diesel I/O thoughts and opinions?
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Looking at a few boats in the 26-28' range with Volvo diesels such as Steiger, Parker, Seasport and Osprey. Anybody have experience with any of these boats with the Volvo? Pros and Cons? What is the hour limit on these motors and what kind of fuel mileage do they get in this size boat? Thank you. Jason.
waterdog247
11-29-2010, 08:15 PM
Well Jason, there is a lot missing from your question in order to answer it properly. V/P has many different I/Os available, past and present. I have a KAD 44 with 1000 hours on it. If you follow the preventive maintenance, and service it right, they can last for up to 10,000 hours.
PM me with the specific engine model, and I can give you more info. This site has some good stuff, too.
http://boatdiesel.com
captainmike73
11-29-2010, 08:34 PM
Jason, The Volvo D-4 and D-6 is a great motor for any of those boats. If your going over 28 feet 8000lbs your probably looking at the d-6 330 or 370. Your mpg will average 3.0 mpg. If your looking at something new the Volvo is coming out with some major improvements to their drives. They have increased oil capacity, better gears and bearings. There's been a few issues. The bummer is that the cost for parts, filters, belts, oil , and service is spendy. I think a brand new drive is going for about 10,000.00 the motor will set you back 30,000.00. I think the key is good maintenance and how you run the motor. I've heard of guys getting over 10,000 hours. The most I personally seen was 3,500 on a D-6 310 on a Osprey 28. I've put over 2000 hrs on a D-6 310 and no problems with motor but 2 drive rebuilds and a few bearings. Do some research there's been a lot of talk about this subject.
Most of thease boats have the kad44 or kad 300 and a few of the older sea sports have tamd41's. 10g's for a outdrive, ouch!
kxp086
11-30-2010, 03:18 AM
Jason, I own a 28 ft Carolina Classic with twin kamd 44 Volvos J/S set up. In a lot of respects I like the way the boat handles, the speed and for certain the fuel economy the boat gets over the 32 CC I purchased to upgrade. To date, the duo props have not presented any issues above the increased maintainance. With the stern drive, you will get increased speed and fuel economy over a similar powered inboard, not to mention (assuming jack shafts are in use) a better ride as you will have more control over trimming the boat.