Inboard Chev 350

[JASE1]

Hey fellow fisherman

im looking at purchasing a second hand vessel
its fiberglass sundowner 5.3m long and is powered by a 350 chevy engine
shaft drive looks like the perfect rig for bashin the high seas
but i need to know more before the purchase
does anyone have any idea what the fuel economy would be like and just any helpfull information

cheers lads

[Big_Kev]

Small block chevy can be very economical if not driven hard.
Very reliable and long lasting when looked after.
Easy to get cheap parts for the base engine.
Will need to be kept tuned well to return good service/ecenomy.
Some good technical people around to look after them and you may have to look outside the marine industry fo get the best mechanics for the engine.

[Reefmaster]

JASE1
Welcome to the site im sure you will find alot of great info from fellow fishos.
I have built, raced, blown up and tuned many many chevs and love em. There a great motor and reliable for land and sea. More info on the motor would be good as there can be so many variables depending whats done to the motor. Find out if the motor is stock or has mods. The fuel economy wont be that fantastic even if its stock but for the performance you won't complain. Ask lots questions until your comfortable with your decision. More info would help advising you further more.

Cheers Greg

[DAVE_S]

jase1 when you say shaft drive do you mean inboard outboard or is it ski boat type check if its salt or fresh water cooled if it has salt water cooled manifolds they can be aproblem as for the chev 350 i would say it would be quite heavy going by my brotherinlaws 350 chev ski boat

[Richard]

A couple of friends and I went out in a Haines 773 (24ft) with a 350 Chev. that would be quite a bit heavier than what you are looking at but we burned about 50L per hour pushing through some sorta ugly weather around Mackay at about 18-22 knots. Not the most fuel efficient setup i suppose.

[JASE1]

the seller dosent seem to know much about it its an inboard velvet drive has 290 hrs on meter so im presuming its had a fairly recent rebuild
i sure dont like the sound of 50 liters an hour though ! the boat is a cuddy cabb

[finga64]

Take it for a run for an hour. Soon find out the economy and characteristics then.
Don't forget some spare just in case :-/

[gavsgonefishing]

Had a fair bit to do with the chevys and other v8's in a past life, only on the land. Great motors but they aren't the most economical. Be careful of taking the hour meter as a truth, if your serious about it, get it checked out by someone in the know. The rebuilds are quite expensive. Also get thecooling system checked out.

[cyclone]

50ltr an hour sounds a bit rich in a 5.3mtr hull you should get a lot better than that most un modified ski boats general sking would burn about 12ltr an hour. Just be careful with fuel lines starter motors etc if they are not well maintained there is a risk of fire on inboard petrol powered craft. and check insurance to can sometimes be a problem.

[Richard]

Yeah, the 50L per hour trip was in a 24ft hull that was very heavy (Haines 733 i think), we had heaps of gear in it (going camping on one of the islands), 4 blokes and it was in some pretty bad weather.

[mjc85]

Hey fellow fisherman

im looking at purchasing a second hand vessel
its fiberglass sundowner 5.3m long and is powered by a 350 chevy engine
shaft drive looks like the perfect rig for bashin the high seas
but i need to know more before the purchase
does anyone have any idea what the fuel economy would be like and just any helpfull information

cheers lads


This boat wouldn't happen to be in Sunshine Beach, on the street off David Low Way would it ? =) nice looking boat, should hammer those seas

[JASE1]

no mjc85 its in a mechanic shop in brissvagas
thanks to all for the advise

[jimbo59]

50 liters an hour in a boat that weighs 2 ton with 4 blokes onboard with aton of gear in a nasty sea seams pretty good to me!