Crusader 350's -1987

Hi! New to these boards - sailboater for 40+ years.

Seriously looking at a 30 ft 9600 lb planing hull with original 1987 Crusader 350's with 1300 hours in salt water (FWC). Boat in great shape, priced low, as I suspect owner knows there is a future repower. New risers, and good maintenance.

Questions:

1. What is the expected life of a well maintained Crusader 350?
2. What has Crusader done to the 350 over the years to improve fuel burn, and what is the % increase in efficiency?
3. What is ballpark $$ to either buy shortblocks for existing engine trim, vs $$ all new
fuel efficient engines to mate to existing ZF trannys???

4. Finally. We plan to cruise from New England; up Hudson; Erie canal; all lakes to Chicago; then down Mississippi to coastal Texas. 3500 miles, 350 or so hours. Trip on my bucket list!

Would you make this trip on 1300 hour Crusader 350's ????

Roger Spence

We are still sailboaters, but we bought a powerboat with 2 1988 Crusader 350s. You have to do a lot more maintenance on gasoline powerboat engines than you do on a sailboat diesel. Our 350s had about 1500 hours on them when we got the boat, but had been told that the engines recently had an overhaul. We actually took the boat from Clearwater, FL to Freeport, TX about 1000 miles. Both the broker and the surveyor thought we were crazy to attempt that. Be prepared to be shocked at how much fuel you will consume. We averaged about $650 per day for 10 days.

You're going to be going through some remote areas on the south coast, so the boat needs to be in really good shape. Shortly after getting to Texas, the port tank ruptured. Probably corrosion from the inside. Our port starter motor also stopped functioning. The rest of the list that we replaced is too long to post. But, it also included both water pumps. Moral of the story, replace a lot of parts before you go and get the unlimited towing insurance.

Wow!

(I thought that I had responded to your comment earlier, but it didn't come through - Newbie!)

Geez, that's a lot of fuel! How big is the boat?

Sounds like I may have to go to church and heavily donte to make my 3500 trip go as planned.

Thanks for your input1

Roger Spence

Questions:

1. What is the expected life of a well maintained Crusader 350?
I'd suggest needing a valve job ~ 1000 hrs and the short block should be good for at least 2000 hrs. We got over 3000 hours on ours before overhaul.

2. What has Crusader done to the 350 over the years to improve fuel burn, and what is the % increase in efficiency?
not much. Electronic ignition is the single biggest item you can change over stock. The biggest improvement you can get in fuel efficiency is to tune the carbs to match the load on the engine. The factory sends them out on the rich side to insure no issues (warranty work). best done on the boat by an experienced tuner.

3. What is ballpark $$ to either buy shortblocks for existing engine trim, vs $$ all newfuel efficient engines to mate to existing ZF trannys???
Short blocks will start around 2000 - new bobtails will run ~ 10K for a carb'ed engine and probably over $13K for a multiport setup.

4. Finally. We plan to cruise from New England; up Hudson; Erie canal; all lakes to Chicago; then down Mississippi to coastal Texas. 3500 miles, 350 or so hours. Trip on my bucket list!
You may want to get an engine surveyor if you are serious about the deal. No guarantees but nothing like an unbiased expert opinion. Another useful item would be to get an oil analysis done (surveyor should include that in the fee). Will give you an idea of the current condition but best used (as a one time deal) to detect serious internal issues.

As a newbie; once again I just got blown away ????? What's up with this site??

So Makomark, I assume that you would not recommend a full powerplant replacement based on cost; versus improved fuel efficiency using existing 1987 technology!

I plan to hire both a boat surveyor, and an engine surveyor, once wife agrees that she could see herself aboard for six weeks, with marina hot showers for my bucket list trip!.

Thank you very much for your input!

I didn't make that recommendation. The trade is yours to make and requires your evaluation of the time vs money vs comfort factors of new vs rebuilt.

My point is the "fuel efficiency improvement" offered with an open loop controlled MPI system isn't huge and you are likely to obtain same or better efficiency with a carb but it requires time and effort.

Some people have more money than time so a new powerplant is a no-brainer for them. Others have little cash but lots of time flexibility and mechanical aptitude.

Roger,
I have a pair of "86 350's (hp) and would not hesitate to take a trip of that length. At 1500 rpm, these engines are very happy and burn about 7.5 gph at 7.5 kts (my hull speed). What I would not take along is a 30', 9600# boat. It's just too less boat for that power/weight/distance. Averaging 10 kts will be a hard ride and I doubt you will have enough range for some legs. I would suggest getting abit more boat to go with the motors (and a shower to save marina fees). just my two cents. tim

I have two 454CID Crusaders in a 50' Gibson Houseboat with 1300 hours each. We completed a 1500 mile trip from Memphis to New Orleans to Mobile to Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River. I would not hesitate to do it again. Along the way we had to replace a water pump, one push rod that got bent and one prop which also got bent. We ran at about 10 mph and averaged 1 mile per gallon gasoline consumption. Since that trip we have slowed to 7.5 to 8 mph and we are getting about 1.2 miles per gallon. Our boat has always been kept in fresh water except the leg from New Orleans to Mobile.

Some have shared on this site that ever-so-often you need to get the RPMs up to clean out the plugs. I agree. Running long distances at 1200 RPMs results in fouled plugs. Running at 2000 PRM for short periods seems to keep them clean.

If you are taking cruises away from maintenance, I suggest you develop a critical spare parts inventory. I didn't have a spare push rod so I had to limp on one engine for 100 miles before getting to civilization. Then I had to wait a day for the rod to be sent from Memphis to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Interestingly, all of my trouble happened in the first 200 miles of the trip which says to me I didn't get the boat ready for the trip in advance.

Chuck Hanson

Roger, the 1,300 hour question would greatly depend on how they were averagely used and maintained, as I'm sure you certainly know.
You mention salt water (FWC). If this is to say "salt water use, but w/ closed cooling systems", then this is good.


If you were to buy it, and if you were to need engine replacements, here is some food for thought.

I can just about say with absolute confidence, that most any factory built 5.7L SBC (including what many re-builders supply today) is going to come with the full dished pistons, of which offer ZERO quench effect.
(Q/E has to do with the piston mirroring the "wedge" area of the SBC cylinder head.)
This means that C/R's remain relatively low as to combat detonation for our Marine use.
This also means that ignition TA is generally held back some as well.

When we custom build a SBC Marine engine, and while incorporating the Q/E, we can effectively raise the C/R some, without expedientially increasing the risk of detonation.
Detonation is one of the Marine gasser's worst enemies.

Point being..... if you are going to replace these, consider custom building them using the Q/E combustion chamber design. This involves a change to the piston shape/style only, and the use of the correct quench style head gaskets.
An expert in the arena of pistons can help with the proper selection for any of the SBC cylinder head chamber sizes.
IMO...... the cost is minimal! The gain is noticeable.

Dennis Moore explains this wonderfully in his;

Hard and expensive to find, since it is now out of print......... but you can have your local library bring it in for you.


Disclaimer: The articles that I have linked to often discuss the Automotive SBC.
When it comes to detonation, many of these principles make a fair cross-over..... but we must consider the Marine loads -vs- automotive loads!
Other than in these few areas, we should NEVER build the SBC Marine using automotive specs, nor use that rediculous full dished piston underneath a wedge area!
GM should be ashamed of themselves!


OK..... off my horse now!

.

Thanks dog,

The Brendan 28 (actually about 30 feet) was a shortlived model from Shannon Yachts, one of the top premier semi-custom sailboat builders, with a full interior (including shower), and tankage of 240 gal. of fuel. The boat will be up for a comfortable ride, but I'm concerned about the 1300 hour engines.