Mercury Diesel TDI repower

David Chadwick says that he's got twice the range and half the fuel bills, after repowering his 3700 Sunrunner with Mercury Diesel’s TDI technology.

"It’s a fantastic outcome," David said. "I don’t know why more people don’t do it."

A late-comer to boating, 51-year-old David only bought his first boat six years ago. That 2800 Mustang lasted just 12 months before he moved on to the Sunrunner.

Based on the Gold Coast, David regularly took the family out for local cruises to nearby Morton Bay.

"But it wasn’t until 2010 when I went to Gladstone for work that I realised I couldn’t really go anywhere in the boat," he said.

With a 600 litre fuel tank his twin 5.0-litre petrol engines only had a range of 150 nautical miles.

"I started carrying an extra 100 litres in jerry cans to get out to the reef and back but that’s just too dangerous," he said.

That’s when he decided to upgrade to twin MerCruiser Diesel 225 TDI engines.

Mercury Diesel TDI engines, created with Volkswagen’s engineering, deliver high performance from a compact and lightweight platform. Not only is there plenty of power and acceleration, they’re also quiet and frugal.

"The new engines have easily halved my fuel costs," David said.

“The trip between the Gold Coast and Gladstone used to cost me $2,400 in fuel. But with the TDIs a good run only cost $900. Once I did it in terrible conditions in 4-5 metre swells and that only cost $1,200.

He used to have to stop three times to re-fuel, now it’s only once with his range extended from a mere 150 to 320 nautical miles.

The new engines are slightly lighter so the Sunrunner sits higher in the water, and its overall performance has improved despite dropping 70hp in total.