Greenline 39: General Discussion

ScottC · Aug 30, 2020

Now that we have a new, dedicated area for Greenline/Solar/Hybrid discussion, I thought I would start this thread with an eye toward aggregating Greenline 39 discussions that do not fit into any of the other thread categories. Hopefully, this will make it easier for those that might be doing research in the future. Not sure if this type of "organization" will work or not, but will try and see what happens.

ScottC · Aug 31, 2020

Deck Layout

The new 39 is a nice, fresh model from Greenline.

If you see a lot of locking in your future, however, there is something you need to consider with regard to the deck layout. See photos and discussion in this thread:

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/boat-general-cruising-great-loop-51727-4.html

DDevlinJr · Feb 18, 2021

I’m very interested in the Greenline 39. From all I’m seeing and reading, it seems like the right boat for me (port docking not withstanding). But what I’m hearing from people is that, here in California, the electric drive really isn’t strong enough once I’m out of the marina and out to sea. I’m really interested in hearing from owners if they’re able to use the Electric drive sufficiently.

ScottC · Feb 19, 2021

Hi DDEvlinJr,

I have had my GL33 Hybrid for going on 11 years now. I have given a GL39 a sea trial, but it was the diesel-only version, which was the only model the dealer had available at the time. Nevertheless, I have studied the GL39 Hybrid a lot, as I had considered trading up at one point. From the electric propulsion performance perspective, there is a reasonable similarity in specs between the two models. As such, you might find my comments and opinions below useful, as you weigh the pros & cons.

I can enjoy 5.5 knots SOG (max electric speed, when fully loaded) for about 90 minutes in calm seas, with little wind and no current. If I travel at 3.5-4.5 knots in similar conditions and it's a fairly sunny day, I'm good for 3-4 hours. On a completely sunny day, I can go 2.1 knots on solar alone (i.e. without drawing the battery down at all). I realize 2.1 knots is not very exciting for most boaters, but it's nice to know it can be done as a "get home" strategy, if the diesel engine should happen to fail.

The keys to enjoying the performance I described above are weather and sea conditions. I spend a lot of time cruising in reasonably protected waters, as well as rivers and canals. For this kind of cruising, electric is a joy. When I travel in more open waters, like the Baltic Sea, electric is not so practical, hence I use diesel. I have no exact measurements for using electric at sea under less-than-ideal conditions, but my experience over the years with this suggests that if you travel under electric power in a ~1 foot chop, with no current and wind coming at you at a speed <7 knots or so, you could expect a SOG of ~4.8 knots for around 90 minutes. Or a SOG of 3.0-4.0 knots for 2.2-3.2 hours before running out of juice. For ~2 seas, I would think the numbers would be ~3.5 knots for 90 minutes our 2.5-3.2 knots for 2-2.5 hours. Not worth the extreme slowness and bother, really. For 3 foot seas on a GL33, I wouldn't dare try it. This is a challenging and uncomfortable ride for a GL33, even when running on diesel. In the event you want to turn 180 degrees and take a following sea for a breather, you need to execute that 180 FAST. This couldn't be done using electric. Being larger, I'm sure a GL39 might be a bit friendlier in 3 foot seas, but I still would not plan on using electric.

One benefit that's rarely discussed in all these hybrid/electric pro & con threads is the fact that a hybrid setup enables the presence of 230/120v house current 24x7 without having to run a generator. I enjoy this benefit just about as much as the silence of cruising on electric. In fact, if the propulsion feature of hybrid were removed, I would still probably buy hybrid again just for the 230/120v house current feature.

I have close to zero awareness of west-coast US weather & sea conditions. From what I read in TF, however, it sounds like the PNW would not be very conducive to electric cruising. Perhaps there is one exception. Fog. Given calm seas, in thick fog, I am always thankful I have the option to move ahead using electric. It gives me a much better possibility to listen for what might be out there.

I see you're from LA...so maybe weather & sea conditions are perpetually better there??? I recommend you try to find a GL39 Hybrid for sea trial.
Good luck with your research!

ScottC · Feb 19, 2021

DDevlinJr said:
(port docking not withstanding).

This implies you read my opinion on this in the other thread. I want to clarify and, perhaps, emphasize that my port deck reservation has to do with taking a GL33 though deep locks -- where if you were in need of standing on the port side during locking, you would risk getting crushed between the roof of the cabin and the lock wall. If you don't see many locks in your future, I wouldn't consider the narrow port deck much of a deterrent -- even for docking.

Iggy · Feb 19, 2021

About 2 years ago my wife and I saw the Greenline 39 at the Newport boat show. Its cabin layout was great. We we really liked the boat!

The anchor on the side of the bow was different. But at the time the boat has two big draw backs. Its black water tank is only 20gals.

The big question was, the main battery only had a 5 year warranty. No one and I even contacted Greenline could give me a cost on replacement. So that tossed the thought of buying one right out the window.

Point to the dealer was, if the batteries only last 5 years and the cost is about 10 grand for a new set. And you cant tell me the cost! I can buy a lot of fuel in that time frame and most likely never use over 1 grand of fuel per year vs savings using the electric motor.

Even if the batteries were 5 grand I told him. We only talking about the saving on using the electric motor. I still need to run the main motor. Also the electric motor is always turning. Its in-between the diesel motor and transmission. How much wear is taking place? The up side, no genset.

ScottC · Feb 19, 2021

Hi Iggy,

I am quite certain the GL39 uses the same size/capacity battery (i.e. the very same battery) as the GL33 these days. I do not know, however, if the manufacturer and exact model of the battery is the same as what I have in my GL33. Nevertheless, I think you might find my experience below useful...

I had to replace my Kokam 48v 240 AH LiPo battery in early 2019. It was the original from the factory. So, I got about 9 years out of it. Claimed life for this battery, from Greenline, was about 10 years if cared for properly. I always kept my shore power plugged in over the years and the 48v battery was on float (~54 volts). This was for my convenience. If I had gone to the effort of keeping the battery in the 46-50 volt range when the boat was not in use, I probably could have extended my battery life by another year. In any event, if the manufacturer is giving a 5 year warranty now, I think that's GOOD. The warranties were much less in the earlier days.

As to your other question, the replacement cost of my battery, including new case, built in electronics, bms (battery management system - which comes affixed to the top of the battery case), cables and shipping from Slovenia to Sweden came to ~€17,250. I could have done it for about €5000 less by shipping the old battery back to have it rebuilt and reusing the old case and old electronics. I didn't do this, as I was on a pretty tight schedule to depart on a 6 month trip to the Mediterranean one month after the completion of the new battery installation. I did not want to risk surprises from re-using the old electronic components, as the troubleshooting and back and forth would have taken time that I did not have.

I am counting on battery technology moving ahead at warp speed during the coming 10 years and therefore less of a hit on my wallet the next time around ;-)

You can see from these numbers that "saving money on fuel" would not be a very strong argument for going hybrid. There are a lot of other reasons to do it, however. I won't go into it here, but if you search out and read some of my posts, you will understand why I, personally, like hybrid.

ScottC · Feb 19, 2021

Iggy said:
Its black water tank is only 20gals.

I wouldn't let this item put you off buying a GL39. It's easily corrected.

The factory-standard blackwater tank on my GL33 is 63L (~17 Gal). This wasn't enough for the type of cruising we wanted to do. So, I eventually had a custom-built ~18 Gal. tank added to the system. Even on the GL33, there's a fair amount of space in the bilge where one can fit such things as this. I could have gone even larger, but I wanted to save enough space for all the other junque I customarily cruise with.

Iggy · Feb 19, 2021

ScottC said:
Hi Iggy,

I am quite certain the GL39 uses the same size/capacity battery (i.e. the very same battery) as the GL33 these days. I do not know, however, if the manufacturer and exact model of the battery is the same as what I have in my GL33. Nevertheless, I think you might find my experience below useful...

I had to replace my Kokam 48v 240 AH LiPo battery in early 2019. It was the original from the factory. So, I got about 9 years out of it. Claimed life for this battery, from Greenline, was about 10 years if cared for properly. I always kept my shore power plugged in over the years and the 48v battery was on float (~54 volts). This was for my convenience. If I had gone to the effort of keeping the battery in the 46-50 volt range when the boat was not in use, I probably could have extended my battery life by another year. In any event, if the manufacturer is giving a 5 year warranty now, I think that's GOOD. The warranties were much less in the earlier days.

As to your other question, the replacement cost of my battery, including new case, built in electronics, bms (battery management system - which comes affixed to the top of the battery case), cables and shipping from Slovenia to Sweden came to ~€17,250. I could have done it for about €5000 less by shipping the old battery back to have it rebuilt and reusing the old case and old electronics. I didn't do this, as I was on a pretty tight schedule to depart on a 6 month trip to the Mediterranean one month after the completion of the new battery installation. I did not want to risk surprises from re-using the old electronic components, as the troubleshooting and back and forth would have taken time that I did not have.

I am counting on battery technology moving ahead at warp speed during the coming 10 years and therefore less of a hit on my wallet the next time around ;-)

You can see from these numbers that "saving money on fuel" would not be a very strong argument for going hybrid. There are a lot of other reasons to do it, however. I won't go into it here, but if you search out and read some of my posts, you will understand why I, personally, like hybrid.

The other factor in this is that your in Europe. So fuel is twice the price if not more. At 17,000 euro's is about $20,000 U.S. dollars. Which equals to 6,500 gals of fuel here in the U.S. So in 9 years thats 722 gals of fuel. Plus you must add the fuel that was used to run the main engine in that time frame.

The up side to the Greenline and you have not mentioned. No genset to be maintained and the sales said (and we all know salesmen) that the solar system could maintain the battery's 24/7 depending on the weather. A GOOD thing!

Just to point out, I am not trying to put the boat down! If the batteries came with a 10 warranty chances are I would have bought it. But the numbers are not really there if your a U.S. boater.

DDevlinJr · Feb 20, 2021

Thank you for the reply

I really appreciate your reply. It’s so helpful to speak with people who have the boat and to get their thoughts and experience

ScottC said:
Hi DDEvlinJr,

I have had my GL33 Hybrid for going on 11 years now. I have given a GL39 a sea trial, but it was the diesel-only version, which was the only model the dealer had available at the time. Nevertheless, I have studied the GL39 Hybrid a lot, as I had considered trading up at one point. From the electric propulsion performance perspective, there is a reasonable similarity in specs between the two models. As such, you might find my comments and opinions below useful, as you weigh the pros & cons.

I can enjoy 5.5 knots SOG (max electric speed, when fully loaded) for about 90 minutes in calm seas, with little wind and no current. If I travel at 3.5-4.5 knots in similar conditions and it's a fairly sunny day, I'm good for 3-4 hours. On a completely sunny day, I can go 2.1 knots on solar alone (i.e. without drawing the battery down at all). I realize 2.1 knots is not very exciting for most boaters, but it's nice to know it can be done as a "get home" strategy, if the diesel engine should happen to fail.

The keys to enjoying the performance I described above are weather and sea conditions. I spend a lot of time cruising in reasonably protected waters, as well as rivers and canals. For this kind of cruising, electric is a joy. When I travel in more open waters, like the Baltic Sea, electric is not so practical, hence I use diesel. I have no exact measurements for using electric at sea under less-than-ideal conditions, but my experience over the years with this suggests that if you travel under electric power in a ~1 foot chop, with no current and wind coming at you at a speed <7 knots or so, you could expect a SOG of ~4.8 knots for around 90 minutes. Or a SOG of 3.0-4.0 knots for 2.2-3.2 hours before running out of juice. For ~2 seas, I would think the numbers would be ~3.5 knots for 90 minutes our 2.5-3.2 knots for 2-2.5 hours. Not worth the extreme slowness and bother, really. For 3 foot seas on a GL33, I wouldn't dare try it. This is a challenging and uncomfortable ride for a GL33, even when running on diesel. In the event you want to turn 180 degrees and take a following sea for a breather, you need to execute that 180 FAST. This couldn't be done using electric. Being larger, I'm sure a GL39 might be a bit friendlier in 3 foot seas, but I still would not plan on using electric.

One benefit that's rarely discussed in all these hybrid/electric pro & con threads is the fact that a hybrid setup enables the presence of 230/120v house current 24x7 without having to run a generator. I enjoy this benefit just about as much as the silence of cruising on electric. In fact, if the propulsion feature of hybrid were removed, I would still probably buy hybrid again just for the 230/120v house current feature.

I have close to zero awareness of west-coast US weather & sea conditions. From what I read in TF, however, it sounds like the PNW would not be very conducive to electric cruising. Perhaps there is one exception. Fog. Given calm seas, in thick fog, I am always thankful I have the option to move ahead using electric. It gives me a much better possibility to listen for what might be out there.

I see you're from LA...so maybe weather & sea conditions are perpetually better there??? I recommend you try to find a GL39 Hybrid for sea trial.
Good luck with your research!

PeterB40 · Mar 5, 2021

DDevlinJr said:
I’m very interested in the Greenline 39. From all I’m seeing and reading, it seems like the right boat for me (port docking not withstanding). But what I’m hearing from people is that, here in California, the electric drive really isn’t strong enough once I’m out of the marina and out to sea. I’m really interested in hearing from owners if they’re able to use the Electric drive sufficiently.

After 55years of sailing and voyaging, we bought a '14 GL 33 Hybrid in great condition, fully optioned, and little used on San Fran Bay, and brought her down to Monterey Bay - not the best of places by far for sea state.

As far as the electric motor, it's usable on the open bay with the usual 4-6' NW swell, paticularly whale watching after dieseling out to find them, and actually hearing them blow, sometimes with musical high-pitched sounds. And getting the last few miles back to Monterey Hbr. is almost always downwind. But in the summer, there's a wretched sea breeze that pipes up to 15-20kn w/ 2-3' short wind waves - much like SF Bay, but bigger seas that are often 6-9' when the Pacific high is near. So. Cal. much better, but the Santa Barbara channel can really kick up too, and we were down there Oct. '19 coming back from Avalon when we had a miserable several hours punching into short, steep breaking waves at 6-7kn, throwing spray bow to stern. The boat handled it much better than the passengers, including two teenage grandkids!
We're planning to head back down in April- possibly as far as Oceanside where I have relatives. Currently the elect. motor is out and in process of diagnosis with ScottC's help, I hope, in another thread.
A couple of pics - Avalon on a mooring; and the Admiral in the cockpit in Santa Barbara at the "pink moment" with moonrise;

DDevlinJr · Mar 14, 2021

PeterB40 said:
After 55years of sailing and voyaging, we bought a '14 GL 33 Hybrid in great condition, fully optioned, and little used on San Fran Bay, and brought her down to Monterey Bay - not the best of places by far for sea state.

As far as the electric motor, it's usable on the open bay with the usual 4-6' NW swell, paticularly whale watching after dieseling out to find them, and actually hearing them blow, sometimes with musical high-pitched sounds. And getting the last few miles back to Monterey Hbr. is almost always downwind. But in the summer, there's a wretched sea breeze that pipes up to 15-20kn w/ 2-3' short wind waves - much like SF Bay, but bigger seas that are often 6-9' when the Pacific high is near. So. Cal. much better, but the Santa Barbara channel can really kick up too, and we were down there Oct. '19 coming back from Avalon when we had a miserable several hours punching into short, steep breaking waves at 6-7kn, throwing spray bow to stern. The boat handled it much better than the passengers, including two teenage grandkids!
We're planning to head back down in April- possibly as far as Oceanside where I have relatives. Currently the elect. motor is out and in process of diagnosis with ScottC's help, I hope, in another thread.
A couple of pics - Avalon on a mooring; and the Admiral in the cockpit in Santa Barbara at the "pink moment" with moonrise;

Beautiful boat!! Thanks for the reply!

PeterB40 · Mar 14, 2021

DDevlinJr said:
Beautiful boat!! Thanks for the reply!

Thank you!

Here's another "pink moment with moon-rise" view. The wide full-length "knuckle" hull extensions above the WL allow a fine, sailboat-like entry. And an aft factory view of their "super-displacement" hull that maximizes efficiency up to about 14kn.

Sticky · Sep 4, 2021

Gentlemen, the Greenline 39 hybrid caught my eye.

For a 39 foot boat shouldn’t the fuel tank be bigger? I want to cruise with the family from orange county to cabo if possible.

Is it possible to add a larger or supplementary fuel tank? Also, what about expanding the battery capacity?

I love the boat But I just want some longer range flexibility for Baja cruising.

DDevlinJr · Sep 4, 2021

Battery….

I don’t know if you can get a larger fuel tank but I bought my GL 40 from Bayport Yachts in Newport Beach and they added an additional battery for me. And it makes a pretty big difference. I’m often able to run for a few hours on electric only and still have 60% plus charge.

Soulseer · Nov 18, 2021

When and How many

Curious, if anyone knows. When was the 39 introduced to the US market and roughly how many 39s (or for that matter 33s) have been sold in States?

My wife and I are looking pretty hard at either the 33 or 39 for our next boat purchase, but are still a few years out. Still it's nice to know what the numbers are like, given it's an imported boat from Europe.

Much thanks!

PeterB40 · Nov 18, 2021

Soulseer said:
Curious, if anyone knows. When was the 39 introduced to the US market and roughly how many 39s (or for that matter 33s) have been sold in States?

My wife and I are looking pretty hard at either the 33 or 39 for our next boat purchase, but are still a few years out. Still it's nice to know what the numbers are like, given it's an imported boat from Europe.

Much thanks!

The West coast has dealers in Seattle and LA who've sold an unknown to me # of boats. My 33 is a '14 model and is hull #314, bought used in SF in '19. Many sold in the Euro market for charter and otherwise. If you do get a used 33 hybrid, be sure it's '15 or later with the Volvo diesel, as the earlier ones w/ VW diesels had eventual failure of the electro-hydraulic clutch that prevented motoring under electric power - mine about a year ago. The 5kW generator function was not affected.

ScottC · Jan 7, 2022

An interesting article on a company in Southern Norway that recently added Greenline 39's to their rental fleet for the beautiful Telemark Canal. I'm not familiar with the specs for GL39's in electric-only configuration, but the claim of 57nm at 4.9kts makes me think this is, perhaps, a configuration well beyond SVP Yachts' standard offering. It's interesting to know what can be done!

The article is in Norwegian, but you can copy & paste the text into Google Translate to make it readable in English. The pictures alone make the article worth a look.

https://b-v.no/bateier/fa-mer-ut-av-batlivet/en-batreise-i-hjertet-av-norge/

https://translate.google.com/?sl=no&tl=en&op=translate

We did the Telemark canal in 2014 with our GL33 and our boat was a novelty/curiosity at the time. Nobody had seen anything like it. Many years ago, the Norwegian government became a bit of a pioneer in pushing national adoption of electric cars. Maybe this is now beginning to happen with boats??

PeterB40 · Jan 7, 2022

"Båten er utstyrt med en 50 kW-motor fra Torqeedo og en batteripakke på 80 kW/t. Som kjent kreves litt disiplin for å få en god rekkevidde med elbåt, da små justeringer i hastighet eller kanskje bare omdreininger gir stort utslag på rekkevidden. I 4,9 knop oppgir Canal Boats en rekkevidde på 57,6 nm, i 5,6 knop 43,9 nm og 7,5 knop 20 nm."

The battery capacity is huge @ 80 kWh, but wouldn't work going out of Monterey Bay N or S - nearest marina S is Santa Barbara @ 220 nm; and N is Half Moon Bay about 60 nm against prevailing wind/swell. I suppose a hefty gen. unit of ~20kW or more might make it practical.

MadronaMoon · Jul 11, 2023

consider a forward bilge

Hello,

I bought a 2020 39' Hybrid last August and unfortunately had the fresh water hose to the head rupture in March and dump a full tank of fresh water into the forward half of the boat. The water did not drain to the single rear bilge located just in front of the Volvo engine so the LiPo battery cases partially filled with water. The extent of the electrical damage is still unknown but the batteries aren't charging. I figured I'd pass along my tale of woe as a potentially helpful tip to consider installing a forward bilge in addition to the standard bilge. Also, not sure why the fresh water hose (marine rated clear tubing with wire coil imbedded) cracked but something to inspect closely in the other places it is used.

Nick

ScottC · Jul 11, 2023

MadronaMoon said:
Hello,

I bought a 2020 39' Hybrid last August and unfortunately had the fresh water hose to the head rupture in March and dump a full tank of fresh water into the forward half of the boat. The water did not drain to the single rear bilge located just in front of the Volvo engine so the LiPo battery cases partially filled with water. The extent of the electrical damage is still unknown but the batteries aren't charging. I figured I'd pass along my tale of woe as a potentially helpful tip to consider installing a forward bilge in addition to the standard bilge. Also, not sure why the fresh water hose (marine rated clear tubing with wire coil imbedded) cracked but something to inspect closely in the other places it is used.

Nick

So sorry to hear of this unfortunate story, MadronaMoon. It's great that you posted it here so others can be warned.

I will comment about GL33's, in case any potential owners of this model might be concerned. The GL33 has a single bilge pump at the lowest point in the bilge, which is approximately near the bottom step in the companionway. I have had it on my to-do list for years to add a second bilge pump just in front of the engine, which is slightly above the lowest point. This would be for added capacity in case of disaster. Nevertheless, the LiPo battery, service battery, chargers, etc on the GL33's are mounted high enough that what you describe could never occur (again, I'm only talking about GL33's here). I can't comment about any other models, but this is certainly something to think about! A few years ago, I actually had the entire contents of my fresh water tank empty into the bilge. A guest had not fully shut off the deck shower aft and had put it back into it's recessed holder. No one had any clue that it was still on, as we were running on diesel at the time and could not hear the fresh water pump. Finally, at the helm, I noted with some alarm that the fresh water gauge was almost empty. I say "some alarm" because I had just filled the tanks a couple of hours before. So, after investigation, I could see that the water had simply run from the deck shower fitting in the extreme aft end of the boat, through the bottom of the cockpit, into the bilge and was pumped out by the bilge pump. It all worked out just fine - but it also made me put on my to-do list to install some type of audible alarm for when the bilge pump comes on (probably my planned second bilge pump only), as I did not notice the red light on the bilge pump switch at the helm come on in the bright sun.

ScottC · Jul 11, 2023

MadronaMoon said:
Hello,

I bought a 2020 39' Hybrid last August and unfortunately had the fresh water hose to the head rupture in March and dump a full tank of fresh water into the forward half of the boat. The water did not drain to the single rear bilge located just in front of the Volvo engine so the LiPo battery cases partially filled with water. The extent of the electrical damage is still unknown but the batteries aren't charging. I figured I'd pass along my tale of woe as a potentially helpful tip to consider installing a forward bilge in addition to the standard bilge. Also, not sure why the fresh water hose (marine rated clear tubing with wire coil imbedded) cracked but something to inspect closely in the other places it is used.

Nick

One other thought that I failed to mention in my previous post...
While a second bilge pump is always a good idea, it seems that the water in the forward part of the boat SHOULD HAVE drained to where the single bilge pump is located. Why didn't it?! It's difficult to believe a passage for this water does not exist. I think it would be worth carefully checking to see if such a passage exists and if it is blocked with some debris.

Northwest · Aug 15, 2023

A few questions for the 39' owners. We are family of 4 with kids 9 and 10. We are wondering if we could just squeeze into a 39 and if the kids don't want to sleep together, we can use the salon table. We would like to be able to go all over Puget Sound including up as far as Desolation Sound, and certainly all over the islands.

Two things give me pause about the '39.

1. Dinghy. Other boats we are looking at can manage a 3.5M dinghy just fine on davits, and this would be easily big enough for our family and a couple of small dogs. What kind of dinghy solutions have you all used? Is there a reasonable davit solution, or a great inflatable option that stows somewhere handy?

2. Holding tank capacity. 20g doesn't feel like a lot for a family of four. Has anyone upgraded theirs?

Thanks for your advice,
-Tim

jcwerder1 · Aug 31, 2023

Maintenance costs for a Greenline Hybrid for the first couple of years

Good evening, my wife and I are planning on selling our home and buying a Greenline Hybrid. We were wondering approximate costs for owning a Greenline 40. I have heard you should expect to spend 10% of the boats value each year. Does this hold true for 700K boat as well? How much will insurance be as well as a rough monthly cost on a live-aboard? Thanks for any help you can offer.

ScottC · Sep 2, 2023

jcwerder1 said:
Good evening, my wife and I are planning on selling our home and buying a Greenline Hybrid. We were wondering approximate costs for owning a Greenline 40. I have heard you should expect to spend 10% of the boats value each year. Does this hold true for 700K boat as well? How much will insurance be as well as a rough monthly cost on a live-aboard? Thanks for any help you can offer.

Firstly, I hope you are selling your home for a good reason and not just so you can manage to afford a GL40 to live aboard. As opposed to your home, a boat is a depreciating asset.

If you search around the forum, you will find that coming up with a single, handy, one-size-fits-all number like this is about like discussing religion. Agreement cannot be achieved.

However, I will share that I used 10% when planning the total cost of ownership prior to purchasing my GL33 back in 2011. I found it to be reasonably near the ballpark if:
1) I did not include all the add-on's, upgrades and enhancements I wanted to do in the 10% number.

2) I did not include some of the rather expensive work I had to do early in the game as the result of the boat being an early hull number in a still fairly new technology. For example, I had to have my electric motor rebuilt in year 2 (surprise). Hybrid clutch replacement 2x in the first 6 years. There were lots of other things.

3) Not financed (i.e. no interest costs in the 10%)

You don't say which year GL40 you're considering. New? Used? If it's a used, earlier model, I would simply assume you'll need need to invest 10-15% at purchase to bring it up to modern, safe standards - unless the seller can show you documentation that this has already been done. For example, hybrid slave clutch replacement -- both engines. Hybrid battery replacement -- both. Electric motors rebuilt (if prior to ~2015).

The 10% "rule-of-thumb" we often read about has been around (and debated) for years. It assumes diesel or gasoline engines. Going hybrid takes it to an entirely new level of complication. You have two complicated systems that need to communicate and play nicely together. Doesn't always happen. Few yards have technicians that can deal with the total picture well. Greenline is poorly represented in the US, from a service standpoint, from my understanding. If it were my purchase, I'd assume +15% additional investment at purchase and 15% a year thereafter. Again, this simplification will likely enrage some TF members, but 10% got me close for my GL33 after all the "surprise/hybrid-related work" was done.

I can't comment on the insurance aspect. Insurance is still priced at sane levels here in Sweden, as opposed to what I read about on TF for insurance in the US.

Iggy · Sep 2, 2023

Hi Scott,

What is the cost of fuel where you are? Here in Boston it's about $3.85 gallon. At 8 to 9 knots I burn about 4.5 to 5 gph. Which is a little high.

For European boaters, maybe the Greenline is worth it! It is a nice boat after all. But hearing the work you had to do in the first few years makes me happy I did not buy one. Of course, sad for you!

Maybe in a few more years as the technology advances it I just might get one.

ScottC · Sep 2, 2023

Iggy said:
Hi Scott,

What is the cost of fuel where you are? Here in Boston it's about $3.85 gallon. At 8 to 9 knots I burn about 4.5 to 5 gph. Which is a little high.

For European boaters, maybe the Greenline is worth it! It is a nice boat after all. But hearing the work you had to do in the first few years makes me happy I did not buy one. Of course, sad for you!

Maybe in a few more years as the technology advances it I just might get one.

Fuel in Italy and Greece has been about $8-$9 USD / US Gallon, depending on my luck and where I fill up.
On average, my 165 HP turbo diesel burns 1.5 US Gallons per hour at my typical cruising speed of 7 knots.

jcwerder1 · Sep 5, 2023

Thank you for your information and advice. Yes our plan is to sell the house to buy a new or fairly new Greenline 39,40 or 45 Hybrid. The retirement plan is to buy the boat without a loan, then cruise from Ft. Lauderdale up the intracoastal and complete the great loop. Then once he have the experience, head over to the Bahamas and then to the Virgin Islands. Once we complete this it will be about time to buy a smaller house and go from there.
We were just trying to get a realistic idea of what to kind of expect. I don’t want to have a nice boat but too broke to go anywhere. Pointing out that Greenline doesn’t have many mechanics is a good point.
How was Greenline in covering the warranty on your boat?
My thinking was to buy a boat about two years old that may have owner upgrades that has some depreciation.
Thank you again for your advice. It is greatly appreciated

Iggy · Sep 6, 2023

Yanmar makes a great engine, and its a very common engine. You will have no problems having that serviced! But if you have a problem with the eclectic motor will you be able to have that serviced?

How many Greenline dealers are there where you want to go? There are only 9 dealers in the U.S.

Not trying to discourage you! But that electric motor is part of the drive train.

PeterB40 · Sep 6, 2023

Iggy said:
Yanmar makes a great engine, and its a very common engine. You will have no problems having that serviced! But if you have a problem with the eclectic motor will you be able to have that serviced?

How many Greenline dealers are there where you want to go? There are only 9 dealers in the U.S.

Not trying to discourage you! But that electric motor is part of the drive train.

Unless I'm very mistaken, Greenline still uses the Volvo 2.5L 5-cyl. turbodiesels, outputting up to 240HP. These since '15, when they replaced the VW 5-cyl 2.5L TDi of 165HP - basically the same block, but the Volvo has 4 valves/cyl rather than the "normal" 2, and a more powerful turbo. Also, the reliability of the Volvo inline hybrid implementation is much improved with a different clutch design.

Pete

Greenline 39: General Discussion

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