There are few boats that have a more appropriate name than John Sharp’s 6.4m Pelin Tango runabout Pride’Enjoy, which has been giving him hours of boating pleasure since the early 1990s. So when it came time for a recent repower, he installed a new Volvo Penta V6 280hp petrol inboard with a DPS-D silent-shift sternleg.

Sharp built the plywood boat himself, and has enjoyed many adventures aboard her, from game fishing on the east and west coasts of the North Island catching marlin, yellowfin and southern bluefin tuna, to following the Whitbread fleets out of Auckland and participating in powerboat rallies. She’s had two previous Volvo petrol inboard engines since new, the most recent providing around 1900 hours of trouble-free use. After giving Pride’Enjoy a recent makeover, he decided to also update the running gear.

Volvo Penta Aquamatic Sterndrive V6/V8‐DPS packages, like that fitted to Pride’Enjoy, provide a totally integrated package, combining a six‐cylinder, 4.3‐litre, freshwater‐cooled petrol engine. The common-rail direct fuel injection system provides both improved fuel economy and lower emissions, and lightweight aluminium-block construction means plenty of power without extra weight. For example, the new 280hp V6 is 15% quicker than the previous-generation model and is around 56kg lighter.

Like Sharp’s previous engines, the DPS-D sternleg on Pride’Enjoy is also a duo-prop, with modern hydrodynamics to provide speed and performance without added weight. The engine also features Volvo’s silent shift transmission technology, which makes for quiet and smooth operation.

The team at Ovlov says the new generation of petrol inboards is lighter, more fuel-efficient and more environmentally-friendly than equivalent diesel engines, and offers excellent handling and impressive acceleration. Compared to diesels, petrol inboards have been uncommon in New Zealand, but as more second-hand US-built boats are imported, with ageing engines, repowering with a new Volvo Penta V6 or V8 is a good option.

The new generation of petrol inboards are very reliable and also very economical — something Sharp can attest to: “I have always considered my two previous sterndrives to be very economical to run, and particularly in more recent times they’ve outshone many friends with four-stroke outboards. With similar boat sizes and horsepower, the four-stroke outboards often don’t come close in terms of fuel used. I’m expecting these new V6s to be more efficient again.”

Ovlov Marine, New Zealand’s largest Volvo Penta dealer, has done half a dozen petrol-inboard repowers in the last year, including Pride’Enjoy and a Mustang 2800 sports cruiser, which was running a pair of 280hp V6s. These were replaced with new 200hp V6s, and the owner is reporting a 20% saving in fuel usage, as well as being quiet and offering great performance.