Mark42
Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2003
- Messages
- 9,334
Took a few long trips this summer and kept good record of the gallons used. Using marine charts, I was able to accurately determine the distance traveled and calculated the MPG.
It turns out the 1985 85hp Force on the Bayliner 1600 Capri w/hard top (deep V hull) averaged 5.5 miles per gallon. Of course, there were times of running WOT and just idling. But most of the time was with half to full load of people/cargo and cruising at 25 mph.
I can't tell exactly how many gallons per hour were burned. I didn't keep track of the time very closely, but my best educated guess is about 4 to 5 gallons an hour depending on speed and conditions. I think one trip out by myself in dead calm the boat just sipped the fuel, probably because of the light load and running higher speeds where the motor is in its "sweet spot". I bet it only burned 3 gallons an hour that trip.
I was surprised to see how load affected the fuel consumption. The trips where the boat was loaded to the max just sucked the fuel down. The boat felt heavy, took longer to get on plane, and wouldn't hit high speeds. It was just getting dragged down. Weight really affected the Bayliner more than it does the 14ft MFG with a planing hull. Of course, the MFG can't take as big a load, but when it was loaded, it doesn't feel as sluggish as the Bayliner does. All in all, the Bayliner with the old inefficient Force motor performed well
Not too bad for an old motor and a 24 year old stepped V hull design.
But then again, I did Sea Foam the motor this season!
It turns out the 1985 85hp Force on the Bayliner 1600 Capri w/hard top (deep V hull) averaged 5.5 miles per gallon. Of course, there were times of running WOT and just idling. But most of the time was with half to full load of people/cargo and cruising at 25 mph.
I can't tell exactly how many gallons per hour were burned. I didn't keep track of the time very closely, but my best educated guess is about 4 to 5 gallons an hour depending on speed and conditions. I think one trip out by myself in dead calm the boat just sipped the fuel, probably because of the light load and running higher speeds where the motor is in its "sweet spot". I bet it only burned 3 gallons an hour that trip.
I was surprised to see how load affected the fuel consumption. The trips where the boat was loaded to the max just sucked the fuel down. The boat felt heavy, took longer to get on plane, and wouldn't hit high speeds. It was just getting dragged down. Weight really affected the Bayliner more than it does the 14ft MFG with a planing hull. Of course, the MFG can't take as big a load, but when it was loaded, it doesn't feel as sluggish as the Bayliner does. All in all, the Bayliner with the old inefficient Force motor performed well
Not too bad for an old motor and a 24 year old stepped V hull design.
But then again, I did Sea Foam the motor this season!