Cabrio 310 in Florida ??s

[alparmer]

In the process of buying a 2007 Cabrio 310 and have some questions that maybe this forum could help answer.

I would like to know travel distance on a full 160g tank. No WOT, mostly where the engines are most efficient, guessing around 3k rpm. I need to relocate the boat from the south eastern side to the central western side of Fl and would like to plot stops through the Okeechobee waterway.

Really like the boat and layout, but there are some things I need to upgrade or add. It currently has a Garmin 178c sounder and I'm not sure if it's good enough or needs an upgrade. We will be using it to travel some distance and not just around the coast. With that being said, is there a great benefit in upgrading the GPS with something that has Sirius weather, or maybe even a radar?

We've had several boats but this is the first sea worthy vessel. I'm putting together a list of must have items for long trips. On the top of the list are; serpentine belt, alternator, generator impeller, portable jump starter, oil, fuel filters.....of course a complete set of tools, a temp gauge, and multi-meter.

Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Scott Danforth]

welcome aboard.

too many variables (hull condition, wind direction, load, current, etc.) to estimate the most fuel efficient point. then there is the trade-off. traveling at 11 knots for hours or throttling up to 33 knots for 1/3 the time

spark ignited motors burn about 0.4# - .45# of fuel per HP per hour.
Compression ignited motors burn about 0.33# - .35# of fuel per HP per hour

so depending on your power demand, you can estimate your burn rate and determine how far you can get with 160 gallons. assuming you have the 5.0 MPI's, at full output, each motor is consuming about 18 gallons per hour if they are in peak condition, more if your struggling to get out of the hole

as far as most efficient, without monitoring a fuel flow meter, your guessing as the load changes constantly (wind, current, etc)

at best, look at boattest.com, look up to see if they tested a boat. they test with full fuel and 2 people and you can get that one good data point.

as far as radar, that is up to you. I know people that navigated the globe using a sat phone with an app to see satellite radar vs on-board radar.

as far as maintenance, your ignoring the drive maintenance, raw water impeller maintenance, etc. if the boat hasnt had the drives pulled for inspection or maintenance in the last few years, plan on alignment, gimbal bearings, bellows, etc. in addition to the raw water pumps. with any new to you boat, this should be the first thing you do, or have done.

get towing insurance, either Sea Tow, or Boat US.