Let's talk fuel economy

[Andy in NY]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

B O A T, Break Out Another Thousand.

But it doesn't have to be that way! Regular maintenance can go a long way. Yes, when you get into repairs it does get expensive, but so doesnt a regular vehicle. I just dropped $1600 on a new rear end and 2 ball joints on my truck.


the bottom line is that boating is a hobby, which ANY hobby can be expensive. My boating addiction is waaaaaay cheaper than my friends racing addiction, he spends 5-6 thousand a year on race cars. Im going into my 3rd season of enjoyment on the water for a grand total of $1300 so far (500 for boat, 500 for motor, $100 for carb/fuel pump rebuilt and $200 in safety gear).

 

[Mark42]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

I'm sure many of you know this, but its worth repeating.

For outboard owners, remember that the max economy setting for cruising is only achieved by moving the control to the full throttle position then backing it off to the desired cruising speed/rpm. This is because most all outboards that have mechanical timing advance require the throttle to go to the full position (wot) to get the timing fully advanced, then when the throttle is pulled back, the timing is not retarded until much lower rpm is reached. So it stays at max advance, even though the carbs are closed down 20% or so.

So if you slowly advance the throttle until the desired cruising speed is reached, the timing is not fully advanced, and the motor is not running at its maximum efficientcy. Must go WOT then back off.

 

[BWR1953]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

What you are describing is not really fuel economy, its called not putting a lot of use on it. If you go out and just fish from it you still cant say it gets good fuel economy. If you buy and sell stuff to get extra cash as BWR1953 does, your still not getting good fuel economy. I do commend you for doing whats necessary to take your family to the lake and only spend what your budget allows. Most people would give it up or go over budget.
I agree with TD, boating is not cheap. If you go and run it all day a few days a week the gas will cost you a decent amount of money. If you keep up with all the service of the boat it will also cost you a good penny. I don't think boating is the most expensive hobby but you certainly have to have some extra coin to do it. The day I start worrying about fuel consumption is the day the boat is gone. I'm not being snotty I'm just saying what others have already said, boats don't drink gas, they chug it.

Let's get the semantics straight.

Fuel economy means using the least amount of fuel, which is different than fuel consumption. So a bassboat with a high-consumption outboard running WOT at 70+mph CAN burn less fuel than a boat with lower fuel consumption but which runs longer. And a sailboat that uses a kicker only for docking is the most economical fuel-user of all.

Best navigation practices can affect overall fuel economy as well. Going straight to a favorite spot by good navigation rather than making a number of course corrections by following landmarks, etc. can save fuel. And for those who like to drive in circles while dragging something/someone behind them can burn a lot more fuel, even with lower fuel consumption.

However, I'm beginning to see that there are a few on this board who have an elitist attitude towards boating. That somehow, only those who are "well off" should even bother trying to own/possess/use a boat. Andy, perhaps we should stay off their water? LOL!

Of course, folks who are truly "well off" aren't on this board. They're on their mega-yachts and spend more money just starting their engines for warmup than most on this board spend in an entire season. But those folks aren't as snooty. Hehehe.

I've seen some of the boats from this board. They're not mega-yachts. LOL!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

Once again we need to lighten up folks. When it is mentioned that if you need to worry about fuel consumption, you shouldn't buy a boat it is merely stating a fact that a boat is not an inexpensive toy to operate and the tone is tongue-in-cheek. People on limited budgets drive large cars and trucks and make it work as well so operating a boat (regardless of size) in a responsible manner can result fuel costs that remain within a given budget. I suspect that the in the current economy there are very large yachts that are seeing less use than previous. In fact many are being scuttled because the owners can't afford them.

 

[QC]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

A collection of snobs is one thing this board is NOT. How that is coming across here I'll never know . . .

I spend a lot of energy thinking about efficiency, but I also suggest to those that stress about economy that the difference between a V6 and V8 is probably less than $5 a weekend. It's not that $5 doesn't matter, but in the overall scheme of this boating deal it's not the break point. I think that is what is being poorly debated here.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

However, I'm beginning to see that there are a few on this board who have an elitist attitude towards boating. That somehow, only those who are "well off" should even bother trying to own/possess/use a boat. Andy, perhaps we should stay off their water? LOL!

Of course, folks who are truly "well off" aren't on this board. They're on their mega-yachts and spend more money just starting their engines for warmup than most on this board spend in an entire season. But those folks aren't as snooty. Hehehe.

I've seen some of the boats from this board. They're not mega-yachts. LOL!

Sorry, BWR, but you're way off base. Nothing in this thread implied what you're saying. Several members stated the obvious. Boating is not a cheap hobby. I haven't met a single eliitist on this board. The guy with the 30 year old 12-foot tinny gets the same hearty welcome and advice as the guy with the 30-foot, brand spankin' new Sea Ray. Lighten up, please.

 

[RickV1955]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

I agree with many of the posts here.......
boating in not cheap!

I have a 2005 19' Proline Center Console fishing boat with a 115 Merc outboard....It's fairly new to me so, to be honest, I don't know what the heck it gets for mpg/fuel ecconomy.

The bottom line of me is that you can't put a price tag on "happiness"......it amounts to: all "toys" are expensive - some more than others.....

I have a buddy in Tampa that has a 35 ft. cruiser with twin inboards (don't know the size of the engines)....I almost fainted when he told me that he only gets one mile per gallon....yikes!!!
I, for one, couldn't afford that!!

Hey, I spend plenty on my weekly golf trips as well.....so, I guess it comes down to priorities....
also, how and what you use the boat for (fishing, tubing, sking, cruising, whatever........)

Like someone said.....if it's important to you, you'll fit it into your budget.

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

Let's get the semantics straight.

Fuel economy means using the least amount of fuel, which is different than fuel consumption. So a bassboat with a high-consumption outboard running WOT at 70+mph CAN burn less fuel than a boat with lower fuel consumption but which runs longer. And a sailboat that uses a kicker only for docking is the most economical fuel-user of all.

Best navigation practices can affect overall fuel economy as well. Going straight to a favorite spot by good navigation rather than making a number of course corrections by following landmarks, etc. can save fuel. And for those who like to drive in circles while dragging something/someone behind them can burn a lot more fuel, even with lower fuel consumption.

However, I'm beginning to see that there are a few on this board who have an elitist attitude towards boating. That somehow, only those who are "well off" should even bother trying to own/possess/use a boat. Andy, perhaps we should stay off their water? LOL!

Of course, folks who are truly "well off" aren't on this board. They're on their mega-yachts and spend more money just starting their engines for warmup than most on this board spend in an entire season. But those folks aren't as snooty. Hehehe.

I've seen some of the boats from this board. They're not mega-yachts. LOL!

Like I said in my other post, I?m not being snotty and apologize if I come across that way. And BTW my boat is old and ugly.
Still, my point is that boating is not very cheap. I run my boat about 3 or 4 times a week. During the week I use it to fish on the weekends I pull tubes. The fishing part does not require too much gas because I?m mostly sitting in one spot. The tubing and all the high speed runs kill the gas. I?m not worried about it because I quit spending as much on other hobbies and have more cash for the boat. Since I run it so much the maintance and mishaps come at closer intervals (impeller doesn?t last very long in weeds and muddy conditions). The other hobbies were things I did alone, the boat my whole family enjoys. It?s a great trade off.
Again, I apologize if I offended anyone. I?m just sharing my experience as to how my boat loves to dig into my wallet.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

There are so many variables that at best you can guestimate what a boat is going to use over a typical weekend. My ol' 14' fiberglass with 50hp 2stroke merc could run two full weekends of fishing and cruising on $20 gas. My new boat below has the exact same duties, and so far has about 20-30 hours running time on the clock and has used about $60-70 fuel....now most of that is just cruising around....and that 20-30 hours is about 4-6 weekends of use fishing. So it's all relative....heck my friend has a 20' ski boat with a 200+hp 2 stroke....he easily burns over $100-150 in a single day skiing and tubing.


Ian

 

[oldsub86]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

No offense but most of the posts went way off topic.

The question I posed was essentially whether a similar sized aluminum boat with a 4 cylinder 140 HP I/O would burn less gas than a fiberglass boat with an 8 cylinder I/O.

I know boats use fuel and that they are expensive to run. I accept that.

I just thought there might be folks on here who had experience with both or folks who had boats who had tracked fuel use to some extent.

The general consensus seems to be that there will be little difference but I still wonder if that is a guess or if there is any real evidence to support the theory.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

No offense but most of the posts went way off topic.

The question I posed was essentially whether a similar sized aluminum boat with a 4 cylinder 140 HP I/O would burn less gas than a fiberglass boat with an 8 cylinder I/O.

I know boats use fuel and that they are expensive to run. I accept that.

I just thought there might be folks on here who had experience with both or folks who had boats who had tracked fuel use to some extent.

The general consensus seems to be that there will be little difference but I still wonder if that is a guess or if there is any real evidence to support the theory.

It's still impossible to say for sure. I would guess the aluminum boat would use less. But we would need to know which motor, which hull, year, and condition to even make an educated guess.

Ian

 

[kanga2311]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

Fuel economy is important if you have to stick to a budget. There is no point in buying a boat if you can't afford to use it. However, if you are concerned about fuel economy, you may be thinking about how use your boat while spending less money. We all have. That's why we bought the 5.0L versus the 496 MAG HO. But what I figured, if I bought a boat with a smaller engine, I may have issues getting on plane with my large, cheeseburger fed friends. It happened to my older brother. "Hey, Let's go tubing! I have a Whaler with 115 HP Evinrude Jet! I had it up to 47 MPH!" With friends on board, tube in back, we couldn't hit 10 MPH! I did not want to be under powered. I don't need excessive speed, just enough. And it is very expensive to gain extra HP and torque! It's way cheaper to upgrade your motor when you are purchasing your boat.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

No offense but most of the posts went way off topic.

The question I posed was essentially whether a similar sized aluminum boat with a 4 cylinder 140 HP I/O would burn less gas than a fiberglass boat with an 8 cylinder I/O.

I know boats use fuel and that they are expensive to run. I accept that.

I just thought there might be folks on here who had experience with both or folks who had boats who had tracked fuel use to some extent.

The general consensus seems to be that there will be little difference but I still wonder if that is a guess or if there is any real evidence to support the theory.

Yes it would...under the same conditions..same weight ect..reason :weight. Aluminum VS Fiberglass Huge difference in weight...A V-8 outweighs a 4 by a big margin..Now take the same scenario and add 500lbs...the 4 will use more fuel because it has to work harder..More RPM's needed to push load...but it is difficult to gauge fuel USE..between boats because there are too many variables, Outboards typically get better fuel consumption due to the weight difference between i/o vs outboard...aluminum weighs less than fiberglass, And the comment about a displacement trawler getting 20 mph...uuuhhhh..NO, first there diesel boats..second rpm is way lower "economy range" there's no comparison between the 2.

 

[BWR1953]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

...uuuhhhh..NO, first there diesel boats..second rpm is way lower "economy range" there's no comparison between the 2.

Did you mean to say "they are" instead of "there?"

And a diesel powered displacement hull trawler IS a boat and DOES relate to fuel economy. And the ones I was looking at in 1997 were getting 20mpg. I liked the Fairline brand. Very nice. Cruise speed was very low, about 7mph or so. I've read since then that many trawlers have changed hull design to include "fast planing" hulls that go 15 - 20mph. That kills the fuel economy pretty quickly.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

Did you mean to say "they are" instead of "there?"

And a diesel powered displacement hull trawler IS a boat and DOES relate to fuel economy. And the ones I was looking at in 1997 were getting 20mpg. I liked the Fairline brand. Very nice. Cruise speed was very low, about 7mph or so. I've read since then that many trawlers have changed hull design to include "fast planing" hulls that go 15 - 20mph. That kills the fuel economy pretty quickly.

And that relates to the OP question...How? at best its similarity is both float, other than that it has no bearing on the question asked, and if i want a spelling lesson..i'll ask.

 

[BWR1953]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

And that relates to the OP question...How? at best its similarity is both float, other than that it has no bearing on the question asked, and if i want a spelling lesson..i'll ask.

Reference my post #6 as to how it relates.

And you didn't need spelling help... it's a grammar error. But I'm happy to assist.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

So, how close to boats emulate cars and trucks? How much difference do size, weight and engine size make for fuel economy in a boat?

If I find a 18 to 22 foot aluminum boat with a 4 cylinder I/O, am I going to see much better fuel economy than I will with a similar sized boat made of glass with a V8 I/O?

I assume I will take some loss on performance but I can accept that. I don't plan to pull skiers and I don't need 50 mph speed.

Tell me what your experience would indicate in these circumstances.

Randy

Read the question...18 -22 foot Boat, either i/o V-8 OR 4cil. i/o..Then it goes on about using the craft for cruising ,not performance or skiing..so, i ask AGAIN..It relates How?

 

[BWR1953]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

Well marine4003, I already made my replies and my points. I'm not on here to argue with you, so I just added you to my ignore list.

Best of luck to you.

 

[mphy98]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

these are boats!!!!!!!!! water has way more resistance than air, so there will never be a boat that gets good nautical miles per gallon.(unless you have a nuclear powered air craft carrier. ) some will do better than others but for the most part if the engine is running money is going into that big hole in the water. so lets play nice and realize that boats are not cars and it is a hobby. use it and it cost you no matter what.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Let's talk fuel economy

I absolutely concur, my issue with ambiguous answers that go off track, is there not helping the original poster,Boating is a luxury not a necessity, so the folks who dont have alot of money to spare on there hobby need there questions answered correctly and with as much helpful information as possible, given the question at face value, the op was looking for a setup that will allow him to choose the correct boat for his needs without going broke running it. Simple , straightforward question, the reply's were great,explaining economy vs. consumption, good info.But there also was alot of fluff,that was my issue.The more experienced boaters assisting the less knowledgeable one's...seems thats the point of these forums, not recommendations that cloud the question and confuse the OP.