How much fuel; Blue Spring to Silver Glenn Springs on St. Johns River

[jspringator]

Saturn SD365 and almost new 15 hp Yamaha outboard. 2 adults and 1 child. I know I can take on fuel at Astor. I don't have any idea as to the distance or fuel consumption. Anyone done this trip?

 

[cribber]

Re: How much fuel; Blue Spring to Silver Glenn Springs on St. Johns River

It's about 30 minutes from Astor to Silver Glen at cruise speed and manatees permitting. If you see a pod you'll get side tracked at Blue Springs.

 

[jspringator]

Re: How much fuel; Blue Spring to Silver Glenn Springs on St. Johns River

Found a chart that shows it is 36 miles from Blue Springs to Northern Lake George, and 20 miles from Astor to Blue Springs. How much fuel do you think it will take to run 20 miles? I'm used to my Bayliner with a 55 gallon tank. I don't want to run out of gas on the St. Johns.

http://www.monroeharbour.com/st.johns_river.htm

 

[likalar]

Re: How much fuel; Blue Spring to Silver Glenn Springs on St. Johns River

Tough question! You'll have to figure out your fuel usage and speed at calm-water cruise, with your boat, for your given load ( some real-world testing will be in order). After you figure that out, double or even triple the amount of fuel on board, just in case of rough water and bad conditions. On these forums, you may get help with the distance, but fuel usage per mile has a gazillion variables (wind, waves, load, power, etc.) Just be realistic, and err on the side of caution. Best of luck!

Larry

 

[jondavies]

Re: How much fuel; Blue Spring to Silver Glenn Springs on St. Johns River

Found a chart that shows it is 36 miles from Blue Springs to Northern Lake George, and 20 miles from Astor to Blue Springs. How much fuel do you think it will take to run 20 miles? I'm used to my Bayliner with a 55 gallon tank. I don't want to run out of gas on the St. Johns.

http://www.monroeharbour.com/st.johns_river.htm

Here's a link to a consumption chart for Tohatsu outboards. I can't imagine that Yamahas would be too different.

http://www.tohatsu.com/tech_info/fuel_consumpt.html

These figures are for 5500 rpm so it will vary depending on how fast you run the boat. There's no substitute for a real-world test.

As Larry said, whatever amount of gas you figure you'll need, carry double that much (at least) to account for unexpected contingencies.

 

[robert graham]

Re: How much fuel; Blue Spring to Silver Glenn Springs on St. Johns River

That's about 25 miles, darn nice ride, but if the wind's whipping up on lake George, maybe better not to venture out there, especially with the kid aboard. If you leave Blue Springs early in the morning you can get to Lake George/Silver Glen Springs in about 2 hours depending on traffic, wind, No Wake Zones, Manatee Zones...that way you could swim and picnic at the spring and get back off Lake George before afternoon wind picks up. I don't know about fuel consumption for your rig, but a 6 gallon tank might suffice, but if it was me, I'd top off that tank at Astor. Silver Glen is a zoo on the weekends, much less crowded during the week! Look out for the maniacs in 1000HP Cigarette Boats on Lake George! Good Luck!

 

[robert graham]

Re: How much fuel; Blue Spring to Silver Glenn Springs on St. Johns River

One other item, Check: Yamaha Outboard Performance Bulletins, plug in your boat/motor rig and get a chart showing MPH, MPG, GPH at various speeds/RPM's....looks like your 15HP might go the entire 50 Mile round trip on a 6 gallon tank, but I'd still top off the tank in Astor! Just hate that "maybe not enough gas" feeling!