Gas for the day...

[180shabah]

Re: Gas for the day...

DANG!!! Shoulda read down farther, I was diggin through boattest, but somebody already posted a chart.

 

[642mx]

Re: Gas for the day...

Figure about 4 mpg crusing and 1.5-2 mph doing water sports.

A word of wisdom, always start with a full tank! You never know what they day will bring on the water.

 

[Philster]

Re: Gas for the day...

Ain't boating fun!?

 

[ECVCHAMP]

Re: Gas for the day...

On a normal day out (9:00am to 6:00pm) Wakeboarding, tubin, hangin out at the beachand a little bit of cruzin around the lake I use about 20-25 gal. all day.

 

[bhammer]

Re: Gas for the day...

Save your fill up receipts. Most states, if not all, allow you to recover the state highway tax you pay for the boat gas.

 

[LeisureLady]

Re: Gas for the day...

Save your fill up receipts. Most states, if not all, allow you to recover the state highway tax you pay for the boat gas.

Is that true if you fill up on the water too?

 

[JoLin]

Re: Gas for the day...

Save your fill up receipts. Most states, if not all, allow you to recover the state highway tax you pay for the boat gas.

Not even most. Some. Mine isn't one of them

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Gas for the day...

Save your fill up receipts. Most states, if not all, allow you to recover the state highway tax you pay for the boat gas.

long discussion on here not long ago, but not many allow it. federal government doesn't technically allow it for recreational boaters, but doesn't mean you can't get it by as a deduction. (just don't get audited!)

 

[redone4x4]

Re: Gas for the day...

A word of wisdom, always start with a full tank! You never know what they day will bring on the water.

this is what i do. No matter what we did that day, on the way home we stop and top the tank off. That way i know next trip we are starting off full again. I burn about 8-15 gallons per day, depending on what we do. Alot of the time the boat is anchored and we are just swimming and hanging on the beach.

If you top off your tank that way a few times, you'll have a good idea after a while of what your average consumption is. just my opinion. but plan on fillin her up the first time! $$$

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Gas for the day...

Big boats and big engines are fun, but expensive. I've finally settled on my little 12' boat with a 6hp outboard. I use about 12 gallons of fuel for the whole season, and I'm on the water at least twice a week.

I can't pull a tube or a skier, and I can only carry one other person with me, but it's enough. I'm on the water, and that makes me happy.

 

[jlgab345]

Re: Gas for the day...

Thanks for the feedback so far!

When we bought the boat we thought the fuel gauge wasn't working because the tach wasn't. $120 later...turns out it wasn't We actually filled it up on the way home from picking it up.

I guess we'll see what she does this weekend just tooling around. Thanks for the advice so far!

 

[bigskiohio]

Re: Gas for the day...

whatever the rule is 1/3 out -1/3 back 1/3 reserve

 

[Philster]

Re: Gas for the day...

Darn, that means I can go about 5 miles from port before I return!

( Actually, I can go quite far because Wellcraft was nice enough to shove an 88-gallon fuel tank below deck. How nice of them! I didn't see the money locker to match it though )

.

 

[Wingnutt]

Re: Gas for the day...

I used to have a little 18' Regal with a carb'd 4.3 (210 hp) in it, and a full day on the water cruising, pulling the wife and two teenage girls around on a tube would burn about 25-35 gallons of gas depending on how far we would run.

Like others have said, it's amazing how much more fuel you burn when pulling a tube with a couple of people on it. Depending on the size of your tank, (ours was 20 gallons) plan on at least two tank fulls for a dawn to dusk day on the water.

 

[sbbamafan]

Re: Gas for the day...

I - over a period of years with a temperemental gauge - have figured out that my boat pretty much uses 5 gallons per hour. That is not run time, that is time I am at the lake on that tank of gas. That includes the time skiing, tubing, cruising and with the engine off tied up and hanging out with friends. It is not scientific but I know if I get to the lake at 10 and pull out at 4, I can expect to put in 30 gallons. Sometimes higher, sometimes lower but it is a good general rule and I know if I have been running hard or not and can increase or decrease that assumption based on what i am doing.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gas for the day...

Based on my limited experience with my boat, I'd guess that 10 gph at cruise is reasonable and maybe a bit better than that, but NOT at 35 mph.

Unless you have a fuel flow meter, estimating your MPG/fuel flow is pretty much useless.

My previous estimate of 10GPH @ 35MPH was based off of my boat. My most efficient RPM is at 3500 RPM for my engine/boat. At that RPM, I am also travelling 35MPH and burning around 11.5 GPH. Since the poster's boat is a litle shorter than mine and the engine is smaller, that is where I got my estimate/guess for his.

I have a flow meter on my boat.

 

[trejac]

Re: Gas for the day...

Save your fill up receipts. Most states, if not all, allow you to recover the state highway tax you pay for the boat gas.

Never thought about that! Good suggestion

 

[JoLin]

Re: Gas for the day...

Unless you have a fuel flow meter, estimating your MPG/fuel flow is pretty much useless.

My previous estimate of 10GPH @ 35MPH was based off of my boat. My most efficient RPM is at 3500 RPM for my engine/boat. At that RPM, I am also travelling 35MPH and burning around 11.5 GPH. Since the poster's boat is a litle shorter than mine and the engine is smaller, that is where I got my estimate/guess for his.

I have a flow meter on my boat.

Based on the table that was published earlier in this thread (after my post) you were pretty close to the mark. I'm surprised that fuel consumption is that low, but that's why I come here- I learn something new every day

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gas for the day...

Based on the table that was published earlier in this thread (after my post) you were pretty close to the mark. I'm surprised that fuel consumption is that low, but that's why I come here- I learn something new every day

I was always under the assumption that my most efficient cruise was going to be close to 3000RPM...was surprised when I found it to be closer to 3500. The boat in the chart has that boat's most efficient closer to 3000 so it definitely depends on the boat/engine.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Gas for the day...

in general, it think the most effiecnt speed, is right where you are almost about to stop planing. as soon as you get on palne, back off the throttle, till you start to sink back down, then give it a little more to get back up.