What are you going to do to save money on gas?

[wgoodhoofd]

It is shaping up to be a very expensive season out on the water. Here in Ontario the price for a litre of regular is $1.20 CAN and I'm sure those south of the border are paying roughly the same. Boats are notorious for suckin' back the fossil fuels, and most of us really don't want to go out less.

So my question to the knowledgeable patrons of iboats is this:

What will you be doing to save money at the gas pumps this boating season?

 

[bhammer]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

I trailer mine so I have the luxary of finding the cheapest gas close to home. It is not uncommon to find gas at 10 cents delta between pumps and locations. that is $4.50 savings for a full fill up.

Also, make sure you are tuned up and run more in the effeciant rpm range and not ideling as much. Those are our plans.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

I installed locking gas caps on both of my vehicles to take care of the siphoning problem. Although my vehicles are not outside overnight, there are some pretty crafty thieves out there that think nothing of doing that little trick in broad daylight. Boating isn't the expensive part. If you are a trailer boater and travel thousands of miles a season, that's the part that gets expensive. Marine Max announced a big layoff so the boating industry will take a big hit this season. However a camper dealer in town sold 26 units last month. Not bad for a small town.

 

[arks]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

It is shaping up to be a very expensive season out on the water.... What will you be doing to save money at the gas pumps this boating season?

I'll be spending a LOT of weekends at the marina, or anchored close to the marina. We've got full tanks now and I'll be happy if we can last the whole summer without filling up. We can still have plenty of fun with the SeaDoo, jonboat, and ESPECIALLY the kayaks.
What's going to hurt us the most is the 50 mile drive to and from the marina every weekend. Gotta just bite the bullet on that one.

 

[AguaSki]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

I will still go out with the same frequency, but I will likely run the motor less when I am on the water.

 

[SimpleM]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

Adding a big trolling motor and extra deep cycle to my runabout. Wife likes me to idle up creeks and coves to look at houses and landscape. Should save me on prop repair too.

M...

 

[dave11]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

Nothing! This is my first new real boat. I trailer it to diferent locations. It is an economical 4 stroke. I plan on enjoying it. As has been said before, "You don't buy a boat to save money".

 

[orion25]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

Ride less and fish / hang out more.

 

[JCF350]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

Nothing! I'm going anyway. Don't care if it gets to $10.00/gal

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

"I'll get by with a little help from my friends"
Nobody rides for free, unless she's about uhh 5'2 and well you know. Oh shi# here comes my wife!

 

[F_R]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

We are going to have to wake up and go back to smaller boats and motors. My 14' aluminum Lund with a 35hp Johnson will go like the proverbial striped ape and I can still spend all day on the water with less than a tank of gas assuming I'm not ramming around the lake all day. I can have just as much fun as those guys with the 20 footers with 200hp. Of course there is no room for the mother-in-law. Tch-tch.

Big problem is my tow vehicle, a pick-up truck. That is spending a lot of time parked in the garage these days.

 

[JB]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

I sold my boat and tow vehicle and bought a 35mpg Diesel.

I am going to get a man-powered boat and fish closer to home.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

I'm trolling online ads for a small sailboat. Something like an Albacore or Lightening, etc. I foresee spending a lot of time in that at the lake with my kid. I loved sailing small boats in years gone by -- time to rekindle the love affair! Last year I bought my wife a kayak for her birthday and she's hooked on that and will disappear for hours at a time exploring.

I'll still be scoutingabout in the Scout but with some paddle- and wind-powered options available, I'm hoping to ease the longterm pain a bit. Not much I can do about the tankful it takes to get to the lake and back, though. Last summer that was $45. Looks like this summer we may be talking $55-$60 at least. Damn gas just went up another 2 cents a litre last night.

 

[fixb52s]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

I am going to strap the kids to the swim deck and tell them to kick......​

 

[gss036]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

Maybe I picked a good time to blow my Merc 200 hp. I've got a new 225 Honda on order, hope it will get here soon. The Honda should get at least twice the MPH & GPH as the Merc. Just have to slow down and do some overnighters. Good excuse for camping.

 

[CrownlineTN]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

Looking for a second boat for toodling about, maybe a duck boat with a 10-35 HP motor. Use that for fishing and for the evening "get away from it all" jaunts, or even stick with the kayak. Keep the 4.3L 19' Crownline for skiing, tubing, wakeboarding with the kids.

 

[flashback]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

Guess I'll do more sailing and less motoring..

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: What are you going to do to save money on gas?

Nothing! This is my first new real boat. I trailer it to diferent locations. It is an economical 4 stroke. I plan on enjoying it. As has been said before, "You don't buy a boat to save money".

Amen! I wish I had your 4 stroke, but my little 70 two-stroke isn't bad on fuel at all. I just got back from boarding all day on 6 gallons.

I hope gas gets up to $5 or more per gallon - less boat traffic out there for the rest of us.