I want better fuel economy !!

[ANYTIME]

We went to the marina this past Friday to do some cleaning and defrost the refrigerator. Before we left home, I filled our old car's gas tank and we were on our way, a 50+ mile trip.

I am trying not to exceed the speed limits and conserve gas, so I reset the fuel consumption electronics to ZERO to measure our actual MPGs. Note, that other than 15 miles on US29, the entire trip is on 2-lane roads where the speed limit maximum is 45 MPH.

When we arrived at Quantico, I took this shot with my trusty iPhone.


Wow...!!! more than 60 miles per gallon on the car. :wow:

Now...how can I get more than 8 MPG on this boat without installing a mast and a sail?:huh:

I forgot to mention that the car is a 2005 Prius with about 27000 miles on her.:grin:

 

[Turtlesboat]

just idle every where you want to go.

 

[chuck1]

Now...how can I get more than 6 MPG on this boat without installing a mast and a sail?
...

Ain't going to happen, unless you try Mikes route.:thumbsup:

 

[Dave S]

Knock out those four windows in your cabin, install two long rowing oars, and get a couple of illegal aliens to row you everywhere you want to go.

Dave

 

[ANYTIME]

Knock out those four windows in your cabin, install two long rowing oars, and get a couple of illegal aliens to row you everywhere you want to go.

Dave

We tried that...sort-of
Rather than knock the windows out, we opened them and used only two "rowers". It was okay, but could only make 1 to 2 knots. When one of the "rowers" had to relieve himself (we wouldn't let him pee out the port hole:grin....when he brought his oar into a resting position in the cabin, the end of the oar punched a hole in the microwave. The other rower got pissed off because he wouldn't get his popcorn lunch.:smt021

We fired the "rowers" started up the twin 350s and limped home at idle speed.:grin:

 

[Hampton]

What was the original post, 6 mpg? Did you mean .6? I can help you beat .6 and even .8 in your boat, but not 6 or 8.

 

[ANYTIME]

What was the original post, 6 mpg? Did you mean .6? I can help you beat .6 and even .8 in your boat, but not 6 or 8.

Thanks for your response...

It was 6.0, I really meant to say 8 so I edited it. I can get close to 6mpg at idle, and between 2-3 at 2000 RPMs. At 3600 I get a little over 1 MPG.

We maintain the boat in fresh water and when we do the Annual B-III service (lube, alignment check, zincs, etc.), have the hull power-washed. We drive the boat conservatively, seldom ever reach 4800 RPMs, and when we do, it is for a short period of time to ensure the engines and drives are working okay. Other than this, I am not sure what we can do to improve the overall efficiency.

 

[tmhudson2]

Every planing hull will have its sweet spot where it gets its best efficiency on plane; on my 290DA it is somewhere around 3000rpm. There have been several threads here about various models' most efficient planing speeds.

Also, your hull speed is going to be about 6.8 knots; above that speed your boat will be trying to get up on plane, and until it does it is running very inefficiently, feeling like it's plowing through the water. The longer a boat's waterline length, the faster its hull speed. For us, hull speed is about 6.7 knots, and a good economical slow cruise is about 1700 rpm for about 6.3 knots.

 

[Nehalennia]

I can't imagine that twin 350's at idle will use only one gallon of gas to move you 6 miles. That seems really good.

Your 200 gallon tank would run you 1200 miles?
Yeah It may take awhile, but that's pretty good range if true.

 

[GJarrett]

Now...how can I get more than 8 MPG on this boat without installing a mast and a sail?:huh:

I forgot to mention that the car is a 2005 Prius with about 27000 miles on her.:grin:

Go the same route on your boat as you did in your car.

Hybrid conversion :grin:

 

[fc3]

Buy a sailboat.

I got 13 MPG on my Navigator this weekend. Guess I shouldn't have used all 300 HP at those red lights. Oh well. I'm guessing that the Navi, with about 300,000 miles since 1999 has burned though well over 20,000 gallons. That's more than two tanker trucks full.

Best regards,
Frank C

 

[370Dancer]

water is thicker than air. go slow, or pay, period.
All cruisers that I know of are designed to achieve 1mpg for its "sweet spot"
You get better, God bless you. You get worse, welcome to the club.

 

[lorenbennett]

Here's a dumb question, why don't they have stuff like "superchips" or other name brand performance programmers. I have used them for years on my trucks and always get mpg and power increase, of course not at the same time. :huh:

 

[JV II]

At idle speed I go about 3 mph and burn 2 gallons per hour (one gallon per each 5.0). You sure you don't have the same hybrid synergy drive on the 310 that you have on the Prius? How are you calculating 6 mpg? Going down river?

 

[VTSeaRay]

We went to the marina this past Friday to do some cleaning and defrost the refrigerator. Before we left home, I filled our old car's gas tank and we were on our way, a 50+ mile trip.

I am trying not to exceed the speed limits and conserve gas, so I reset the fuel consumption electronics to ZERO to measure our actual MPGs. Note, that other than 15 miles on US29, the entire trip is on 2-lane roads where the speed limit maximum is 45 MPH.

When we arrived at Quantico, I took this shot with my trusty iPhone.


Wow...!!! more than 60 miles per gallon on the car. :wow:

I forgot to mention that the car is a 2005 Prius with about 27000 miles on her.:grin:

I'll be curious to see in about 2 yrs, when all these batteries start dying, what owners are going to think about their Prius' and other hybrid's.:grin::wow:

-VtSeaRay

 

[ANYTIME]

I'll be curious to see in about 2 yrs, when all these batteries start dying, what owners are going to think about their Prius' and other hybrid's.:grin::wow:

-VtSeaRay

I purchased this Prius new in June of 2005. With one minor problem (described below), it has been flawless, and big enough to load and tether our 3 Standard Poodles (55 lbs each) in the car for short trips to the park.:smt001 Our gas mileage is usually around 50 - 55 MPG.

The Toyota warranty for the High Voltage battery pack is 150,000 miles or 15 years, which ever occurs first. :thumbsup:

My Toyota new car warranty is for 7 years/75,000 miles. I paid Toyota about $700 (just before the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty expired) for the 4 year extension.

Just before I purchased the extension, the small 12 volt battery died. I called the Toyota dealer, they sent a truck to pick up my car, gave me a free loaner car and replaced the failed battery.

Note that I am a retired Systems Engineer, I don't sell cars.:wink:

 

[Alex F]

Now...how can I get more than 8 MPG on this boat without installing a mast and a sail?:huh:

As many of us I was thinking about the same thing and the best possible idea I can see is having electrical type of motor mounted on the swim platform. With oudrives you have less things to worry, just raise them. But, with v-drives we need to stop the props from spinning.

My dumb idea has two options:
1-have 12v electrical motor(s) running from a battery. When it looses power running genset to recharge them is still cost efficient vs. running both engines.
2-have 120v electrical motor(s). For this genny must be running at all times.

Here's some new products I found based on the quick google search:

http://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/minn-kota/engine-mounted-electric-out-board-motor-21905-52012.html

motors mounted on the trim tabs (item #4 from the top) is something I've never seen before.

Thank God, things aren't that bad for me to seriously considering this idea. But, we never know :huh:.

 

[mrsrobinson]

"I filled our old car's gas tank and we were on our way, a 50+ mile trip."

2005 is old?

At the end of the day you are pushing a 5000+ lb boat through water, with fuel not air. You may be able to save a bit here and there but it is what it is. One thing we do is plan long trips with the tide/current. It does help

 

[ANYTIME]

"I filled our old car's gas tank and we were on our way, a 50+ mile trip."

2005 is old? ...

"Old" is a relative term, and this is our oldest car. When my retirement became imminent earlier this year, I sold the newest car, a 2008 Toyota Yaris, to save on insurance and Virginia's "infamous" car tax. I had an offer of close to what I purchased it for, and with me not working, I thought it dumb to keep two cars.

 

[mrsrobinson]

"Virginia's "infamous" car tax"

And exactly when was that suppose to go away again? ;-)

I love how they still show us the "discount" on our bill each year.

BTW, my dad's wife has the same Prius. I find it uncomfortable for my 6'3" frame but the darn thing is impressive on the fuel savings. I think she is tired of it and wants to replace it with an Audi/Mercedes or something else a little more luxury.