Stee6043
Well-Known Member
I finally recovered my receipts from a July trip across Lake Michigan. Just before the 4th of July I took delivery of my new-to-me 97 400. I was quite curious what kind of mileage I'd get with this boat...though I misplaced my receipts until this past weekend
My first leg on full tanks was Sturgeon Bay, WI to Pentwater, MI via Ludington (this is where I turned South-ish to fuel in Pentwater). Total miles (nautical) on-plane was 72. Total fuel burn was 117 gallons. Total time was a tick longer than 3 hours running 23-24kts (SOG). Seas were 2-3 consistently.
The math puts me at .62nm/gallon. Right around 37/38 gallons per hour.
I was running the boat a little harder than I wanted to because we were coming off 3 days of small-craft conditions (5'-6'+) with a forecast for building waves and small craft conditions again that afternoon. I ran 3,600RPM just about the whole way. I would have preferred 3,200-3,300. Due to the chop I was also full-tab 100% of this ride.
My gut tells me this is a pretty good result for a bumpy ride, full tab, a bit more RPM than ideal. I feel like I could have driven those GPH numbers down into the mid/low 30's had I been cruising 3,200 with no tab, calm seas. Perhaps next year I'll have to find out...
Of course had I bought diesels it would have been Prius levels of economy, no tab required due to added weight, drink a beer while underway due to stability, and I'd probably have been able to skip that stop in Pentwater
My first leg on full tanks was Sturgeon Bay, WI to Pentwater, MI via Ludington (this is where I turned South-ish to fuel in Pentwater). Total miles (nautical) on-plane was 72. Total fuel burn was 117 gallons. Total time was a tick longer than 3 hours running 23-24kts (SOG). Seas were 2-3 consistently.
The math puts me at .62nm/gallon. Right around 37/38 gallons per hour.
I was running the boat a little harder than I wanted to because we were coming off 3 days of small-craft conditions (5'-6'+) with a forecast for building waves and small craft conditions again that afternoon. I ran 3,600RPM just about the whole way. I would have preferred 3,200-3,300. Due to the chop I was also full-tab 100% of this ride.
My gut tells me this is a pretty good result for a bumpy ride, full tab, a bit more RPM than ideal. I feel like I could have driven those GPH numbers down into the mid/low 30's had I been cruising 3,200 with no tab, calm seas. Perhaps next year I'll have to find out...
Of course had I bought diesels it would have been Prius levels of economy, no tab required due to added weight, drink a beer while underway due to stability, and I'd probably have been able to skip that stop in Pentwater
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