Mikentucky
Member
- Jul 31, 2020
- 61
- Boat Info
- 1994 400 Express Cruiser, "Lollygagging"
- Engines
- twin inboard Mercruiser 7.4L Bluewater, straight drives
So the admiral wants to take a little trip to her parents house this coming weekend, a trip down the Ohio river. There is one set of locks (McAlpine) along the way, but NO fuel stations. The trip is about 50 nautical miles one way, maybe an extra 20 miles spent entertaining while we're there. It's downriver to get there, upriver to get home. Our boat is named "Lollygagging" for a reason...I don't mind running slow LOL
Being conservative, can I realistically (easily) make a 100-150 mile round trip down and back up the river, or would I possibly not have enough fuel even if I stay out of the throttles?
I have the usual 150 gallon tanks for each side. I've looked up the Mercruiser charts on theoretical burn rate for my gas 7.4's with 2-barrel carbs at different RPM's, but with no flow meters I haven't calculated with my specific 400EC how far she goes per gallon, at what speed or RPM is her "sweet spot" for burning efficiency. I won't have the opportunity to do any real world calculations before we go, so I'm just asking for opinions based on "your experience with your 400EC"....
Thanks!
Being conservative, can I realistically (easily) make a 100-150 mile round trip down and back up the river, or would I possibly not have enough fuel even if I stay out of the throttles?
I have the usual 150 gallon tanks for each side. I've looked up the Mercruiser charts on theoretical burn rate for my gas 7.4's with 2-barrel carbs at different RPM's, but with no flow meters I haven't calculated with my specific 400EC how far she goes per gallon, at what speed or RPM is her "sweet spot" for burning efficiency. I won't have the opportunity to do any real world calculations before we go, so I'm just asking for opinions based on "your experience with your 400EC"....
Thanks!