Gas consumption

[yellowcorvette]

For those of you that have had v6 engines and moved up to a v8 did you notice a large increase in your fuel consumption after a day on the lake tubing and sking. ( same amount of time and activity with each boat)

 

[capecodtodd]

Re: Gas consumption

I think it is all relative to the boat and how you use it. I started with a 17' then a 18' with 2 stroke outboards then moved up to a 19' 6cyl I|O that was a 1988 I think then up/downgraded to a 1998 20 Stingray with a 4cyl 3.0. i don't seem to recall a huge difference in gas consumption between the 4 boats I have owned. I was drooling the other day over a guys Stingray at the ramp that had a 350 in it so I would imagine if I moved up to something like that my fuel bill would go up due different factors. The boat would weigh more thus take more to push it along but the engine wouldn't be working as hard in pulling the average skiier.
What I did find in all my years pulling people that a kneeboard or skis was alot easier on the wallet then pulling a tube for the same time.
I drive a little hot rod of a car and have actually had people ask me how much does the gas cost for it?? Does it really matter?? Have you ever had that in your Corvette?
Sorry couldn't answer your question directly but I would go with the V8 but then again what kind of boat are we talking about here?

 

[jestor68]

Re: Gas consumption

Go to Boat Test.COM to read all sorts of tests of all sorts of boats and engine sizes. Included in the test results are fuel use figures that will show the difference between various engine sizes.

Example: a 3.0L in a 18ft Bayliner used 10 gal per hour wide open; while the 4.3L in the same boat as the 3.0L would use a little more; say 12 gph at full throttle. A 5.0L in a 19 ft boat used 18 gph at full throttle. The fuel use rates were about 1/2 of the WOT rates at cruising speed. At cruising speed the fuel use gets closer together, because the larger engine is usually turning slower and not working as hard as the smaller engine trying to go the same speed.

The same rules apply, no matter the size motor you're running. WOT equals lots of gas, while cruising speed equals about half as much.

 

[444]

Re: Gas consumption

It takes a certain amount of power to push a boat of a given size/shape/weight through the water. All else being equal, fuel consumption will vary a little but not a lot. Now going from a boat that's barely big enough to fit a 4.3v6 to a boat that needs a 5.7 to push it along, yes you will see a big difference.