Newbie info please (fuel gals per hour)

[DrD]

I have a 1991 Bluewater cuddy. It's a 5.0 L/LX with 325 hours on it. For initial testing, I ran it for 2.3 hours at 3000 rpm, with my wife, grand child and myself on board. The 35 gal fuel tank was full and the dry weight of the boat is 3700 lbs. So the weight overall would be about:

400 Lbs (people)
217 lbs (gas)
150 lbs (misc stuff on board)
3700 lbs (boat)
-------
4500 lbs (approximately)

I burned 11.5 gallons and so I used 5 gallons per hour.

Is 5 gallons per hour anywhere in a 'normal' ballpark? This is an alpha one gen II with a five blade prop.

I hope this isn't a nuisance question. This is the first season I have used this boat, and so far so good. I still have a lot to learn, though.

-Dale-

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Newbie info please (fuel gals per hour)

Howdy,

Nothing nuisance about it!


Your approx 5 gallons per hour is not out line at all.

3000 rpm for that engine would be construed as a "cruise" setting. Wide open throttle (WOT) should be around 4500-5000 RPM.

Running at 3000 would be around 5-6 gallons per hour for a 5L V-8.

If you want to know while you're running you could get a gage like THIS ONE

They're about $150 and fairly easy to install and will display a LOT of stuff including Fuel used in Gallons per hour, gallons per trip, per season, MPG etc...

I put on in my FourWinns. I use a little more per hour running at 3000 rpm with the 454.


Regards,


Rick

 

[akwalker]

Re: Newbie info please (fuel gals per hour)

Rick,

I like that gauge,,,,, where can I get one??? Do you have one? Do you have to buy a bunch of additional senders for all the functions, or is it generic?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Newbie info please (fuel gals per hour)

http://www.boatfix.com/cart2/scripts/prodList.asp?strSearch=lmf-200

 

[akwalker]

Re: Newbie info please (fuel gals per hour)

Thank you!!

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Newbie info please (fuel gals per hour)

I bought mine from Boatersworld. It's available from a plethora of dealers around the country. I think mine was about $120 or so.

I also have mine set up to display my Bennett tab position, fuel flow and fuel gage. There's other stuff you can display too. Plus it can be connected to any Lowrance NMEA 2000 compatible device.

Read all about it HERE : http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine/LowranceNET/default.asp