Conference vicki::boats

    Having talked with a few people who run Scarabs & cigg's they seem to
    burn anywhere from $200 to $400 in a weekend. The highest I've heard
    was a fellow who ran $1,500 worth in two days running. He has twin 454
    chevys/mercrusiers in the boat.
    
    I guess your yearly bill will depend on how often you play! 
    
    Having only a Chevy 350 in my boat that tops out at 22kts, I get by
    reletivly cheap
    
    I saw a jet powered mega yacht Sunday off Glousta, It was well over 100
    ft long Euro styled and was doing about 50 kts by my guess. I wonder
    how much fuel (GPM) Gallons per min. he burns??
    
                                         Walt
    

    I can give you my experience on a 25' Grady (9'6" beam, 7500lbs) and
    a 340HP i/o. I burn a solid 12-15 gallons/hr at 3400 RPM.
    
    Gas at the marina is about $1.40/gallon. Lets just say it does
    not take long to build up a $60-80 fuel bill each time I use the
    boat.
    
    For a estimate you can figure a 350 block will burn about 10gal/hr
    so if you got two of them thats about 20gal/hr.
    
    Your milage may vary.... :-)
    
    Capt. Codfish
                    

    Sue;
    
    I'm sitting here looking at a review of a Chaparral Villian V (30 foot)
    'sport boat'.  
    
    Quoting (w/o/p), " A pair of wide open 454 Magnums will drink something
    in the vicinity of 64 GPH, but just half of that at 3500 RPM, a good
    cruising speed".
    
    In this boat WOT yielded 70 MPH and 50 MPH at 3500 RPM.  So, lets see,
    You get about 1 mile per gallon, or, if you take it relatively easy,
    1.5 miles per gallon.  Form what I read, these kind of numbers are
    fairly typical of performance boats in this size range.
    
    Fuel dock prices vary from 1.30/gal to who knows?  My guess...If you
    really love riding in your boat the depth of your wallet will govern
    what you spend.  You know what they say.."if you have to ask.." :<)  :<)
    
                                                     Tom Urban

re                      <<< Note 505.0 by ABACUS::BAILEY >>>
>                    -< Gas Expense for Performance Boats? >-

>    Can anyone tell me how much money (ball park figures) I can plan
>    on spending for gas on a 29 to 31 foot performance boat per year?
    
>    In planning my purchase, I want to take into consideration 
>    everything that is going to cost me money.  
>    
>    Thanks,
>    Sue


	Phew !  and I've been worrying about moving up from a four 
cylinder 140 horse I/O to a 230 or so horse V8 inboard (-:

	I'd guess the way to get at gallons per hour is to start with 
the carb(s ?) CFM, assume a 14:1 air/fuel ratio and multiply by the 
number of carbs - that will get you the wide open throttle number, 
derate it down for "your" kind of boating.

	Somehow I think that the cost of the boat and slip/mooring is 
going to swamp your fuel costs.

	R

    
    RE: Reg,
    
    	It really depends upon what that V8 is pushing and whether
    it's a straight inboard or an I/O. My Nautique will burn 27
    gallons in two days of solid skiing/cruising. I'd guess that
    would work out to about 10-15 hours.
    
    Rick

    Reg.
    Boat costs & Slip costs are minor compared to fuel. & like rich said it
    depends on what your pushing with that engine. I can push my boat which
    is approx 14K lbs with the 280 hp PCM (Chevy 350) at 15GPH but then
    again I'm only doing 10Kts cruising. Put that same engine in a 21ft
    "Monster Craft" and she will run all weekend on the same fuel.
    
    When you go to an I/O a lot of the HP is lost in the transfer, so if
    you can get that High Performance boat with straight Inboards or even
    better, Surface Drives! Your fuel costs are a lot less.
    
    I think if my objective were to go fast on the least fuel and have the
    most "Bang for the Buck" I would set up the boat with a 680 hp Chevy
    conversion with a Arnsen Surface drive. Single engine Max Hp to wieght
    Ratio. I would also go with a tunnel hull design. 
    
    Yea that would be fun for a day or two.!!  
    
                                        Walt
    

    Sue;
    
    I have a 28 Chris Craft with twin merc 230's, 10.5 beam and about
    10K lbs. Here are the fuel consumption figures :
    3200 RPM (cruising speed) 19 GPH       about 38knts
    4400 RPM (WOT) 34 GPH                  about 54knts
    
    I agree with .2 on the calculations. It seems I have a difficult
    time leaving the slip without burning $50, and that's just a stroll
    around the park. A serious weekend can be over a couple hundred
    bucks. You also have to take into consideration this is not a
    performance boat but a "family sport boat". Your consumption may
    be higher.
    Gas prices seem to vary throughout the year. Early season prices
    were about $1.45/Gal and now they are down to about $1.25/Gal.
    
    One rule of thumb I have been using is to figure about $2000 a year,
    translated to 40 days of running at $50 per day. That seems to get
    me in the ballbark.
    
    Happy hunting
    
    Harlan

	re .0

	Sue, the obvious question which should be asked (by us, and answered by
you) first is - what are we talking about, as far as engine configurations,
HP size, and drive types? Second, roughly how many miles would you be putting 
on the boat per year? 


	I think this would help us all a great deal...


								-mike-

    
    I run a pair of radical 400CI small block Chevys through Arnesons.
                                               
    My experience before that was stock 350's (2) through Alpha drives (no
    transmissions).
    
    Stock small blocks, if you keep the secondaries from opening (cruise at
    3000 RPM), can 'sip' gasoline at about 1 gallon (or less) per mile.
    Once you open the secondaries things change from sipping and approach
    'gulping' gasoline at 1.75 gallons per mile @WOT. 
                                                   
    The radical small blocks, with Arnesons, actually stay at a fairly
    constant 1 gal/mile...the trick is that while the motors are working
    at 6000 RPM and inhaling fuel at 1.5/minute, the drives are skipping
    over the waves at 90 MPH...which does WONDERS for fuel economy/mile.
    
    Sue...just playing around Winni on a nice weekend used to dent the
    cash reserves by $75-$100 or so. Bottom was always clean...500 ft above
    sea level...sweet water.
    
    Big blocks? They burn gasoline just cruising (did you think that
    torque was going to be free)...having no direct experience with
    them, I'll pass on the fuel guesstimates. 
                                   
    Mitchell
    
                                                       
    
    

    Mitchell.
    I've got a Question? What did you do to the 400cu's to make them turn
    6K RPM. If I'm not mistaken the block is the same as the 350 cu and 305
    cu. just a different bore and water jacket between the cyls is missing
    
    My 350 cu only turns 3,800 rpms swinging a nibril 18"X16" wheel thru a
    Borg 1:11 trans. I'd love to cruise a 3K without the secondaries open!
    
                                                 Walt
    

    
    Walt,
    
    You do know your motors...yes, they are the 400CI Chevy Siamese small
    blocks - two bolt mains - direct relatives of the 305/350 small
    block. Same external form factor.
    
    They are 'cleaned' out to 406 CID..and everything is fluxed, balanced,
    and blueprinted for assembly. Heads (Brodix) are stage III ported (looks
    like an auditorium in there)...hydraulic roller cams and rocker
    arms...even the Holley's (single 4BBL) are blueprinted...motors dyno 
    at 530-540 HP with 9.0 compression @ 6100 RPM burning pump gas
    (although octane boost is always welcome).
    
    Getting the drive train/prop selection 'dialed in' was a two year
    effort - not to mention the bottom and trim tabs to cooperate with
    all the other running surfaces. 
    
    The Arnesons are also delightful - almost 0% drag at speed. Only
    the lower two prop lobes are actually in the water @WOT. As you
    know, if you can reduce your wetted surface to zero, you're flying,
    not boating. 
    
    And yes, they do roar quite nicely @WOT ... as far as muffling ...
    that two year story is for another note.
    
    Mitchell
             
    

    Formula gives you a choice.  Either twin 350's or twin 454's.  The
    estimates on hp is 740.  I was planning on spending $200 a weekend,
    guess that's in the ball park.
    
    Thanks for all the replies, having a great time thinking about my
    Spring purchase.
    
    Sue

    re .12
    
    >>Formula gives you a choice.
    
    Does this mean that you have made up your mind to go Formula rather
    then Baja? Doesn't Baja give you the same choice (ie. twin 350's or
    454's) for a whole lot less $$$$...
    
    							-mike-

    The choice hasn't been finalized yet, but I am swaying towards Formula.
    We are planning to take a trip down to the Baja dealer in Mass.
    sometime over the next few weeks.  The Baja dealer definitely has
    a better deal (bucks wise) but I haven't seen the 31' only the
    37'.  There are a couple of things I'd like to check out on the
    Baja.
    
    I also wanted to check out a Fountain.  I saw one on the lake last
    weekend and it looked pretty nice.  I don't have any details on
    that boat at all.  No idea what the cost is or the quality.
    
    What engine would you suggest?  Twin 350's or twin 454's?  I'm
    not that concerned with speed.  I like the looks of the performance
    boats over the tubs!
    
    Sue

    
    Sue,
    
    740 HP means you're looking at big blocks (although that total should
    be 730 (365x2)). The small blocks will save you money (both buying
    and operating), but cost you performance.
    
    About Fountain, they are one step above the boats you're looking
    at for hull construction...but the interior accomodations are probably
    one step below. Fountain is one of the few builders that glasses
    the hull and deck together for strength - and they feel/ride like
    it. 
      
    Mitchell