Ugly Question - Gas Usage

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WALSHIE

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Honestly, I don't track my MPG on the boat. My old man was a big fan of the serenity prayer:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

I accept I cannot change how much gas costs and how much I use.

Having said that, everytime I mention the trip we have planeed to Roundout, people mention how much in gas it will cost. Well, I have no clue to be honest. I don't track my gas usage that closely.

Withouth my charts in front of me (on boat), I think it's a bout 45 miles from Haverstraw bay. Below is a chart from a boating magazine testing my model boat with the 7.4L engines, I have 5.7L

Therefore, I'm guessing my boat gets about .7 mpg at 20 mph

330SB_7point4_liter.jpg


At near 23mph:
45 miles / .7mpg = 64.3 gallons of gas each way.
128 gallons * 4.80 = $614 in gas.

If we do 1500rpms, 9.5mph 1.2mpg:
45 miles / 1.2mpg = 37.5 gallons each way
75 gallons * 4.80 = $360 in gas.

So, the off the cuff complaints of $500 in gas is pretty accurate!!
The delta for goings slow is 2 hrs vs 4.7 hrs each way
5.4 extra hours at a savings cost of $254.

Now that's depressing!!! Tell me I'm missing something. I'm shooting myself for doing this calcluation!!
 
Our boat is kind of a snafu. When we run with friends to other places, most of their boats run around 9 to 10 knots. Most of the places we go are around 50 to 70 miles. Our boat will burn around 50 gallons to each of these places at that speed.
When we travel alone, we go around 15 to 18 knots. We still burn the same amount of fuel.
We like to go a little faster because our boat is so hot in the summer at 10 knots. We need a little bit more speed to keep cool and we get there a couple hours earlier.
 
Chris, I think your numbers are pretty accurate. Although, I think it might be a bit further than 45 miles...
 
Chris, where do you get 45 miles? It's over 30 for me (although maybe I better check a chart!), and I'm 30 miles from you!

If you start lamenting the cost of each trip you might as well hang up the "for sale" sign. I've wanted to do Kingston fireworks for a couple of years, this year I said I'm going. We are also going to Liberty Landing the Thursday after. So someone said damn, that's a lot of gas you are burning. My thought; we've got a roof over our heads and food on the table, I work hard so I get to play hard. You can calculate the joy out of what you do, or you can enjoy the activity to whatever extent you are able. I would hate to divide my expenses at year's end by 2 or 3 times I chose to leave the slip. To me that is what would be ugly.
 
From your YC to my slip I have it at roughly 48.978 nm. At 17k you are looking at taking 2:43 vs 3:05 depending on departure time, with the best at 5:34 am, and you have to run at 17k from the YC opening all the way to my slip (better make that the fuel dock) :D.
Since you are lightening up the load by leaving the kids home, why not come up on a half tank, and no water? I know our Silverton ran best that way.
 
Manmade, i'm sitting here eating my lunch coverd in dirt and grease & was debating going up to roundout tomorrow but your post just got me back on track & motivated.

No one wanted to go because it's on a workday night & I also always wanted to see the fireworks there. The "I'm going " part in your post made me say "me too" to myself .
Mabey see you up there and say hello , have a good trip and enjoy the show ! *Jon*
 
I am planning a weeklong trip and any way I slice it, I am looking at a $5k fuel bill. ugh. but I love boating.
 
Look at it as a percentage of the total boating bill. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you nothing will.
 
Checked the charts on the boat today, found its approximately 27 miles from White's to Rondout, so I got an immediate psychological savings! Probably what throws me off is the time spent from the mouth of the creek to where ever we stop once in the creek.

Jonf, keep in mind the fireworks are the 29th not the 22nd...but we'll keep an eye out for ya.
 
George, I hear ya! There's a reason why I normally don't think about the cost of gas...it simply doesn't matter. However, with everyone complaining, I was curious so I did the calculation.

Dan, the kids are coming as well as the dog and a nephew. We rarely travel light!
 
Manmade, thanks for the reminder i THOUGHT it was this sunday, went out last night , slept on the hook the weather looked bad so i decided not to go this morning .( glad i didn't take off northbound now) But since it's next weekend I'll have another shot thanks to you , glad you caught that one bud...
Jon
 
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