A small tale of mice, men, engines and costs ...

8 gallons for less than £10😳
Pull up a bollard and get the lamp swinging.

Some years ago I delivered a Sunnseeker 64 from Mallorca to Lanzarote. The fuel bill was just over £12,000.
Three thousand litres per fill. Twice in Morocco, locals jerrycanned the lot coz of broken diesel pumps. Mohammedia and Agadir.

Contrast with our live onit Moody 33. In Venezuela we filled to 5he brim with 180 litres of diesel.....just under £2.
 
I remember a time in 1988 when I was putting petrol in my Mini Metro - there was a Jaguar on the other side of the pump from me, and while I put in about 5 or 6 GBP to fill it up (from about a 1/4 I think), the Jaguar fill up was ten times that.
I could fill my first mini for less than a quid!

4 gallons at 4 shillings 6 d
 
I remember a time in 1988 when I was putting petrol in my Mini Metro - there was a Jaguar on the other side of the pump from me, and while I put in about 5 or 6 GBP to fill it up (from about a 1/4 I think), the Jaguar fill up was ten times that.
According to the Bank of England that’s 15.88 in todays money. A good example of how much harder things are today.
 
Chap I know motored his gin palace from up North to the Thames. Fuel cost was so high it went home on the back of a lorry !
 
I enjoy using my boat and the more folks I can persuade to clamber aboard and share my enjoyment of being able to afford the experience the better, the thought of even asking for my guests to contribute to fuel costs simply does not arise .
If they want to contribute with a bottle of something to drink that's their affair.
Can appreciate that some folks do like to boat alone.
We have had guests aboard both to assist us, when it was more of a question of us paying their expenses, and others who have come for the ride. Given that they were our friends, we were happy to be rewarded with their company, but the usual arrangement, for a week with us, was for them to treat us to a meal out.
 
I reckon cruising costs for motor boats is just something people factor in when buying a boat. Let's face it, there are plenty of boat owners that don't want or like to sail.

I do both. :cool:
Likewise, I’ve done a lot of sailing and a fair amount of power boating. I usually try and arrange it tgat someone else is paying the fuel.
 
A couple of years ago whilst on holiday with the family near Cowes, for a change of scenery I chartered a 6.5m rib from the Hamble.
Didn't go that far on it, return journeys Hamble to Cowes, Cowes to Newton, Cowes to Lymington. plus another half day blasting round Thorness Bay with a towable thing.

175hp 2 stroke
Fuel bill came to £240.
Fun at the time but not in a rush to do it again.
 
Even if you have guests you are still going where you want to go....I mean I could see a situation where a guest might pay, but that would be unusual, for example if your guest needed transported somewhere or if you both together planned some big adventure.....but just to take people out on a cruise (even if it’s your local water and you’ve done it a thousand times before) you shouldn’t charge or expect payment. Would a yottie charge for wear and tear on their flappy bits ?
 
Even if you have guests you are still going where you want to go....I mean I could see a situation where a guest might pay, but that would be unusual, for example if your guest needed transported somewhere or if you both together planned some big adventure.....but just to take people out on a cruise (even if it’s your local water and you’ve done it a thousand times before) you shouldn’t charge or expect payment. Would a yottie charge for wear and tear on their flappy bits ?
Sort of. We’ve had five peopldd we join us in the last year or more. They’ve all happily come along on the basis that we supply the boat and cover all maintenance and repairs, but we all contribute equally to food and fuel and harbour dues.
 
I remember a time in 1988 when I was putting petrol in my Mini Metro - there was a Jaguar on the other side of the pump from me, and while I put in about 5 or 6 GBP to fill it up (from about a 1/4 I think), the Jaguar fill up was ten times that.

I used to sometimes have to buy 1/2 gallon of petrol for my motorbike, very early 70s?, because I couldn't afford a whole gallon. I have a vague memory of it being about 2s 6d (or was it 25p?), but can't remember whether that was for the half or a whole gallon.

Fast forward to around early 2000s, when I occasionally drove a friend's very thirsty V8 petrol automatic Range Rover. Filling that up cost an outrageous £70 or £80! Can you imagine such a thing? 😁
 
Sort of. We’ve had five peopldd we join us in the last year or more. They’ve all happily come along on the basis that we supply the boat and cover all maintenance and repairs, but we all contribute equally to food and fuel and harbour dues.
With respect Rev, you come from a profession that is comfortable asking people for money
 
I used to sometimes have to buy 1/2 gallon of petrol for my motorbike, very early 70s?, because I couldn't afford a whole gallon. I have a vague memory of it being about 2s 6d (or was it 25p?), but can't remember whether that was for the half or a whole gallon.

Fast forward to around early 2000s, when I occasionally drove a friend's very thirsty V8 petrol automatic Range Rover. Filling that up cost an outrageous £70 or £80! Can you imagine such a thing? 😁
Why does it seem that back when everything was cheap...we didn’t have any money 🤷‍♂️😳🤔
 
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