Fuel for a day out

MartynG said:
The kad32 will burn a similar amount to the much more powerful D4's mentioned above. About 30 litres /hr at 25 knots and 3 litres /hr at 4.5knots.

Currently red diesel with 60/40 split of duty which is accepted by HMRC is 95p per litre locally to me.
In any case why would you mess about with jerry cans and put small quantities in a S23 - it has a 220 litre fuel tank
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We only take our own fuel when the boat is ashore. In which case it makes no odds where we buy it as we have to get it into the tank from containers anyway.

When in the water we buy it from our marina as it is only 15ppl more and as you say for the little that we will be putting in the tank of an S23, usually 100 litres or so max the savings are minimal. It isn't worth lugging fuel around in the car to save £15!
 
CX54WEK said:
We had a shade over two weeks out on our boat last summer to take it from Lincoln to the Norfolk Broads and back. This was a fair old mix of river cruising and coastal cruising with varied sea conditions ranging from pretty much flat calm on the way down to quit lively on the way back so we were not cruising at our most economical speed.

For the 480 mile trip we used 390 litres.

This is with a sinlgle KAD32.



Our weekend spend varies drastically. If we are plodding around on the river it might not be £20. If we are out on the tidal river or estuary it can be £50.
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That is just the sort of info I wanted. It has sort of pushed me into the KAD32 territory re my decision

My dilemma has been that even if I got a petrol boat about £10K cheaper than the KAD 32 I would have £10k to spend on fuel. The reality is however that after the initial purchase If I were looking at £100 plus days out I would turn mean and not enjoy the boat so much

Dennis

Many thanks

Dennis
 
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Bigplumbs said:
That is just the sort of info I wanted. It has sort of pushed me into the KAD32 territory re my decision

Many thanks

Dennis
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Can I be quite frank with you?

Fuel cost is bugger all when compared to the other running costs on the boat.

We don't even worry about it and just top it up as and when needed.

For the whole year we used £850 worth of fuel which included most weekends, a two week break, two one week breaks and bank holidays.

As for the booze spend. I wouldn't like to tot that up!

I know that for this coming four day break we have just spent more on booze this morning then we will be spending on fuel :D
 
CX54WEK said:
Can I be quite frank with you?

Fuel cost is bugger all when compared to the other running costs on the boat.

We don't even worry about it and just top it up as and when needed.

For the whole year we used £850 worth of fuel which included most weekends, a two week break, two one week breaks and bank holidays.

As for the booze spend. I wouldn't like to tot that up!

I know that for this coming four day break we have just spent more on booze this morning then we will be spending on fuel :D
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Alkies :). I just have a sup of tea me (What film is that line from)
 
Fuel is such a small part of cost of ownership I dont really factor it in. I guess I'm doing an average of 30 litre per hour @ 20 knts (a lot more if I'm going balls to the wall) and will average 4 hours a weekend out on the hook.
 
CX54WEK said:
Can I be quite frank with you?

Fuel cost is bugger all when compared to the other running costs on the boat.

We don't even worry about it and just top it up as and when needed.

For the whole year we used £850 worth of fuel which included most weekends, a two week break, two one week breaks and bank holidays.

As for the booze spend. I wouldn't like to tot that up!

I know that for this coming four day break we have just spent more on booze this morning then we will be spending on fuel :D
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+1

fuel costs are a small %age of my boats running cost, the order is something like;

berthing at home marina
berthing costs when staying elsewhere
eating out
booze
buying food to eat in
fuel
maintenance & servicing
insurance
...polish

My Mitchell has single Perkins sabre MT225 uses 14 l/p/h @ 11-12knots - 2.6 mpg - 500 litre tank that I keep topped up... last week I filled up after having done 70 miles and stuck in 120litres and paid around £100 from memory but was not really paying that much attention..as really is small potatoes in the big scheme of things!
 
I have a rough idea on fuel burn, but am actually quite pleased that this boat doesn't have that level of data as we boat to enjoy rather than count the pennies.. But it was handy for trimming the boat at speed

Depending on the definition of a "day out" we have anchored here a couple of times this week, and based on my estimates it has probably cost about £10 - £15 to get here and back, another £15 - £20 on food and drink, and however much it costs to run a genny for a couple of hours.

However as others have said there are other more significant costs :cool:

http://s171.photobucket.com/user/nwt688/media/DSC_0836.jpg.html]
DSC_0836.jpg
 
paul salliss said:
I find the cost of fuel thing one of the most boring discussions out there. People buy boats and then moan about cost of fuel, why is that.? You know what you are getting into when you buy the bloody boat, so step on board, drive it and enjoy life. (No offence to the OP as recognise he was not moaning at all). For what it's worth we did a 140 NM trip yesterday in sublime conditions and I could not give a toss about the cost of fuel its just part of the deal
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Well... some people are not as flush as you and cannot just ignore the cost. Have a heart for people that do boating on a budget. You are fortunate in that the money does not matter to you and there are many people with boats in the same position but not everyone can be so dismissive of what can be a significant cost to many. If it is have a boat and watch the pennies or not have a boat at all then I for one would choose to have it and do what I can and if I can reduce the cost then all the better.
 
The secret to happy fuel costs is a big tank (or two) you fill it up and that's painful but then you're not costing out every trip and resenting it. I resented the cost of £25 for the tender's petrol last year way more than the £400 of diesel we used, but I was refilling the tender £5 a time with a small jerry can.
 
Colvic Watson said:
The secret to happy fuel costs is a big tank (or two) you fill it up and that's painful but then you're not costing out every trip and resenting it. I resented the cost of £25 for the tender's petrol last year way more than the £400 of diesel we used, but I was refilling the tender £5 a time with a small jerry can.
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I know what you mean and if I get a diesel boat I might just get a diesel tank in my garden (I have quite a large garden) fill it up and then take 40 ltrs each time which will look like free boating. 1250 ltr tank can easily be accommodated next to my heating oil tank.

As for the other costs people list they also can be done at low cost if you work at it. I pay just £95 per year for my swing mooring which is just 100 m from the main boat yard

Thanks again for every ones input

Dennis

It is also why I might pay the extra for a kad 32 boat rather than a 4.5 or 5.0 ltr Mercruiser because I don't resent the big purchase but do tend to dislike spending £50 - £60 on petrol at the pump each time
 
I know this sounds like an argument between those that think fuel is expensive and those for whom money is no object but I don't think that's the case. Take Mr average (me), my typical weekend out was like last weekend, three days on the île de Porquerolles, now it's only five miles away and I prefer to cruise at eight knots. I honestly don't think I saw the needle move but my restaurant bill was HUGE. All my trips are really very short I think I have some of the best beaches, bays and islands on my doorstep. Fuel is not an issue. But if I count the cost of having my boat (and me and my wife) here in this perfect cruising ground and then divided by the number of days I go boating....well I wouldn't do the maths, the answer would kill me.
For others the man maths of boating make fuel one of the cheaper elements for others one of the most expensive. Even a millionaire would hesitate over the fuel cost to cross an ocean.
 
So the general consensus seems to be that fuel costs is not that big a deal in the wider / grand scheme of boating costs and I completely agree with that.
Let's agree then that this will be the last fuel cost related discussion on here and put that energy instead into exploring in our boats
 
Bigplumbs said:
Just go to the red diesel pump and fill your cans, Get a Jiggle syphon £7.00 and some 10 ltr plastic cans (best size to carry). Don't pay marina prices that's my moto :)

Dennis
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Perhaps its a Northern thing. Never seen a Red diesel pump down yer! I'll have a better look next time Pity my Heating oil is kerrosene 28 second and not Diesel 32 second. Agree Jiggle pump is such a simple and clever piece of kit.
 
dash300 said:
Perhaps its a Northern thing. Never seen a Red diesel pump down yer! I'll have a better look next time Pity my Heating oil is kerrosene 28 second and not Diesel 32 second. Agree Jiggle pump is such a simple and clever piece of kit.
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Motorway service stations usually have a red diesel pump near the commercial pumps. Lorries use red for heating and refridgerated units.
 
dash300 said:
Perhaps its a Northern thing. Never seen a Red diesel pump down yer! I'll have a better look next time Pity my Heating oil is kerrosene 28 second and not Diesel 32 second. Agree Jiggle pump is such a simple and clever piece of kit.
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Northern, I hope you are not calling me a Northerner. I am a Suffolk Boy

Dennis
 
paul salliss said:
So the general consensus seems to be that fuel costs is not that big a deal in the wider / grand scheme of boating costs and I completely agree with that.
Let's agree then that this will be the last fuel cost related discussion on here and put that energy instead into exploring in our boats
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No Sorry don't agree. We need loads more fuel cost discussions. If you don't like them then don't click on them. Easy if you know how
 
No you certainly aren't, but most are north of me! Going to have a look round the lorry pumps as per CX54WEK's info. Boat owning is an expensive hobby and reducing costs should be factored in. Sallis isn't bothered but he's probably happy to fill his car up at Motorway Services!
 
markc said:
I would advise not adding up any of the costs of boating!
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love that comment & agree entirely...

Our two big diesels get through a fair bit when we're belting along, but the truth is that this is only a small part of our time enjoying the boat, plenty of time pottering, anchoring, faffing, so the cost whilst not inconsequential, isn't half as bad as the '200lph' boat manual quoted fast-cruise numbers might frighteningly suggest.
 
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