MPG of small sports boat???

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davesimmons

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Hi Guys,

Looking for purchase a small sports boat for a bit if fishing and beach runs etc, and am narrowing the choices down to something like a Regal 1800 of Sea Ray 180 (£10,000 mark). Does anyone own one of these and can they help me on MPG?

I was looking into a Diesel version but reading this forum seems to indicate that in the long run it might be the wrong choice?

Any advice gratefully appreciated /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Its difficult to give an MPG figure for a boat because of the huge list of variables-speed, sea state, loading etc. but I would expect a figure of 3-4 mpg at a relaxed cruising speed but this would get significantly worse at WOT. It could drop as low as 1mpg.

A better way of looking at it would be a galls per hour figure. Prob around 7-8gph cruising up to 15gph WOT. A lot will depend on which engine you go for. (3.0L economical but dull upto 5.0L exciting but expensive)

I don't think that a diesel makes a lot of sense in a boat of this type (nothing to do with the loss of red). These types of boat simply perform (and sound /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) better with a petrol. The cost savings on a diesel, while cheaper to run, are not that great.(Taking into account purchase, servicing etc)
 
well, you know it depends on how far fwd you push the throttle thingy... but on regal 18, about 5gph with 3.01, 7gph with 4.3l, and 10gph with 5.0l. And thats probably with some fairly sporty driving. 3.0l is perfectly ok in this boat, by the way, unless you expect to be bringing in a few hundred kilo of tuna each trip. 18ft Regal is a good little boat, and lots of summer fun, but a little more length would be advantageous unless you have pretty sheltered waters.
Some dealerships are more helpful than others, but Pm me if you want to know more about the boats.
 
Sorry Gludy - should have realised that from reading the forum /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Out of interest (and PLEASE remember that I am very new to this) can someone clear up the fuels costs at the moment. i.e. Is there still red diesel, What is this white diesel I have heard of, is petrol / diesel more expensive in the marinas, how is best to fill a small sports boat (Tesco's forecourt)?

Sorry if this is a sore point with you guys but it is very confusing to new people /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Red diesel currently available for between 40 &60ppl depending on location
White diesel is what you would put in your car (assuming diesel!) from Tesco's etc
Petrol is the same everywhere but expect to pay around £1-1.20 in marina's.

I used to have a Searay 180 with 3.0l petrol, being on a trailer I filled up at garage forecourts as it was cheaper, with mixed use anything from around 4-6gal/ hour was normal.

I also used to have (after the searay) a 21ft cuddy with the Merc 1.7 Turbo Diesel. In something like a searay 180 / regal 180 you can expect similar performance figures to the 3.0l petrol nothing earth shattering but perfectly good enough for most needs! Typically I got 2-4 gal/hour out of the Diesel, the only time it was consistantly at the higher end was when her bum was dirty!

Hope that helps
Charlie
 
Red is available at the old price - probably until year end.

It appears as if white at over road fuel prices will replace it.

The government have indicated that they do not wish to charge Euro rates but go to full duty rate - so if they have their way, its white. The economics of scale of Marina pumps means that it ends up a bit higher than road prices.

Your planned boat is petrol so the cheapest source is a super market forecourt but some marinas have rules stopping you bringing lots of fuel onto the pontoon.
 
Stuff the costs, thats just boating, especially when compared to all the other costs. Make sure you have a) a decent sized tank b) a reliable fuel gauge and c) space to put a spare can or two (& a funnel) - for peace of mind.

Then crank wide open & enjoy.
 
Rule of thumb for petrol boats i am reliably informed is 1gal per hour per 15hp worst case. i.e. 200hp = 13.33gals/hr.
 
Thanks for the help guys! That really helps clear up a lot of my questions.

Nice to know forums like this are around /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I thought the Regal 1800 was a bowrider and there was no choice in the matter? Am I being dense?

Cuddy's seem more expensive and with such a small boat what real use are they?
 
When we had a SeaRay 225 Weekender with a 5.0L 260Hp Merc MPI engine and Alpha 1 leg we got the following consumption, general we cruised at 25mph on the GPS at 3200rpm, WOT was 4800rpm with top speed about 50mph. We refuelled after every trip so all the figures include a bit of 6knt river creaping down the Hamble or up to Cobbs Quay etc but they are real life figures - because you don't actually blast around everywhere at WOT!

You will also see MPG figures from 2004 season when I worked out how to use the trip meter on the GPS ! Best ever MPG was 2.2MPG on a trip from Hamble to Poole and worst ever 1.4MPG

2002 Ave 19L/hr or 4.19Gal/hr, best tank 11.81L/hr or 2.6gal/hr, worst tank 32L/hr or 7Gal/hr

2003 Ave 24L/hr or 5.3Gal/hr, best tank 16.29L/hr or 3.59Gal/hr or , worst tank 33.51L/hr or 7.38Gal/hr.

2004 Ave 19.28L/hr or 4.25Gal/hr or 2.42MPG, best tank 14.34L/hr or 3.16Gal/hr or 2.49MPG, worst tank 34.46L/hr or 7.59Gal/hr or 2.21MPG

2005 Ave 18.84L/hr or 4.15Gal/hr or 2.33MPG, best tank 11.14L/hr or 2.45Gal/hr or 1.55MPG, worst tank 32.62L/hr or 7.19Gal/hr or 1.95MPG

We never wiorried about the fuel consumption, we just got on and used the boat, the figures where of more use to Marina Marbella when they found them in my file when I PX'd the boat, they showed the potential new owners that a 5L V8 won't break the bank with fuel consumption. I used then for safe range calculations when passage planning.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for the info!! Very useful stuff indeed.

I will keep you guys posted as we are looking at a couple of boats this weekend.

Thanks again!
 
Bow riders give very little protection from the weather/sea /wind and have very limited storage space .If you have children its fun in the front of a b/r but nowhere to shelter when it gets cold. I would never have a b/r from choise unless your going to use it in the med. There have been lots of previous posts on this subject. Dave.
 
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