Poor Fuel consumption on 74 Liter engine Bravo1 drive

"Hi Folks, Its my first post

"Hi Folks, Its my first post so I hope I'm not asking a question that was recently addressed. My son Cris purchased a 1991, 26 foot Dorel with the single 7.4 liter engine and a Bravo 1 drive. The fuel consumption seems to be 2 times that of other similar boats fuel is more than 100 liters per hour and that is just getting up on plane and operating at 3500 rpm. Any ideas as what to look for or is this fuel consumption to be expected?

Thanks Mike"

"seems a bit high to me. Lets

"seems a bit high to me. Lets go on the assumption you have a calibrated fuel flow meter installed.

could be the fuel pump being ruptured dumping the excess fuel into the carb. Could be the carb is flooding, too. trying looking into the carb next time it is out and running. don't leave the flame arrester off longer than necessary.

Could also be too much prop. what is the RPM @ WOT?"

"Thanks for your input Mark,

"Thanks for your input Mark,

Would a carborator kit and rebuild address a problem such dumping excess fuel into the carborator? Is a carb rebuid a sensible roubleshooting step?

The RPM when wide open as I recall is over 4000 perhaps 4400. The boat gets on plane at about 3500 and we can then reduce down a bit. it then seems to start to loose some power and comes off pane unless RPM increses above 3500 or so.

Mike"

If the engine is running right

If the engine is running right then that's what the engine will do. Face it; it's a gas guzzler pushing a barge. Pull the spark plugs; if the color is light to medium brown then the carb is doing its job.

Clean and wax the hull until it is "snot slick". That will help reduce drag. Step down to the next pitch in prop to get the RPMs to the max.

"mike

carb rebuild is troub

"mike

carb rebuild is troubleshooting, it repairing. You need to see if there is a flooding situation and then resolve the source(s) if present.

Guy's suggestions will help; the prop change may take a little off the top end speed, but will let you get on plane much faster and easier."

"Mike:

You have percieved t

"Mike:

You have percieved there is a problem; high fuel consumption. I'm not saying that the high gas consumption doesn't exist or is not due to a faulty part. I'm just suggesting how to determine if there is a fuel/quality delivery problem.

Plug inspection is my first choice. It can answer a myriad of questions; fuel mixture, spark plug wire condition, overall ignition condition and fuel quality.

The hull issue and prop change are just part of a solution. A carb rebuild can not hurt the engine operation. Plug inspection can tell you if it is the primary issue."