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Best cruise 'speed' for fuel efficiency?

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prof_fate

New member
With car the faster you go the more fuel you use, but if you much below 30-35mph your MPG drops as well. Do 40-45 mph for the most mile per gallon.

OK..on a boat I know planing is more efficient that motoring along displacing water.

I want to spend a day on the river and go places I want to use the least amount of fuel.

So how do I determine what is 'most efficient' for my boat/load/water conditions? What am I looking for?
I've got a speedometer and tach but no cool MPG meter like my car and no odomoter to try and work out how far I've gone - could use a GPS I guess.

Get on plane and cut throttle until I stay there? Something better?
 
With a fuel efficiency meter you chart speed and rpm's against MPG over a full range of rpm's and arrive at a relatively precise speed that is most efficient for you setup. Without an accurate fuel usage meter, it's just a guess. Typically, your best efficiency will come at about 200 o 300 rpm's above your planning rpm's.
 
Sorry, but I find that to be useless advice.
like a friend of mine that doesn't care about MPG on his car - as he says 'whether i get 10 or 40mpg it doesn't change the fact that when the needle reaches E i need to buy more gas'
 
Docksidemarineservices said:
Boating and saving fuel are two words that do not go together.
Click to expand...

I agree but I can idle about, run at full throttle or anywhere in between. I bet there is a difference in fuel consumption over a distance. And some of the time I have a choice on how to run. Not in no wake or when pulling a skier of course but that's really a small percentage of the time I'm on the water.

If I want to go to the island up river to spend the afternoon and come back I see no reason to burn more fuel than necessary.
 
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