Fuel Consumption for 3208TA in 48' MY

The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

JerryD

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2019
Messages
6
Location
USA
I'm trying to estimate fuel costs for a long transit in a 48 Californian Aft Cabin MY running 3208TA's. Speed around 8kts. Any help out there?
Thanks,
Jerry
 
Alaskan Sea Duction should be along shortly...
 
I get about 3mpg at 8kts, on my 48 Tolly. I’m about 47k pounds and semi-displacement moderate keel and soft chines.
 
Are we talking an ocean transit or protected water ways. For ocean transit at 8 kts I would do all my planing at 1 gallon per nautical mile. You should do better but it’s a good place to start.

When I ran my boat up the coast I got anywhere from 1.5 to 1 gallons per nautical mile running a 54’ very empty boat powered by twin 3208T’s at 10 kts. The variance was caused by weather conditions. You can burn a lot of fuel climbing 20’ swells and crashing through 6’ waves. I don’t think TA’s are going to be any different at these low power settings.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you got the number down to .75 gallons per nautical mile but I wouldn’t plan on it.
 
Last edited:
In protected waters I burn .9 gallons per nautical mile cruising at 10 kts. I have never done an extended 8 kt run.

It was easy for me to get this data. I filled all tanks to to a visible sight line before the trip. Filled to the same sight line at each port of call and did the same at the end of the trip. I also repeated this with our 3 week trip this summer which was all protected water ways to get a comparison.
 
8 kts on a 48 is way less power than 10kts on a 54. 8kts on a 48 I'll guess 1.5-2nm/gal. Well below hull speed at 8kts. 10kts on the 54 is trying to climb the hump, lots more power needed.
 
I'm looking at offshore transit from Marina del Rey, California north to the Delta..
About 440 Nm
 
So 440 nm at 1.5nm/gal is 293 gal. How much fuel do you carry? Slow it down to 7 or 7.5kts and range goes up a good bit.
 
8 kts on a 48 is way less power than 10kts on a 54. 8kts on a 48 I'll guess 1.5-2nm/gal. Well below hull speed at 8kts. 10kts on the 54 is trying to climb the hump, lots more power needed.

I agree with you Ski. That’s why I spelled it all out.

Going from Marina Del Rey to the Delta you will have some current and wind on the nose but insignificant if weather is good. You also have plenty of fuel stops along the way.

I would make two plans. One for 1 nmpg and one for 1.5 nmpg. Then monitor your consumption, at half tank you will know which plan you are on.
 
The 42 GB with 3208TAs that we chartered was not even close to those numbers.
We used 271 gal in 180 statute mile trip at 1350 RPM, 7 knots. 10 hours of gen time.
At 1500 RPM those cats suck 5 gph each!!! The fuel curves are readily available online.
 
I have a 1989 48' Californian aft cabin with 3208/375hp. I have ran against the current on the Cumberland River averaging 12-13 mph and only got 1 mpg. On my return trip I slowed it down a bit to 9-10 mph running with the current and got 2 mpg. Both ways the generator was running also. Sorry but I don't have a better fix on it than that. I would expect if I would hold it down to 8-9 mph I would get a little better. One of the other posters mentioned that the 48 carries 560 gallons. I am pretty sure that is correct. I think I have two 200 gallons on each side and a 160 gallon aft tank.
 
I have a 1989 48' Californian aft cabin with 3208/375hp. I have ran against the current on the Cumberland River averaging 12-13 mph and only got 1 mpg. On my return trip I slowed it down a bit to 9-10 mph running with the current and got 2 mpg. Both ways the generator was running also. Sorry but I don't have a better fix on it than that. I would expect if I would hold it down to 8-9 mph I would get a little better. One of the other posters mentioned that the 48 carries 560 gallons. I am pretty sure that is correct. I think I have two 200 gallons on each side and a 160 gallon aft tank.

This is why fuel consumption is such a tricky subject. All the above info is miles per gallon which now needs to be translated into nautical miles per gallon. So at 8 kts he got 1.75 miles per gallon on a river running down stream.

The fuel curves I have for 3208T’s Show 3.8 gallons at 1500 rpms per engine. However I have always done Better than the numbers on my fuel curve.
 
Welcome Jerry. Below were my numbers in 2017 for our trip to Alaska and back. We do travel "Outside" from Astoria to Neah Bay" about 190 miles one way. We do travel this section at about 13-14kts @ 2100RPM. Good luck. and Welcome.



FINAL NUMBERS for ASD:

· Total Days of Cruise: 143

· Total Miles: 3649

· Moorage Costs: $3774 (includes 5 weeks at Ketchikan)

· Total Fuel: $7263

· Average Cost Per Gallon: $2.91

· Average MPG: 1.5

· Average Burn Rate: 5.94 gph (Includes Genny)
 
Hi Jerry,

I've got the Cat 52' with similar motors. I generally cruise at 9 knots, about 1500-1600 rpm. In variable conditions I get about 6.5GPH including generator use. I slowed to 7 knots for a day and dropped my fuel burn below 5GPH.

Let us know how it goes.

Cheers, Bill
 
Fuel Burn

I'm trying to estimate fuel costs for a long transit in a 48 Californian Aft Cabin MY running 3208TA's. Speed around 8kts. Any help out there?
Thanks,
Jerry

Jerry:

I have a 55' CPMY with same 3208TA's. 8 -10kts is prime cruising speed and there are multiple factors in running. My manual also says that for every 2 hours at lower speeds you need to run at WOT for 2-3 min. I have a GPH meter but won't help you much as my set up will be much different than a 48 but for what it is worth I get 3gph at 8.2kts and 5.9gph at 10kts.
 
Jerry:

I have a 55' CPMY with same 3208TA's. 8 -10kts is prime cruising speed and there are multiple factors in running. My manual also says that for every 2 hours at lower speeds you need to run at WOT for 2-3 min. I have a GPH meter but won't help you much as my set up will be much different than a 48 but for what it is worth I get 3gph at 8.2kts and 5.9gph at 10kts.

So what you are saying is that you burn a total of 6 gallons in an hour when traveling at 8.2 knots and 11.8 gallons when traveling at 10 kts.
 
Back
Top Bottom