Has the cost of fuel slowed you down? (Non-political)

[Russ.]

Please don’t make this political, but has the cost of fuel slowed down your trawler game?
I’m brand new here, a 30 plus year sailor in muddy Kentucky, currently boatless, but shopping for a trawler to berth in south FL. So I’m curious about fuel consumption and what the current cost has affected usage.

 

[Mako]

Not sure why this would get political.

You might consider not berthing in South Florida if you have that option. The rates are unbelievable and now with the hurricane damage, people will be shifting their boats around, thus less availability.

I just sold by boat recently (central Florida - Port Canaveral), and although I hated putting fuel in my tank, it wasn't so bad overall since a tank lasts a long time. I did however curtail some adventurous long hauls which weren't so critical anyway.

 

[rslifkin]

We don't have a real trawler, but I'd say fuel has had an impact. We already run trawler speed much of the time anyway, but with more expensive fuel we definitely run the boat on plane even less often. We did travel a few less miles this year as well, but that was partly due to fuel cost and partly due to other factors.

 

[Hippocampus]

Short answer is NO. I’m bleeding money restoring our new to us boat. Opportunities to use it are limited so will use whenever I can. The %age of cost of fuel compared to total cost of ownership isn’t enough to change that position
The one concession has been timing purchase and local. We have 600g. When there’s a dip in cost we buy. On rises we do not. I topped off with a bit over 300g recently. We needed to do it anyway given we’re doing RI to SC starting in about a week. Usually don’t run full all the time as the extra weight increases our wetted surface and decreases efficiency a small bit. Glad we did it before the recent OPEC+ meeting.

 

[AdmiralS]

Negative. We just filled up 490 gallons at $5.07 per gallon of diesel. That 490 gallons took us over 800 miles, heated the boat for 4 months, and about 100 generator hours so far this year. We will probably hit 1,000 miles before we haul out in November.

We burn on average 2-3 gallons per hour to do 8 knots. We didn't adjust our speed or plans at all in regard to fuel prices.

 

[twistedtree]

I go a bit slower which has a disproportionate reduction in consumption. But we still went everywhere we wanted. Over 4500 nm so far this year.

 

[Russ.]

Me neither. Glad to hear that. Seems everything goes political. Forgive me if I offended anybody. I’m new here. ��

 

[Russ.]

Thanks for these responses. I’m glad to hear that it hasn’t slowed you down. I am 100% “team trawler,” but with this most recent jump in fuel prices, I caught myself wondering if I could (or would want to) go back to a sailboat. Turns out, I don’t think I will.

 

[tiltrider1]

I was short on time this year do to a death in the family. Heading far north usually takes a week up and a week back. This left me with only one week to spend up north. Didn’t seem worth spending all the money for one week so I spent the three weeks cruising closer to home. I can’t really answer if this decision was based on time or money. I probably would have made the same decision even if fuel wasn’t so high but I can’t say for sure.

On the other hand the dollar is on par with the Euro and almost on par with the pound. Traveling through Europe is currently extremely cheap compared to standard times. So while fuel prices are up I’m taking advantage of cheap hotels and food.

 

[ksanders]

I delayed retirement and cruising for two years because of Covid.

This year I spent a kings ransom on fuel but am happy to have made the journey!

 

[O C Diver]

It did slow me down most of the time from 7 to 6 knots (3.5 to 5 MPG). There are a few situations where more speed works better (going into head seas) (taking advantage of a tidal current before it reverses) (beating bad weather). Hasn't changed where I'm going cruising. Should be around 7,500 miles this year when I get home in November.

I scored (yes that's the right word) fuel in early August at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park (NW corner of Lake Superior). Was helping with a wiring project on their pavilion. A charter captain told me to fuel at the concession fuel dock. They hadn't bought fuel since last fall. Filled up at $3.47 a gallon, Karma! Have 200 gallons left after traveling 2,200 miles to Crisfield on the Chesapeake Bay! Yes, I'm bragging.

Ted

 

[bluemoon57]

I delayed retirement and cruising for two years because of Covid.

This year I spent a kings ransom on fuel but am happy to have made the journey!

If that means you worked for 2 years more than you planned, you should have made enough extra $$$ for a lifetime of fuel!

 

[ksanders]

If that means you worked for 2 years more than you planned, you should have made enough extra $$$ for a lifetime of fuel!

Lol!!! Yes I suppose!

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard and no we did all the cruising that we had planned on this year.

 

[ranger58sb]

Short answer is NO. I’m bleeding money restoring our new to us boat. Opportunities to use it are limited so will use whenever I can. .

Ditto. To all.

-Chris

 

[Simi 60]

Has the cost of fuel slowed you down?

No, but other things this year did

But we now have full tanks
Most if our ducks are in a row
The world north of us is opening up
And we have nothing really holding us back

 

[tiz]

For day trips with no urgency we throttled back a bit and went anyway. If we had to get there on a schedule we ran at 8-10 kts and averaged a bit higher on fuel. It was a fine year.

 

[Taras]

I purchased 1500 gallons of fuel 2.5 years ago when all those oil tankers were backed up with no where to go off Los Angeles. I paid $1.79 per gallon. Now I wish I would have filled all 3000 gallons (max the boat holds). I'm now running low and fuel is $7.00 per gallon in Marina Del Rey. I'm really upset with these Calif prices. Looks like I'll have to go to Jankovich in San Pedro to save about a buck a gallon, but still at $6 a gallon, we are really getting screwed. Yes, its effecting my cruising.... I'm being really careful with my speed so I maximize my economy. Opps, may have drifted political. Calif prices are really high.

 

[jimdavi]

No affect as we use approximately 150 gals a year. Pumped out in sfo city dock today and gas was $8.15. Yikes.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

We did not go north this year. Fuel was one concern. In 2021 our budget for fuel was 12k. We spent $9,100. If we were to go this last year, 2022, our fuel bill would be around $18,000. We stayed on the river this year.

 

[Simi 60]

I purchased 1500 gallons of fuel 2.5 years ago when all those oil tankers were backed up with no where to go off Los Angeles. I paid $1.79 per gallon. Now I wish I would have filled all 3000 gallons (max the boat holds). I'm now running low and fuel is $7.00 per gallon in Marina Del Rey.

Wow, best we ever saw here was $1.21/litre X 3.78 for a gallon
Currently around $2.10/litre on water.

 

[dhays]

This last year has been a complete bust for me as far as getting out on the water. I’ve used the boat only a handful of times over the past 12 months. Horribly depressing.

However, the last time I took the boat out, it was solely to get fuel. I put 200 Gal of fuel in for $1,111.47.

I’m a former sailor as well so am cheap. I run my boat slowly and burn 2- 2.5 gal/hr anyway. I would love have been able to use the boat enough this year to be able to complain about fuel prices, but alas…..

 

[Bendit]

This last year has been a complete bust for me as far as getting out on the water. I’ve used the boat only a handful of times over the past 12 months. Horribly depressing.

However, the last time I took the boat out, it was solely to get fuel. I put 200 Gal of fuel in for $1,111.47.

I’m a former sailor as well so am cheap. I run my boat slowly and burn 2- 2.5 gal/hr anyway. I would love have been able to use the boat enough this year to be able to complain about fuel prices, but alas…..

Yep. Diesel is now around $2.60 a liter here in NZ.
So we’ve slowed down from 9.2kn @ 1300 rpm to 8kn @ 1050 rpm.
Fuel burn has gone from 18 lph to 10 lph [emoji846]

 

[twistedtree]

After my first reply I realized your question could be interprets two way, both literally and figuratively, with different answers.

Taken literally, yes, we have slowed down , now running the boat in the 7.5kt vs 8.5kt range to get better mileage.

Taken figuratively, no, we have not reduced or limited out cruising plans.

 

[Hippocampus]

Everything is a compromise. If weather permits will start south on Saturday. Will not modify on several segments but rather play tides, time and currents. Going from RI to near the entrance of hell gate will run slow ~7-8kts. Then time for the currents until we reach Atlantic Highlands using enough fuel to be going faster than the current and have steerage. We do the NJ coast as a single shot. Atlantic Highlands to Cape May. Will burn whatever fuel is required to be able to leave in the evening and be in cape may by mid to late afternoon the next day. Same for the run from cape may to Chesapeake city. But here do time for the C&D, Delaware tide and sunlight. So may add a anchor and sleep period somewhere in the Delaware.
Fall is a tough season. More morning fog, shorter days and weather fronts rolling through more frequently. During the summer we went slow. During the fall we do whatever lowers anxiety that means varying speed and burn to still allow excellent visibility.
So think the answers to the OP varies with the seasons. Safety first and when you’re seasonally migrating fuel burn takes a back door to other concerns. Even in summer if you’re going out for a cruise you generally have more stable weather and longer days. Open fuel stops are easier to find. Less impact from going slow. I know this changes depending upon where you are but think this post has some merit for east coast US cruisers.

 

[GoneFarrell]

The boat burns about the same GPH as my car or some of my motos, they go 10X as fast, 10X as far, but aren't 10X more fun!

 

[slowgoesit]

Purchased boat January of last year, finally got to her in September, moved aboard, and started getting ready to go.

This was the first we really cruised the boat. So far this year, we've put over 4000 miles and around 650 hours on the boat, with about 500 of that to Glacier Bay, Alaska and back.
We burned right on 3.0 GPH over just under 3000 nautical miles, with an average speed of about 7.2 kts. That burn includes about 50 hours of standby engine generator use (due to a mechanical problem, and before we got the solar up and running), as well as hydronic (diesel fired) heat as needed. Also includes running the hydraulic driven 12kw 120v generator while underway. Sooooo, about $9,000 so far this year spent on diesel.
Was that painful? Yes, it was, but what would have been MORE painful would have been to have not made the trip! It may be our only opportunity to cruise to Alaska, as we plan on heading South next year to Sea of Cortez, then in 2024, head through the Panama Canal into the Caribbean and from there, who knows? Bahama's and the East Coast of the US definitely in the plans, but nothing set in stone. Bottom line, the cost of fuel, to a point, is not going to restrict our cruising. Going down the coast, we may cruise at 6 kts instead of 7.5, but distance will probably be the same.

We're not rich, but we have enough.

We had a Class A motor home for a number of years as well. Sold it December of last year for more than we thought we would, so had more money for boat upgrades/fuel than we thought. Cost of fuel never restricted our wheeled travels either, although wife heard occasional grumbling every time we filled up.

If we hadn't bought the boat, and started using her, we be in our house in KY wondering if the grass needs mowing, or whatever. Much rather be on the boat.

 

[MYTraveler]

Since the marginal cost of using my boat is lower than the cost of other stuff I like to use big hunks of time on (air fare is through the roof, and the "inconvenience cost" has increased even more), the financial incentive to use my boat has only increased. Fuel is still the cheapest part of boating.

 

[Portage_Bay]

The cost of fuel may slow down my speed, it hasn't yet. It won't cut into the days / miles on the water. I've got too much into this boat and perhaps to few years left to use it, one never knows, to let it sit idle for the cost of fuel. Fuel is still the least cost of the boat.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Fuel is still the cheapest part of boating.

So do you stay at a lot of marinas and restaurants?

On our trips to Alaska and B.C., fuel is our biggest cost. We like anchoring over staying at a marinas. The marinas are also commercial fishing ports and cruise lines.

Nice quiet bays are for us.