East Coast Cruising range requirements

What would be considered a desirable cruising range for a boat intended to cover East coast cruising grounds: Canadian Maritime Provinces to Caribbean Islands/Cuba? Goal would be to be able to avoid questionable quality fuel, but not necessarily ability to make a round trip to avoid higher prices.

On a six thousand mile trip from Chicago through Canada to Trinidad if you island hop the longest fuel jump would be approximately 1,000 / 1,200 miles from Florida to Ponce, PR. There is fuel available in between in the Bahamas, Turks and DR but if you can avoid those fill ups you will save money and possibly fuel quality issues. Once you reach Puerto Rico the fuel jumps are much smaller, although the prices do go up. Antigua, St. Lucia, Grenada, and Trinidad have large supplies of fuel.

Thanks Marty. Current boat has ~600mi safe range. I'm trying to come up with requirements for the retirement boat.

If going no farther than the Bahamas and Cuba, I downgraded my range to 300 miles based on my style and needs.

If I needed another 100 limes or two, I could add a 55 gal drum or flex tank.

We found a 700 mile range which included a big safety factor (and allowance for generator use) to be more than adequate for enjoying that area. We enjoyed stopping and visiting all the side trip islands. The exception being Bermuda in our case, as it made more sense to me to fly there if I wanted to see it. In reality a 400 mile range is more than enough even if you skip some of the roses along the way. Get out some charts and Google earth and guides and do some route and itinerary planning, it's part of the fun in the dreaming stage anyway. The islands with ports that accommodate big yachts and sport fishermen have good (but $$$) fuel.

Fuel is an area where people have a misunderstanding of needs.

While I am not hands on familiar with that area the furthest I was able to find in North and Central America was 420NM from Turtle Bay to Cabo, Baja Mexico. The second longest spot was 260NM from Yakutat Alaska to Cordova, or Whittier Alaska.

The great thing about Coastal Cruising is that people live there and they need fuel.

We cruised the whole east coast in a grand banks 47. It had a range of about 250nm going fast, and about 500-600 going slow. Range was never a problem, though sometimes require some very modest planning.

50-60 mile range will cover the entire US portion of that cruise. The bigger tanks mean cheaper fuel and ballast. Fuel quality really isn't an issue in the US.

mattinri said:

What would be considered a desirable cruising range for a boat intended to cover East coast cruising grounds: Canadian Maritime Provinces to Caribbean Islands/Cuba? Goal would be to be able to avoid questionable quality fuel, but not necessarily ability to make a round trip to avoid higher prices.

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Some of this will depend on how fast you want to travel and the size of the boat. If you plan to travel above displacement speed, size of engines and the corresponding fuel will greatly impact you ability to carry extra weight such as fresh water. As the size of the boat gets smaller, this becomes more acute. This may translate into more frequent stops for more than just fuel. When traveling at displacement speed, reasonable quantities of fuel have minimal bearing on speed, fuel efficiency, and the ability to carry extra weight such as fresh water. If you prefer to anchor out, larger capacities of fuel and water may allow you more days away from civilization. IMO, the price of fuel will remain volatile and fluctuate based on world stability. While I don't need to shop to save 10 cents per gallon, the last time I scanned the diesel prices for Chesapeake Bay, the spread was from high to low was $1.50 per gallon. Having a larger capacity allows one to fuel where it's inexpensive and when it's convenient. Also, one should consider generator useage in the mix. If you plan to cruise only 1 out of every 2 to 4 days, but plan to run the genset 5 to 10 hours a day, fuel consumption might be higher for making electricity.

For a displacement boat I think 500 miles would be a good minimum. For a faster boat you probably have to plan on stopping at least every other day, so 250 miles would be my minimum.

Ted

The way I look at is simple...

For coastal cruising fuel capacity is not even on the list of things to consider when buying a boat. Pretty much any large boat will have the range for coastal cruising.

I'd be concentrating on things like creature comforts, and maintainability.

"I'm trying to come up with requirements for the retirement boat."

The requirement is not the size of the fuel tank , but the quality of build of the fuel tank.

Eventually you will get CRAP fuel and the question is it a simple job to clear the fuel or a nightmare.

The only way its easy is with a genuine marine fuel tank, not just a box of fuel.

Designs of marine fuel tanks have been posted in the past .

It must have a servicable sump as well as inlet filtering in the down tube.

With no electric , no extra parts , cleaning 40% water will take time , but thats all.

If you are stuck with boxes of fuel the centrifugal fuel cleaning systems will remove 100% of the contaminates , but they require power , installation and cleaning.

Alfa Laval has small boat sizes.

Your NA may not like the install requirements of a self maintainable fuel tank, but he wont be on the dock when the kid sez , OOPS

He also wont like the design requirement for a gravity style RV toilet holding tank, , but he wont voulinteer to fly in to clean some complex electric poop monster , with parts in his luggage.

If you're building a custom boat your naval architect will happily design in what ever you want. If he/she is not, get another one.

Since I'm guessing you're not building a custom boat anything over say a 300 mile range would work.

While you most likely would want redundant fuel filters, I would not be overly concerned about getting a boat load of bad fuel. Sure it would be nice if your boat came with tricked out fuel tanks that make it as easy as possible to clean them out but, as I think many here will agree, getting a big load of bad fuel is very rare these days. Even in what some might consider remote locations.

I've traveled from Florida, down through parts of the Caribbean and on to the West coast of Costa Rica and back with zero fuel contamination issues.

One trick to minimize your chances of getting bad fuel is to not be the first boat of the day to take on fuel from the fuel station.

Filling your own tanks and replacing fill cap o rings is another way to assure "fuel quality". More than one thread on this forum has found bad caps or o rings to be the boogie man. One recent thread covers what happens when the "fuel kid" sticks the diesel hose in the water tank to top you off.

CPseudonym said:

Filling your own tanks and replacing fill cap o rings is another way to assure "fuel quality". More than one thread on this forum has found bad caps or o rings to be the boogie man. One recent thread covers what happens when the "fuel kid" sticks the diesel hose in the water tank to top you off.

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One of the features I really like about my boat is that the water fills are in the bow, fuel fills are in the stern, and there's no outside walkway between the two.

Ted

CPseudonym said:

Filling your own tanks and replacing fill cap o rings is another way to assure "fuel quality". More than one thread on this forum has found bad caps or o rings to be the boogie man. One recent thread covers what happens when the "fuel kid" sticks the diesel hose in the water tank to top you off.

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Does any fuel dock even pump fuel for you theses day? Pumping fuel transfers the liability in the event of a spill to the attendant and the marina. I can't remember the last time I was at a marina that would do anything other than hand you the nozzle so you are the one libel.

Same with the fuel trucks and barges.

CPseudonym said:

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/aaaargh-16482.html

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Your point?

Or is today talk like a pirate day and I missed it.

Several bad fuel episodes reported by friends this season here in the Eastern Caribbean. These were sail boats that have small tanks and need to fill up more frequently then is normal for most trawlers down here. With a once a year, or every other year fill up we can select our fuel station with a certain amount of caution.

Capt.Bill11 said:

Your point?

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Fill your own tanks.

Capt.Bill11 said:

Does any fuel dock even pump fuel for you theses day? Pumping fuel transfers the liability in the event of a spill to the attendant and the marina. I can't remember the last time I was at a marina that would do anything other than hand you the nozzle so you are the one libel.

Same with the fuel trucks and barges.

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I don't know if you recall the episode of someone we both know who was cruising the NY to Great Lakes part of the loop last summer when one of the dock workers started fueling the boat for him (or according to him) and put about 40 gallons of gas into his diesel tank. They then spent the day pumping the fuel out. This was at Bying Inlet in Britt.

Quoting him....It was an honest mistake. The gas dock kids are back in school, and everybody now fills in. The gas and diesel are both on the same pump, both hoses are the same, and the nozzles are the same size. Add in a guy who doesn't usually pump fuel, and it all came together on our boat.

I would toss in the warning too to make sure you check the pump before starting to fuel.

Another plus for going with the poly fuel tanks when replacing old ones....it shows ft he colored fuel nicely, plus the foaming of the diesel.

CPseudonym said:

Fill your own tanks.

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Got it.

A popular Sydney DIY fuel supplier, (based on price, convenience, and volume), requires customers (private and commercial), to watch several online videos on correct refueling methods, correctly answer questions on them, accept liability for spills caused etc while also indemnifying the supplier, before issuing an access card you must swipe each time to use the facility.
No one to blame but yourself if things go wrong.

I've done the loop, much of the east coast, and the Bahamas twice (there now). Only once did I go 600 miles between fills (in Canada) and even then I had several chances to fill, just didn't.

So to answer your question, something in the 400 mile range would be fine. If you are going further south, then 600+ would be good.

Arch

Self-service seems to be the custom here. The attendant may hand you the nozzle, but the boater is in charge of fitting the nozzle and controlling fuel flow. Betcha the fuel provider doesn't want the liability of a fuel spill. My tank caps are labeled: diesel, water, and waste.

BruceK said:

A popular Sydney DIY fuel supplier, (based on price, convenience, and volume), requires customers (private and commercial), to watch several online videos on correct refueling methods, correctly answer questions on them, accept liability for spills caused etc while also indemnifying the supplier, before issuing an access card you must swipe each time to use the facility.
No one to blame but yourself if things go wrong.

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good grief.. I had heard that your regs down there were over the top...

I was at a steel supplier here in the states a couple weeks ago had so many regs that the place was ridiculous.. I found out is owned by a Australian Corp... figures.

I guess I will stop complaining that we are over regulated in the States...

HOLLYWOOD

Hollywood, those are the requirements of a commercial fuel seller dock,based in Western Australia, who gets good business from ferries, small charter operators, private boats, etc, and has really shaken up the fuel market with low pricing, and sometimes even helpful staff. In practice it runs smoothly and unlike many fuel docks they have clean open approaches to a well maintained well fendered dock. They are essentially responsibility shifting, I see insurer and lawyer written all over it, I bet they significantly lowered their public liability insurance cost, and the education on safe refueling won`t go amiss for some.
We are probably less Govt. regulated than you are, no ABYC regs like I keep reading about, and our Marine Rescue and Water Police seem much more user friendly than I read about your Coastguard.
Sincere apologies OP for the drift.

AAArrrgghhh. Captn Bill.


Talk like a Pirate Day be 19 th. September Shipmate.

Captn Davie here.

Thanks all. Current boat is very basic. No generator, etc. Budget doesn't allow for new builds, architects, etc. I could maybe stretch to $300K for the retirement boat but would prefer to put the money into cruising - but not if I'm going to feel restricted in destinations. I know Cuba will rapidly evolve, but I'm unfamiliar with the Caribbean islands.