Quote:
Originally Posted by Trawler Expert
Ok, I had a question posed to me yesterday that I'm pondering today.
Fellow said to me, OK this 48 ft twin 200hp each diesel trawler cruises at 12.5 knots and burns 15 GPH isn't much different from a 48 ft Convertible with Twin 800hp Diesels that cruise 25 knots and burn 35-40 GPH. Yes Trawler burns less but you get distances half as slow vs the Convertible. He states the trawler will burn close to same fuel similar distance, I don't agree with that.
I know the range of the trawler is much greater holding 1000 gallons of fuel, the convertible holds 700 gallons. Is it just a time difference from port to port ?
Thanks
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In the example you gave:
the Trawler cruising 12.5 kts is burning 1.5 Gallons/mile, or .66 nautical miles/gallon
The 48' convertible is also burning about 1.5 gallons/mile (which I think is probably not very reasonable at 25 kts, but we'll let that pass for now.
Third example, our boat, at 57' overall cruises at 7.5 kts, and uses 2.4 gallons/hr, or a little over 3.1 nautical miles/gallon. Oh, and for our boat, that fuel burn is also running the 12kw generator, on a boat weighing on average around 85,000 lbs.
Is one better than the others? No, just different. For us, the journey IS the destination
, or expressed another way, the getting there is half the fun!
So we don't mind getting there slower and in a more sedate manner, but it's not for everyone.
For us, the big plus of fuel "economy" means being able to stay out longer, travel longer, and not have to be tied to fuel stops, or at the mercy of the "only fuel stop for the next 200 miles of coastline". It's a big plus for extended cruising in remote areas. But if you cruise from marina to marina, want to get there fast, and don't mind the fuel bill, the convertible is probably a better bet!
