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Old 05-26-2018, 09:36 AM   #5
MurrayM
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City: Kitimat, North Coast BC
Vessel Name: Badger
Vessel Model: 30' Sundowner Tug
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 5,946
The PO of our boat put in an extra tank, giving us 140 gallons to play with.

To estimate fuel burn I crunched the numbers for the whole of our first year which gave an overall fuel burn of 1.3gph...this includes warm ups, cool downs, crab trap fetching, and animal/whale photo ops. (We cruise at a set rpm and let wind & currents dictate speed over ground). For estimating I use 1.5gph.

This gives 429nm with a 33% reserve, or 518nm with a 20% reserve.

In our case it’s not how far it is between fuel stops, but how much meandering we can do. Last summer we hit all the mainland inlets in Fiordlands on the way home to Kitimat (but not Gardner Canal) after filling up in Shearwater without having to go to Hartley Bay.

In the future may convert the 50 gallon water tank into a fuel tank so we can stay out for even longer without having to “come in” to refuel. The price of water makers is holding that plan at bay...
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