Boat fuel efficiency

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Another thought on pitch. My sisters 18’ Bayliner we under proped to be able to get out of the hole loaded. At wide open throttle it can creep over the 4500rpm target for the engine (Mercruiser 130 4 banger) We concluded that this was fine, as wide open throttle in a boat that short is damn hard to achieve on Powell. In rare circumstances where she can run that hard, she just has to keep an eye on the tach and manually limit the throttle.
 
Striper Slayer said:
Do you know if they make equipment like this for other brands of motors?
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Yes, sort of. They're not all exactly the same.

For outboards -
  • Yamaha has the YDIS system.
  • Honda has the HondaLink system.
  • Suzuki has the SDS system.
For inboards and sterndrives, you'd basically find something for the automotive equivalent (GM, Ford, etc) with the exception of recent Mercruisers built with their new aluminum blocks.
 
VikingRanch said:
Another thought on pitch. My sisters 18’ Bayliner we under proped to be able to get out of the hole loaded. At wide open throttle it can creep over the 4500rpm target for the engine (Mercruiser 130 4 banger) We concluded that this was fine, as wide open throttle in a boat that short is damn hard to achieve on Powell. In rare circumstances where she can run that hard, she just has to keep an eye on the tach and manually limit the throttle.
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I have watched a bunch of YouTube videos demonstrating how to sea trial the right prop. Seems for most boaters, you want to be able to reach near top RPM's with your boat loaded with a normal load of people and gear. If you test your prop by yourself, not loaded with coolers gear and fishing buddies, you are going to be over-propped. Sounds like you made the right compromise for your needs.

My issue is that my local lakes are all 6,500-8,000 feet. So I always have a higher pitched prop to switch out when going down to Powell. Plus that way I always have a spare on hand!
 
BartsPlace said:
Yes, sort of. They're not all exactly the same.

For outboards -
  • Yamaha has the YDIS system.
  • Honda has the HondaLink system.
  • Suzuki has the SDS system.
For inboards and sterndrives, you'd basically find something for the automotive equivalent (GM, Ford, etc) with the exception of recent Mercruisers built with their new aluminum blocks.
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I would love something like that. I can't see that Indmar (Ford) makes anything like it though.
 
nzaugg said:
I would love something like that. I can't see that Indmar (Ford) makes anything like it though.
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Yeah, I'm not seeing anything either - at least not anything that would be available to the consumer. I'm pretty sure their new helm displays are basically apps running on some sort of tablet. So, the data is there. It's just not published externally.
 
BartsPlace said:
Yeah, I'm not seeing anything either - at least not anything that would be available to the consumer. I'm pretty sure their new helm displays are basically apps running on some sort of tablet. So, the data is there. It's just not published externally.
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I think the helm display is for OEMs only anyway. It looks like a way to allow builders to have a fancy screen to control the wake boat without requiring them to build their own system from the ground up. I think they all put a new interface on top afterward.
 
We have a Mercury outboard that displays the MPG. It’s crazy how it gets more efficient at higher speeds. Trim makes a big difference also. We get ours dialed in perfectly and then someone goes from the back of the boat to the front and we have to retrim to get it back to the max mpg. It takes patience and understanding of how your boat works.

With our boat max mpg is 1.6 LOL. That’s twin 400hp Mercs on a 37ft boat.

The data can be distracting and drive you nuts. Might be better for us to turn that feature off and just enjoy the ride. Haha

Mike
 
BartsPlace said:
Fuel burn is now built-in to newer (2004+) Mercury ECMs. You just need to add the Bluetooth module to send the data to your phone using the free VesselView Mobile app. The app will display GPH, MPG, distance until empty, etc. It's been a game changer on my fishing boat.


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Agreed. We have that too.

The fuel sending unit in most boats is far from accurate.

The PCM's in the newer Mercury's are very accurate.

Using Vesselview we were able to accurately estimate when we'd run out of gas within 1/2 a gallon.

We started with 90 gallons, burned 89.5 gallons according to Vesselview, and filled up 89.5 gallons... meaning the readings on that are almost perfect.

Meanwhile the fuel gauge on the dashboard was telling us we still had 1/5 of a tank... (which is 18 gallons for our 90 gal tank... a HUGE inaccuracy that could cost us our lives).
 
CHRIS MCBETH said:
Agreed. We have that too.

The fuel sending unit in most boats is far from accurate.

The PCM's in the newer Mercury's are very accurate.

Using Vesselview we were able to accurately estimate when we'd run out of gas within 1/2 a gallon.

We started with 90 gallons, burned 89.5 gallons according to Vesselview, and filled up 89.5 gallons... meaning the readings on that are almost perfect.

Meanwhile the fuel gauge on the dashboard was telling us we still had 1/5 of a tank... (which is 18 gallons for our 90 gal tank... a HUGE inaccuracy that could cost us our lives).
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Our gas gauge scared me good on our first trip when we bought the boat when it dropped from 3/4 to 1/4 in an hour. Then I figured out that you can open the engine cover and look under the floor at the side of the tank. Haven’t looked at the gauge since.
 
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