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The Price of Fun Insider advice about avoiding pain at the pump
BY BOB ARRINGTON
W orld events over the last two years have created a record high interest in recreational boating, but unfortunately they also generated record high fuel prices. To help you understand exactly how various boats burn fuel differently and how to run your boat at its most efficient, we’re turning to Steve Zimmerman, founder of Zimmerman Marine, a highly respected boat yard and boat builder with six locations in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Steve is knowledgeable in all aspects of boat maintenance and design that effect fuel consumption. I had the opportunity to ask Steve recently to dispel some commonly held misconceptions about fuel use in popular styles of recreational boats. BOB: When boaters talk about fuel consumption, they mostly speak in terms of gallons per hour, not miles per gallon. What’s the difference? STEVE: Many boaters focus on gallons per hour (GPH); however, in determining how much fuel you use to cover a distance on your boat, we have to bring speed into the equation. For example, if someone asked which is more efficient, a boat burning 11 GPH or a boat burning 22 GPH? The answer is it’s impossible to say without calculating miles per gallon (MPG).
If the boat burning 11 GPH is traveling at 10 knots (nautical miles per hour), we divide 11 GPH by 10 knots to see it is getting 0.9 nautical miles per gallon (nMPG). If the boat burning 22 GPH is traveling at 22 knots, 22 divided by 22 equals 1.0 nMPG. So, in this example, we see that although the difference is minor, the boat burning double the gallons per hour achieves better mileage. BOB: If people are considering a new boat, are some designs more fuel efficient than others? STEVE: All boat hulls require a certain amount of energy to move through water. The more easily they move through the water, the less energy is required. The primary factors that influence how easily the hull can be moved include hull shape, length, total weight and drag. Hull shapes are sorted into three basic categories: full displacement, semi-displacement and planing. To determine which offers the best fuel economy, we introduce the most important variable of all: speed. BOB: So, the faster a boat goes, the more fuel it burns? STEVE: Usually that’s true, but not always. Different hull forms respond differently to the demand for speed.
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