Fuel Usage for the season

[Apex]

What is YOUR usage?


We have an Yanmar YSM-8R - O'Day 28
We weekend on the boat, and the motoring out to the channel is limited. Our marina has a short channel out to Muskegon Lake, and again we motor out the channel from Muskegon into Lake Michigan..I do not have an hour meter, so I have created my first data point for yearly usage:

2014: 6.85gal (I had to leave some in the jug, so closer to 6.0) for a whopping $25.00. Some use off-road diesel, including the PO judging by the red fuel in the system, I presume to save $. I simply filled jerry cans at my nearest station for convenience sake.

Last season was very similar, (<10gal) but since I didn't know my starting point, I topped off last season filling the "fill tube", and topped off to a similar point this fall. Tru to claims, you CAN hear a difference once fuel level hits the fill tube so as to avoid a spill.

 

[kentwm24]

I use my boat about 30 times a year and use about 6 or 7 gallons of fuel.

 

[hewebb]

I use about 8 to 10 gal a year. I use Jet A-it is more stable than auto diesel and can stand the long term storage.

 

[quadrille38]

Hi Apex Whitehall boater here. Used to have an ODay 28 but it had the OMC sail drive. So can't compare that boat. Moved up to a Catalina 34 with a 21 hp diesel and I'd say on average with a heavy year of use I'd use maybe 15 gallons a season at most. Often far less to the point where in fact I was getting concerned there wasn't enough turn over. Actually took to motoring all they way up and down White Lake (7 miles each way) one season just to use it up because it was getting too old. In 2009 we moved up to a Hunter 38 with a 40 hp Yanmar and this summer with extensive use which included a 3 week trip up and across the lake (over 200 miles) plus weekends and a second week long vacation and usage was about 45 gallons for the season. I do buy from our marina fuel dock or from the marinas when we travel. Just not into hauling fuel jug around and messing with potential spillage (due to where the fuel fill is located) trying to pour from a jug. Yeah I know the marine fuel costs more but I have a couple of reasons beyond convenience for doing so. First we've been friends with our marina owners for over 20 years and I know how hard they work and what a struggle it is for them to make a living. They are always right there to give me advice on DIY projects and even sometimes letting me borrow tools so that I feel that the least I can do is buy a few things from them. The few cents a gallon they get off fuel isn't going to make it for them but it all helps. The second reason is that in Michigan there is a dedicated tax on marine fuel sales that goes into the state waterways trust. That trust is dedicated funding that goes to help pay for municipal marina development and harbor maintenance throughout Michigan. That's why we have some of the most amazing municipal marina facilities on the lake at a cost for slips that is really low. Compare transient fees in Michigan to Illinois or Wisconsin and you will see what I mean. So as a boater benefiting from those facilities I don't have a problem paying the tax to support the waterways trust that pays for those facilities (as long as we can keep those damn greedy politicians who are constantly trying to hijack the trust to balance the budget from getting their hands on it).