My 'new to me' Catalina 22 hasn't made it off the trailer and into the water yet. When it does, how many hours of use should I expect out of the 3 gallons of gas in the outboard's remote tank? The boat's got a 2000 Nissan 9.8 hp two-stroke engine. I'm trying to decide if I should have more fuel on board in case I need to motor twelve miles home on the Chesapeake Bay.
Outboard fuel consumption?
- Thread starter jfrench
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First, in my opinion,(and I have a lot of them), your engine is too big. When I purchased our Capri-18 it came with an 8HP 4-stroke Johnson. Real nice motor, just way to big. I placed an ad on Craigslist and ended trading for a fairly new 6 HP 4-stroke Nissan, still on the large size, but much lighter. Back to the fuel consumpion question......
Our old 1980 C-22 on fresh water with a 6HP Johnson, 2- cylinder, 2-stroke, at hull speed,(around 6 to 6 1/2 MPH), she burned 3/4 gallon an hour. I did some extensive fuel useage testing because we had planned a trip from St. Louis to Chicago VIA the Illinois River and needed to plan for fuel along the way.
Our Capri-18 motoring to Catalina Island, (33 miles, about 7 hours), towing an 8' Spot-Yak running at about 1/2 throttle which pushed her to hull speed, burned aprox. 1.5 gallons for the trip.
Our Catalina-22 MK-II wing keel, 5HP 4-stroke Honda made the same trip to Catalina Island,(33 miles and motored for just under 7 hours), pulling an 8' inflatable burned between 1.5 and 1.75 gallons at slightly over 1/2 throttle for the trip.
Hope that helps.....
Don
Our old 1980 C-22 on fresh water with a 6HP Johnson, 2- cylinder, 2-stroke, at hull speed,(around 6 to 6 1/2 MPH), she burned 3/4 gallon an hour. I did some extensive fuel useage testing because we had planned a trip from St. Louis to Chicago VIA the Illinois River and needed to plan for fuel along the way.
Our Capri-18 motoring to Catalina Island, (33 miles, about 7 hours), towing an 8' Spot-Yak running at about 1/2 throttle which pushed her to hull speed, burned aprox. 1.5 gallons for the trip.
Our Catalina-22 MK-II wing keel, 5HP 4-stroke Honda made the same trip to Catalina Island,(33 miles and motored for just under 7 hours), pulling an 8' inflatable burned between 1.5 and 1.75 gallons at slightly over 1/2 throttle for the trip.
Hope that helps.....
Don
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In you case, I'd measure and see if a 6 gallon Nissan tank would fit into the fuel locker. Unless you are sure that you will only be motoring back to port. If you are going to do any exploring on a windless day, more fuel would be nice.
If you decide to change motors, the Tohatsu 6hp Sail Pro is a nice motor with the prop chosen for a sailboat.
OC
I have an original 1983 7.5 HP 2-cycle Evinrude Yachtwin engine on my C-22. It really has been my only experience with outboard engines. It has been a great engine. My questions would be, what is a reasonable mileage or hour range for simply motoring up the shoreline if needed? Given that the impeller is providing sufficient water to cool the engine, is there danger of the engine overheating beyond a certain time? Are there any signs I should look for to know that the engine has had enough? My longest "run" under power has been about 9 miles. I usually run it about 1/2 throttle.
Thanks for any advice.
Thanks for any advice.
Look at my post above concerning fuel consumption.....you have basically the same engine we had on our 1980 C-22, just a bit larger carb. Our 6HP model pushed the boat to hull speed at around 3/4 throttle. The engine will run all day for days at a time without overheating,(we ran up the Mississippi River for several days years ago). Just make sure the impeller is good. Change them every couple years,(not a difficult job), and they will run as long as there is gas.
Don
Don
Don,
Thank you so much! It's great to get feedback from someone who's "done it"!!
KLH: Captain Don is, of course, right. We ran 6 gallons of fuel through our Johnson 6 hp motor, only stopping for the drawbridge at Kent Narrows, many times. This was over 30 miles. The temperature probably comes to equilibrium in just a few minutes, so running it more doesn't really do anything other than consume fuel. Those engines are very reliable. We just got the Tohatsu 6 hp for our boat last year. It has 1/3 of the fuel consumption of our old Johnson. The difference is that when you cruise long distances, you don't have to worry about the amount of fuel you can carry. In terms of reliability, our old Johnson was fine. I have kept it to use as a spare in case either my new motor, or my son's, ever has a problem.
Please check out our fleet's website, www.fleet10.org, and click on the link to the "New 2010 Potomac Cruise" write-up: http://fleet10.org/index_files/Page391.htm Maybe you want to sail with us on the Chesapeake sometime.
Aldo
Please check out our fleet's website, www.fleet10.org, and click on the link to the "New 2010 Potomac Cruise" write-up: http://fleet10.org/index_files/Page391.htm Maybe you want to sail with us on the Chesapeake sometime.
Aldo
Aldo,
Thanks a lot for the information. I did check your fleet10 website. Pretty Cool!!!
4 stroke motors are usually twice as efficent as a 2 stroke. Your engine is larger than that needed for a C22 but if the boat is trimed level and the engine is not too heavy for the mounting bracks and motor mount itself then that's not a problem. A 3 gal tank also reduces weight in the rear over the larger tanks.
I had a Honda 7.5 hp. 4 stroke and at 4.7 knots could count on 40 miles with a 3 gal tank. The trick is to find the best cruise speed. Take the boat out on a low wind, low wave day with a GPS unit. If you also have a knot meter all the better but use the meter as a backup device and use the GPS as the main instrument. In an area that has no current slowly increase motor RPM until the boat gains no more speed. Do this slowly until that point is found. Now decrease the throttle SLOWLY until you first notice a decrease in boat speed. This is your basic hull speed. I used 75 to 80% of that speed for my cruise speed. A dirty hull, unbalanced boat load or bent prop all fight against fuel economy and in a big way.
You can also take a 2 gal, well sealing newer fuel container of extra gas with you until you run out and then you have a TRUE time and miles figure to work with.
Ray
I had a Honda 7.5 hp. 4 stroke and at 4.7 knots could count on 40 miles with a 3 gal tank. The trick is to find the best cruise speed. Take the boat out on a low wind, low wave day with a GPS unit. If you also have a knot meter all the better but use the meter as a backup device and use the GPS as the main instrument. In an area that has no current slowly increase motor RPM until the boat gains no more speed. Do this slowly until that point is found. Now decrease the throttle SLOWLY until you first notice a decrease in boat speed. This is your basic hull speed. I used 75 to 80% of that speed for my cruise speed. A dirty hull, unbalanced boat load or bent prop all fight against fuel economy and in a big way.
You can also take a 2 gal, well sealing newer fuel container of extra gas with you until you run out and then you have a TRUE time and miles figure to work with.
Ray
To add something. Many GPS devices will have a "time moving" readout and a trip odometer. One could get a real world MPG/GPH figure from this if one is only using the boat with the outboard for a time.
Great and timely thread. I'm in the planning stage for a modified Great Circle, starting from Lake Pepin, MN (Mississippi R). I'm wanting to only go "downhill", so my Great Lakes portion would start after trailering to Duluth. (Family and friends in NOLA, ST Pete and Philly for takeout/return options. My swing keel Cat22 has a 2002 4hp 4stroke Yamaha. I expect that much of my Mississippi leg will be motoring. I'm thinking that I'll have a couple of extra fuel cans with me so I have options as to when I refuel. Any word of advice/caution about that?
The MPG is really misleading simply because of the possibility of headwinds, seas, bottoms and props. That's why most folks figure their basic fuel CONSUMPTION, in gallons used per hour, and then can do the simple math in their head to see how far they can go at whatever speed happens "to be in effect" that particular day.
Good idea about finding "the sweet spot" using the GPS. Thanks, Ray!
Good idea about finding "the sweet spot" using the GPS. Thanks, Ray!
pno2ner.....My opinion....your 4HP 4-stroke on a MK-II is a bit on the small side for your plans. I've got a 5HP Honda on my MK-II and it's OK, but I don't get into the currents you'll experience on the Mighty Mississippi, or other portions of the "Loop". If you got into a situation where you have to go into the current, you could have problems. Your planning my "Post Retirement" adventure! I think my retirement gift to myself is going to be a C-250 to replace my MK-II. I think it would be fairly comfortable for the "Big Loop" trip.
OK, now I don't want to start a fight, but.....I believe my 6HP 4-stroke Tohatsu/Nissan on my Capri-18 was quiter and smoother running than my 5HP Honda. Don't get me wrong, the Honda is nice, I just don't think it was better than my Tohatu/Nissan.
By the way, I had my old C-22 years ago on the Mississippi north of St. Louis on the Alton Pool. With a 6HP 2-stroke Johnson, it required 3/4 throttle for hull speed. Now I know it's not a fair comparrison....just info....
Don
OK, now I don't want to start a fight, but.....I believe my 6HP 4-stroke Tohatsu/Nissan on my Capri-18 was quiter and smoother running than my 5HP Honda. Don't get me wrong, the Honda is nice, I just don't think it was better than my Tohatu/Nissan.
By the way, I had my old C-22 years ago on the Mississippi north of St. Louis on the Alton Pool. With a 6HP 2-stroke Johnson, it required 3/4 throttle for hull speed. Now I know it's not a fair comparrison....just info....
Don
CaptDon01, you nailed it. I retired last Nov., bought boat (my first) in July, named it Bucket Liszt. 4hp motor came with. my handheld GPS said I was going about 4 knots at about 1/2 throttle, but I don't remember what hull speed is.
Hull speed for a Catalina 22 is supposed to be ~ 5.89 kts if you do the 1.34 X the square root of the waterline length.
I've seen where some people online have been erroneously posting a higher than actual hull speed because they assume that a Catalina 22 actually has a 22 ft waterline.
http://www.catalina22.org/manuals/mnl87/handbook.htm
This page may be a fair explanation of the issues:
http://www.psychosnail.com/BoatSpeedCalculator.aspx
I've seen where some people online have been erroneously posting a higher than actual hull speed because they assume that a Catalina 22 actually has a 22 ft waterline.
http://www.catalina22.org/manuals/mnl87/handbook.htm
This page may be a fair explanation of the issues:
http://www.psychosnail.com/BoatSpeedCalculator.aspx
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