What kind of fuel burn with diesels

colbach · Post by **colbach** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:49 pm

I finally have been enjoying my 35' and fishing the hell out of it. Running 35-40 miles out, fishing all day, and trolling back while we cark tuna, we burn 120-160 gallons of gas. I know diesels don't pencil out unless you run a lot, but I would like to run my boat down to Mexico in the fall, but don't have the range. What kind of fuel burn do diesel 35's get at cruise? What kind of range can I expect with diesels and a 369 gallon tank? Thanks, Mike C

Sean B · Post by **Sean B** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:34 pm

quote:Originally posted by colbachWhat kind of range can I expect with diesels and a 369 gallon tank? 369 statute miles in a B33 or B35 with diesels... which is a safe assumed range in moderate seas. Does your boat really hold that much fuel? I'm definitely jealous of that Sean Burlingham "Island Time" 1987 Bertram 33 SF Melbourne, FL SBurlingham@cfl.rr.com [img]http://www.bertram33.com/photogallery/p ... d_Time.jpg[/img]

colbach · Post by **colbach** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:55 am

Sean, Don't be jealous. In order to get that big of a tank, my first AL tank had to rupture and my boat was laid up for two months for repairs. $30K later (thanks state farm) it was back in action. Mike

Sean B · Post by **Sean B** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:25 am

Ah, I remeber the story now. Hmmm... for $30k I'd have sold you my tank

Sean Burlingham "Island Time" 1987 Bertram 33 SF Melbourne, FL SBurlingham@cfl.rr.com [img]http://www.bertram33.com/photogallery/p ... d_Time.jpg[/img]

smanni · Post by **smanni** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:43 am

30K - WOW - did State Farm cover the whole thing - and wow...30k Thats almost half of a repower

colbach · Post by **colbach** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:38 pm

State Farm was outstanding and picked up the tab. I can't say enough good things about the way they treated me on the claim- maybe it had to do something with me being a trial lawyer. My boatyard is top notch and replaced EVERYTHING that was touched by gas, plus built me a new tank with return lines in case I go diesel. Mike C

CB35 · Post by **CB35** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:22 am

My 3208 Cat 35B burns around 25 an hour cruising around 21kts Charlie

colbach · Post by **colbach** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:20 pm

I was hoping for a bigger jump in fuel economy for $70K in engines. I get around .6nm to the gallon at cruise, according to my floscans. I am trying to come up with a good excuse to go diesel, but I am just having a hard time justifying it, but that has never stopped me before. Mike

wlp · Post by **wlp** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 4:59 pm

CB35, Charlie are those 3208s 300 HP, or more?If cruise is 21kn what is wot? Can you opine on # of hrs on your Cats before major work is called for, considering fair/good maintenance with fishing use? Thanks WLP

Post by **dougl33** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 5:09 am

Bill, I'm pretty sure Charlie has got the 300hp Cats. Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth Marblehead, MA [img]http://www.bertram33.com/photogallery/p ... sabeth.jpg[/img]

CB35 · Post by **CB35** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:06 pm

Yes my Cats are 300HP. TBO is listed at 30,000 gallons of fuel. You can spend a lot of time figuring out what that means. Internal rust is the biggest problem for boat engines. Second is a water hose letting go or an oil line or maybe a thermostat. Then you have a cooked motor. I just did the headgaskets on both motors at 1850 hours. The cylinders still had the crosshatch. They looked new; but the headgaskets $hit the bed. 5000 hours is a good round number. I bet long before you reach 5000 hours you are going to need injectors or heads or turbos. Injectors are cheap in relation to most of the stuff. Of let's not forget about fuel pumps. I bet there will be a rash of pump failures with the new ultra low sulfur diesel. Yea I know they are supposed to put in additives. Lets see I bet they cost money and who can really tell if the additive is really in the fuel. I use a quart of Power Service with every 100 gallons. Charlie