Fuel consumption and range......
 

I don't have a meter so estimating....... at 3,500 rpm, figuring 20 knots full fuel, top up, gear etc.....

If approx. 9 gallon per hr burn x 60 gallon tank = 6.6 hours of running time.
20 knots x 1.15 = 23 mph......23 x 6.6 = 151.8 miles.


Ok, so it's approx. 150 mile range IF, I say .....IF all goes well, and does get rough.

Therefore, I conclude that I really can't take my V21 out for the biggest fish - at the canyons 60-70 miles off because the 1/3 rule doesn't work out.

Now who wants to argue ? :)

There would be a guy who would argue except he didnt make it back.

i figure i'm gettin 4 miles to the gallon with my boat, so with a 60 gallon tank, range is 240 miles


we'll take my boat

with the 2 stroke, 2 miles to the gallon gave it a 120 mile range

so your getting 2.5 mpg?

My HYDRASPORTS with a ported 225 2 smoke got better than 2.5 MPG, so I would hope an ETEC on a lighter hull could do better than it did.

The Evinrude web site shows performance with assorted boats, so I checked a few closest to same as mine, and I see 8-9 gallon per hour burn on average.

The guy who wants to argue is reportedly still out there, out of gas but ....fishing " drift style "

why not just check & calculate your mpg anf then know what your range is. i ran for 2o years without a gas guage. just kept track of mileage with gps. i knew i had 120 miles before empty. every time i filled up i was within 2-3 gallons of my guestimation.

i still don't have a gas guage, merc has a pretty good smart guage, but i still set and track mileage
or just trust the web site

I agree with your numbers and no, 1/3 does not work for a 60 mile run one way. The farthest I'll go is 45 ish and that's not a trolling trip.

You just need more fuel capacity. I added a 24 gallon external tank to my v20 this spring before the motor let loose.

I can cruise at 3.7 mpg. I have gotten over 4. My dad's V with a 150 Opti can get just shy of 5mpg. The farthest out I have been is the monster ledge. But this year I'm probably gonna go farther. Skunk boat has been pretty far out. I believe 50-60 mi.

A day to the Chicken Canyon by way of Gloryhole and Atlantic Princess, lots of trolling, costs me 42 gallons. Includes running back through Ghole and Mudhole

Out of Manasquan, Glory hole is 40nm,Princess about 5nm southeast of that, west edge of Chicken 7nm east of Princess.

50nm to go straight to fishing inside the Chicken (they call it the chicken cause that's where us little guys stop, its not really a canyon)

50nm=57 miles

All that said "THE CANYONS" are alot farther. Hudson is 75nm just to the western tip. No way a V20 is going there safely.


The Texas Tower & Bacardi have been hot for bft/small yft but they are beyond safe range without extra tank and big balls...

If you don't get better than 3 mpg running at 25-30 mph. don't go to the chicken. It has to be flat enough to run hard for 2 hours+ in both directions

For a shot at some Mahi and maybe a stray bft, try trolling the pot markers on the southeast side of the Mudhole heading out into the Glory Hole. try to find blue-er water. You can watch your fuel and get a sense of where you can reach the next time. Humpty Dumpty/Little Italy area of Mud hole is just under 20 miles and hits the 20 fathom line.

Yes sir you are on the money with a V-20. I have a 350 V-8 which suck's up a little more gas. Last trip out to the texas towers I used 75 gallons.
I use addition gas tank installed in my live well. Buy the way the fish move around according to the bait source so you may have to move and burn more fuel! So that leaves me taking along a extra 15 gallons that I safely tie to the deck.
Chuck is correct that a V-20 is on the edge to do a trip like that. God help me if things go to ****! I really don't want to bail with my four man viking life raft and ditch bag.:oh:

My old school 200 might get around 3 to 5 mpg, never checked but it sure varies with how you run it & how rough it is. The good reefs start around here about 30 miles out. Add in some running around out there & I've found that I should stay within 35 miles to have my 1/3 reserve on return. I've pushed it a few times, the fishing just gets better & better the farther you go & on a clear calm day it sure is tempting. I guess if all went well & you burned your reserve you could get 75 miles out, not me.

The problem is not just the fuel, its the time. 60 miles out takes 2 hours when its flat with no swell. Even if its glassy, an east swell will slow you down and it take 2.5 hrs. Leaving (the inlet) at first light gets you there at 7-730. So now you fish til noon and you have to worry is the wind going to kick up out of the south. That ride home can become a 4 hour+ ordeal if you don't pay attention. Also, it can be nice 60 miles out but the afternoon south wind along the coast here can, and often does, make it nasty for the 10 miles nearest the shore.
I always start my way in at noon( no matter how beautiful the conditions are), stopping at points along the way if the conditions are holding up. That way I'm shortening the distance that I might get caught in a wind.

Definitely build in extra time for the return trip. Never know what might happen and heaven forbid getting stuck out there after dark. I spun my prop last trip. Luckily we were just heading out and only 8 miles from the inlet. Took 1.5 hrs to limp back in. From 40 out would've taken 7 - 8 hrs or more.

just filled mine up
28.3 gallons
135miles.
lotta bay running & trolling, so that pumps the numbers some

the best part.....@$2.59 for non E

Thats almost as good as my 19 foot CAROLINA SKIFF with a 75HP HONDA on the back, nothing to be ashamed of right there.

like i said, lotta low rpm stuff, but that 150 merc 4S is amazing on fuel and torque.

WOT is around 12 gph, with 38-40 mph. if you let it the big dog will eat

I would like to share one more calculation on this subject, am still taking this beating at 69 years old!:zip:

:party:Keep on keeping on brother.

Exactly............these are little boats to go far out. Not that it can't be done by hard core guys such as Step Up, but it's a stretch.

Way too risky with a single outboard in 20ft boat to venture 60+ miles offshore. It can be done in perfect conditions with light wind, but it's a gamble.

If you want to extend your range bring extra fuel in jugs, but go in tandem with another boat at the very minimum.

When I was younger and dumber I took my v20 a dozen times or so to Wildcat ( 50 miles east of Boston) cod fishing. I stuffed the bow once coming across stellwagen in HUGE chop. Green water ripped the windshield off . . . I had to change course and ride in the troughs up toward salem/Gloucester and hug the shore back to boston. These are capable small boats, but there are still very small . . .

I know MJ blew out his windshield filled his v20 cockpit after water hitting a rouge wave. His face got all cut up. Just be safe.

I bet you are getting better fuel economy that that with your setup. Hell . . . I can get 3mpg pushing my 23 seacraft with a 1980's Merc cruising 31mph.

Might try rigging a small sail......so we can ride the wind back in from the Hudson, Wilmington, or even the Washington canyons.

Last week was a very special weather window......flat calm for 2-3 days straight, from shore to 100 + miles out. Those that got to go were fortunate in that regard.

As the saying goes " you could have walked on the water it was so calm"......

Add 40 gallons in 6 gallon jugs and you've got the range.

It's a total gamble . . . single engine and no backup plan.

Boat/US isn't coming to get you out there even with unlimited towing.

I haven't been around much and I do not have extensive offshore experience but 60 miles is a bit far with a single on a 20' anything IMO. BigShrimpin has some sage advice IMO. Backup plan: Ditch bag with GPS/EPIRB, Handheld VHF, second boat preferably one of better seakeeping and capable of handling the extra people if your day goes south due to weather,rouge wave, whatever. Live to fish another day and tell the tale of how the sea handed you your cap that day...
I personally set my boat up and use it as a bay boat. It can handle some fairly rough conditions. I on the other hand cannot.

I took my HYDRASPORTS out 65 miles which was about my limit due to fuel. It held roughly 80 gallons, and with my old EVINRUDE I used right at 60 gallons going that far round trip. The HYDRASPORTS 2000 was designed to go this far out though. It was one tough battle wagon of a boat, and was designed for a limited category of the kingfish fishing circuit limiting you to a boat less than 21 feet in length. With that being said, I am a bit crazy as well, but when I did it I was within VHF range of a friend of mine, so it was a bit safer(except for the fact he was in a 21 foot bay boat:nut:). I normally limited myself to 40 miles out in it. Also I would NOT have gone 65 miles out in the Atlantic as she is a rough girl compared to the Gulf Of Mexico. 65 miles out over here and you can be in anywhere from 50-150 feet of water, but being a gulf, the waves tend to not be as violent unless the weatehrs kicked up. Also over here where I am, you don't get out into any real water depth until you cross past about 18 miles. I've been out 10 miles, and saw sand in the bottom of the waves out here in certain spots, and at 18 miles you go from 10-12 feet to a drop off to about 18-20 feet. So 25 miles was just about required to get into any depth close to 30 feet.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publics...t-today/980720

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/U...318665151.html

http://www.tampabay.com/resources/im...2167a_8col.jpg

http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/US/HT...7_16x9_992.jpg

**** happens even if you have an ETEC ;). . . just be safe.

Those guys were on a whole new level when that happened. As i recall, we were way beyond small craft advisory when that happened, and they went out anyways. 50 footers wouldn't even consider going out that day. They pulled the ultimate I'm a tough guy, I can do it moves. They figured since they were all big football players they could hang on, they never thought about it capsizing.

Let's not forget how they capsized - Tied off to back cleat and tried to pull the anchor free - not recommended.

What is the guesstimate on fuel consumption mpg for V20/21 with 150 yami 4 stroke, generally speaking? Has to be 3+ mpg if not 4+. My 2 banger get 2.5 on average.

Yeah we cover the canyons. Been there done that. It's a long ride when you're making 7kts. But you get really good gas milage when your being towed.

That is maybe a 8-10 hour ride at 7knots. Do you take another captain to share the ride and to keep your sanity? :money:

Back in the day we always went solo. But now my boss has two captains go. One time I went all the way out there based on a relayed message. I knew they were out there and needed a tow and what kind of boat it was but that was it. When I got out to them I said "So where we going? Manasquan,Shark River?" They said Fire Island. So I towed them back to Fire Island.That was a long day and a half.Not all towing companies will cover the canyons. Mostly because they don't have a boat capable. We have an ex CG 41' that we repowered with a pair of John Deers.

I'm deciding now on sticking with Sea Tow or going with the other......

the difference between Boat US and Sea Tow in short form is that Sea Tow gets all their membership money upfront. We at Boat US don't get paid till we tow you. Bottom line... We WANT to tow you they will do anything they can to not tow you. Obviously you should go with whoever locally is better capable of doing the job. For you bgreene I can assure you we are better.

You have personal mail on this site......

with BoatUS you get rewards $ from West Marine, some gas dock fuel discounts and you can get a really good price on boat insurance too

After having Towboat for a year or two for towing I switched insurance over to them too from state farm. The premium is slightly higher, but the coverage is better.

I do feel funny about the insurance man and the salvage guy being the same person though.