Saving Fuel on Your Houseboat Trip

Houseboats Murray River

With the price of fuel continually escalating, the houseboating industry is highly affected. So, anything that can be applied to cut fuel cost operation is a great bonus to houseboaters worldwide. Below are some tips and see what can work for you.

KEEP ENGINE TUNED: With correct yearly maintenance of the choke adjustment, flame arrestor, ignition, and spark plugs, and timing will pay off in terms of fuel efficiency, engine life, performance, and starting.

CARRY LESS WEIGHT: A heavy houseboat requires more power to push it through the water. So by removing unnecessary things significantly lightens the boat's load, which therefore enables it to travel more miles per gallon.

PLAN YOUR TRIP CAREFULLY: Planning your cruise in advance and getting rid of unnecessary travels could reduce the cost for fuel consumption.

PLANNING TECHNIQUE: Use only just enough power to have the houseboat climb up and over the front bow wave, and keep just enough speed to ride ahead of a wave, just how a surfer rides ahead of a wave.

FUEL FLOW METERS: Many houseboats have fuel flow gauges connected to GPS units, which quickly calculate the display the actual consumption on fuel, estimated range, MPG, and remaining fuel. Such investment will pay for themselves in the long run, from savings in fuel.

USE HULL SPEED: To calculate your hull speed is the square root of the waterline, multiply it by 1.34, equals to the efficient speed to cruise. For example, 25 feet waterline, square foot is 8 multiplied by 1.34, equals 9.38 knots.

1/3 RULE FOR FUEL: This rule is about calculating 1/3 of the fuel to reach to where you want to go, 1/3 fuel for the return trip, and having 1/3 reserve fuel.

LESS FUEL AND WATER: If a gallon of diesel is at eight pounds, and water is at 10 pounds, by calculating your needs for your cruise, and probably by having half-full tanks, your boat could be spared from carrying 500 pounds to 1,000 pounds, converting to savings on fuel cost. Be sure you calculate your fuel consumption so you can make use of the 1/3 rule, elaborated above.

WARM UP TIME: Cut your warm up time at the berth before leaving. With today's boat engines and computerized controls, there is no reason allow engines to run for more than a couple of minutes.

ANGLE AND TRIM TABS: When your houseboat is angled correctly, the enormous drag that can occur when plowing through the water will be lessened significantly. Use your trim tabs and the Trim and Tilt to get the bow up. However, this depends on the water's conditions.

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