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Old 01-27-08, 03:15 PM   #1
zooker
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Default to get better milage

hey we all know gas prices aint going to come down any time.. i personally am blowin thru just under $100 a week in gas..

i have found that while haulin the boat with the cover on. i get better gas milage than i do with the boat uncovered..about 3 miles per gallon more. and i don't even have a fancy road cover just a $50 wal mart boat cover strapped on. i figured that that cover has paid for it self in a month of haulin the boat around..best $50 i ever spent imo..


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Old 01-27-08, 04:55 PM   #2
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buy a house boat. Lmao....
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Old 01-27-08, 05:08 PM   #3
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Thats like the people who say you get better mileage driving a pickup with a fiberglass bed cover. Wind resistence. I believe its probably true.

Although in tests researchers have found that leaving your tailgate down doesnt help at all.
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Old 02-06-08, 12:43 PM   #4
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Yep thatz why i sold the big LUND. I will miss her. We had allot of good times. But fuel cost were killing me. With 3 babies now i've got my hands full as far as money is concerned. I'm buying a tracker jon boat with alittle 40 horse tiller motor. It does have a casting deck. So i'll still have trolling motor & fish finder up front just like many bass boats. I won't get there fast upstream. But going down stream with the current. I think i do pretty good. The best thing is with flat bottom boat like this. I'll beable to get further back in the creeks & rivers that feed into the mighty Mo. That deep V had it's limitations. It was allot more stable on the rough water on the main channel since she set deeper in the water. I said bye bye to 150horse 18ft lund last night.
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Old 02-06-08, 02:07 PM   #5
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The best way to conserve fuel is still driving in a vehicles "sweet spot". Most modern trucks sweet spot is in the 62-66mph range. While driving 70 may not show much difference, over a period of time, it will start to show. Driving a boat is the same way. I'm not sure on Bass boats, but "V" hull boats generally like to run in the 3800-4500 rpm range for max fuel efficiency. This is as long as the boat and motor are matched well. An under powered boat will be hard to run efficiently. On the other hand, max hp isn't alway's the most effcient either. Sometimes 10 or so hp under max can yeild a very efficient boat too.
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Old 02-06-08, 08:11 PM   #6
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On the other hand, max hp isn't alway's the most effcient either. Sometimes 10 or so hp under max can yeild a very efficient boat too.
Welcome to the boards Fish4Food. On the subject of a underpowered boats I would like to make my opinion known. I have been doing boat setups for many many moons. My goal is always to set the boat up for optimum performance. Some folks think that means speed. Well it doesnt. Optimum performance is the whole boat as a package performing at its best be it running tall waves, idling,holeshot,mpg, or in other words Total Performance. I have found that if a boat is underpowerd any at all you have to make up for it somewhere else and in the end it costs you mpg. If a boat is rated for 150hp the best thing to do is put that 150hp of your choice on there and set it up to where it will perform at the best possible. It is then up to you to run the boat at around 4500 rpm as you stated and then she will get the best possible mpg.
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Old 02-07-08, 12:51 AM   #7
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Welcome to the boards Fish4Food. On the subject of a underpowered boats I would like to make my opinion known. I have been doing boat setups for many many moons. My goal is always to set the boat up for optimum performance. Some folks think that means speed. Well it doesnt. Optimum performance is the whole boat as a package performing at its best be it running tall waves, idling,holeshot,mpg, or in other words Total Performance. I have found that if a boat is underpowerd any at all you have to make up for it somewhere else and in the end it costs you mpg. If a boat is rated for 150hp the best thing to do is put that 150hp of your choice on there and set it up to where it will perform at the best possible. It is then up to you to run the boat at around 4500 rpm as you stated and then she will get the best possible mpg.

Thanks...

Yeah, I know max is best for all around performance, but is it really a requirement to maximize fuel economy??? I know from many years of owning mid size boats that there is little difference between 80, 85, and 90 hp on a boat rated for 85 hp. On the flip side though, some of the small utility boats will show how important hp can be just by changing the amount of load the boat is carrying.
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Old 02-08-08, 06:02 AM   #8
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On the larger boats it becomes even more important to stay at the top of the horsepower rating for the best economy. The buigger hp pushes the weight easier at a lower rpm and faster for that matter all the while the engine is turning less rpms so therefore it wont use as much fuel as say being 25hp or less underpowered. I too have a mid size boat right right now with a 90 on it. Right now its at the bottom of the rating and it suffers from not enough cubic inches to push the boat efficiently. Its rated for a 120. Even though I have warmed up the motor with mods it still is a 90. A buddy of mine has the same boat with a 120 and he goes alot farther on a tank of fuel than I do. The old saying applies here.......The proof is in the puddin.
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Old 02-08-08, 02:16 PM   #9
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Well, I have first hand experience with that one. One of the boats I had (I've a few of the same style boats), the boat came with 70hp motor. That was a little too low on hp. It made for poor midranged performance compared to the 80-90hp motors. I just shake my head when I see the advertisements for the Alumacraft classic with the 50hp motor. No way, IMO, will a boat rated for 75hp, perform reasonably with a 50hp motor. There is still room for a little error though, boats are basically rated for the hp available. If you put a 115 on a boat rated for 120hp, it will still perform just fine.

I very much agree that matching a hp range with the load is important. You see it all the time in cars and trucks. Perfect example is the new Ford Fusion. The V-6 get's better mileage than the I-4 becouse the V-6 has a better hp to weight ratio. Put a V-8 in it, and the economy would probably start going back down becouse you have excess hp and displacement. The displacement is just burning fuel the car doesn't need to use, therefore it's wasted.
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Old 02-11-08, 11:04 PM   #10
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ok, now. i am wanting to trade my 200 evinrude for a 175. is that gonna be alright for my 20' stratos? really i want to know. it is an '86 model. 1 console. am i gonna mess up the performance? just to get better milage? or should i leave it alone? the boat has duel tanks, 20', and has the orignal motor. a 200 evinrude. if it is gonna cause trouble, i'll leave it. if it is alright i want to swap motors to get better milage for when i do run it. darn thing takes 100 bucks to fill up. lol
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Old 02-11-08, 11:48 PM   #11
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ok, now. i am wanting to trade my 200 evinrude for a 175. is that gonna be alright for my 20' stratos? really i want to know. it is an '86 model. 1 console. am i gonna mess up the performance? just to get better milage? or should i leave it alone? the boat has duel tanks, 20', and has the orignal motor. a 200 evinrude. if it is gonna cause trouble, i'll leave it. if it is alright i want to swap motors to get better milage for when i do run it. darn thing takes 100 bucks to fill up. lol

Now I am by no means an expert on this but in my simple mind I would say go for the change. Especially if you are going to a newer motor like an optimax. I think the newer motors produce more power than the older ones. For example a friend of mine replaced his 89 model 150 Merc with a 2005 150 Merc fuel injected and he got around 8 mph faster with the same set up as far as prop and motor height goes and his fuel consumption went down greatly. Now you have to ask yourself if the change in motor is worth the cost. What I mean is say you spend 8000 for the new motor and you can sell your old one for 2000. with that said 6000 dollars buys a lot of gas. Just my opinion though.
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Old 02-12-08, 06:27 AM   #12
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Ok in your case the swap would be a good chooice since the motor you have is a carbed motor and the one you should get will be a EFI motor. There is a tremendous amount of difference and I should have noted that in the posts I made before. I will not say your gonna get ahwole lot of better fuel mileage in this case thouggh. A carbed motor running at its best still doesnt get the fuel mileage a EFI gets or the performance. I would suggest to try and fiind someone that has done this swap and ask. I do know the performance gains are FANTASTIC. In my mind and this is gonna sound crazy I guess the 175 EFI should perform fuel mileage wise and perform,ance wise right along side the 200 Carbed motors both motors being stock. AGAIN I wanna stress find someone that has done this particular swap. I know the swap would be VERY negligagble with the Merc motors. The 200 and the 175 are so close to each other it hurts but I cant say for sure with the SLOMC'S
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Old 02-12-08, 06:48 PM   #13
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nearly ever moter i have seen in the 175 range is nothing more than a de-tuned 200. the only differance is in the very oldest 175 i have seen -it was a johnson btw-

90% of the time to de-tune the moter they just change reeds..
yes i agree with laser an efi 200 would still haul the mail and get better milage..



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Old 02-12-08, 09:41 PM   #14
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Bama, ever thought of going 4-stroke? Lot better gas milage.
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Old 02-12-08, 10:06 PM   #15
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ck
only if your trollin. bass fishing you don't get better milage as you stomp on it and run wot to the next spot then shut it off and fish..besides lets not start with the crappy hole shot 4 strokes have..

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Old 02-12-08, 10:49 PM   #16
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well i was gonna get an old motor. i am like barkleypup. no need in spending money on a new motor when i will end up trading in a year or so. i was really wondering if it would be better if traded for the same yr model motor. i should have stated that, sorry. i can't see spending 6 grand on a motor and still have a 2 grand boat. if i go that route i will get a much newer rig all together. it is just that if i find a 175, same year and trade the 200 for it.that was what i was wondering. and thank you guys for the info.
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Old 02-13-08, 06:47 AM   #17
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NO !!! If your gonna sray with the carbed motor PLEASE do not make the mistake of thinking the 175 will do better on gas. It will do worse because of the less hp trying to push same weight. You would have to go to the EFI motors to benefit. As far as the four striokes are concerned..........for bass boats to put it as nicely as I can without hurting any ones feelings I hope THEY ARE PIGS. Heavy LOUSY holeshot motors. Yes they are great for walleye boats ........anywhere where you have a bunch of idling and yes they will get very good mileage compared to the 2 strokes. Lemme ask anyone this.........How many 4 strokes do you see on the back of the Pro's boats. The proof is in the pudding.
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Old 02-14-08, 10:07 PM   #18
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ok, laser i won't trade motors now. thanks for the info. the wife will just have to wait till i can get the "new" boat, lmao. that'll teach her, huh? hahahaha!
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Old 02-17-08, 12:49 PM   #19
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I've been seriously considering getting rid of the Gambler and the Tahoe and downsizing.Since I can't fish tournaments anymore and most of the lakes I fish are electric only I can't see any reason not to do it.Except love for the Gambler.I'm gutted just thinking about it.
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Old 02-17-08, 09:45 PM   #20
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I've been seriously considering getting rid of the Gambler and the Tahoe and downsizing.Since I can't fish tournaments anymore and most of the lakes I fish are electric only I can't see any reason not to do it.Except love for the Gambler.I'm gutted just thinking about it.
Ill never be able to recognize you anymore at Merrill Creek if ya do. Saving gas on my Outboard doesnt concern me with a 9.9. Id rather have a 50 tho... But reservoir restrictions in NJ limit me. Most are 10 HP or electric only.
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