Hey there guys, this is very helpful. You said near the end that you would do more of this type of video. I would love to hear more about the fuel usage as that was quite awhile ago. Tim
MY wife and I enjoy watching your videos I have the same ENGINES!!! They are Awesome ENGINES!!!! We enjoy traveling up and down the east coast I also enjoy deep sea fishing . The ICW. Starts believe it or not in NJ OUR home state ! We do enjoy your adventures WE ARENT quite ready to leave for months at a time but its getting more each year . We will be free soon to take off FOR as long as we like ! STAY SAFE !!! 🇺🇸
Thanks a ton Cyndi and Sheldon. Loved this video and it answers lots of questions bout a tolly. I have been moving the last five days with my boys to Talyns place on the river. We are planning a moving sale and every time she asks if something needs to be kept or go in sale we repeat "boat" under our breath. Makes us try to sell things and thin down what we have. We know it's a few years coming but planning already. Very very hard to get rid of things. Loved the video and the updates and the boat repair. Looking good so far! Cheers and enjoy the summer. P.S. yard sale is at 6pm today if y'all need anything. Lol. Bret and Talyn.
Bret Fields thanks guys, always love hearing from you. It does certainly take a while to purge. It took us 3+ years, and we still think we have too much. It is hard letting go, but is so freeing after a while with much less stuff. Good luck!
Thanks for this informative video, I'm undecided between sailing & motor boat, I'd prefer motor for simplicitys sake but have found it hard to get an idea of running costs. So thanks again.
Excellent information. Just found your video. As a comparison, we owned a 48ft Californian (80,000 lbs.) with twin 485hp 671 turbo Detroit engines. Burn rate at 9 knots was 12 gallons per hour (6 gal per engine) Your burn rate of 3.11 gallons is excellent.
I keep on viewing this film in particular. We finally bought a boat last springtime....a 1977 40ft Pacemaker...After driving on a tour of the deep south...we found the new SIGMACHI in a covered slip marina in rural Mathews County, Virginia. She has been in a very slow refitting...unwarranted..in Deltaville, VA. Complete new HVAC system. We will be ready to cruise somewhere next springtime. Give us a hail! Maybe you could be a our pathfinder!? Alan and Jeanne M/V SIGMACHI Deltaville, VA
The fuel burn numbers by hours and NMPG were VERY good for that boat! I had a SR 450DA with Cats 3126(420hp) and they were very efficient as well. I did not get nearly as good as numbers as you because we cruised faster due to time constraints. Not much trawlering done. That will change this fall. Thank you for making this video it is very helpful and useful. GOD bless you guys. JC
You are welcome JC. You might be interested to know that this seasons numbers are up slightly. We are running just a little harder than last season, but still under 4 GPH. Cheers!
Just found your videos and glad to have happened upon it. I prefer to review motor boat living but seems mostly all I find are sailing videos. Not knowing a lot about sailing, motor cruising is very interesting and something I may attempt to do someday. I enjoy boating but on a lake in Madison Wisc and is nothing like what you two are doing. Watching your videos makes me want to make the move to living on a boat and motor cruising (not sailing).
Those are great numbers. That's on par with what some PDQ owners told me they spent on fuel. That's very reasonable. On the other hand I had another one of our customers here at Winter Harbor tell us they spent roughly $20,000 in fuel!!! Much bigger yacht with massive engines though.
Sailboat's are free to go anywhere.Why Waste Your money On fuel.When you Can Use It For Good food,wine,Ect,Dock Fee's At All the Island's.Motor boat's Are Good for Around Home Area,but To Expensive for bluewater.But,If You Have All that Money,And don't Mind Letting It go,'Then Go Right Ahead,To Each his Own..Sailboat's ?Have motor's also,For the Windless Area's,etc.'Docking*
Hi FiddleStick's bessette, Every boat is a compromise, the little bit of extra expense for fuel gives us more living space, and a faster cruise speed than our sailing cousins. I'd bet our expenses are on par with someone in a sailboat of similar size doing the same type of cruising we are doing. On the east coast, especially in the ICW, people in sailboats motor 90% of the time. Not to mention the hazards that a deep draft vessel has to deal with in the ICW. A sailboat just doesn't make sense to us at this time. Maybe in the future, when we can stay south longer, a sailboat could be a possibility.
One thing to keep in mind. 253 hours at 65mph (say it was a car) is over 16k miles. Now... Boats don't do 65 (at least our style of displacement hulls). So my question. How many oil changes and filter changes were involved? Honest curiosity. We sailors run our steel sail the entire way down the ICW so the answer applies broadly here. Your consumption was VERY good!
Thats a very good question. It depends on the engine and the maintenance intervals for them. Our 3208s require oil and filter changes at 250 hours. The primary fuel filter is also at 250 hours. So it all was changed before we left for the Bahamas, once in Florida before we crossed, and on the way back about 3/4 the way up th east coast. Doing this every year from Ontario is going to take 3-4 oil and filter changes per year, depending on how much cruising one does in the Bahamas, or up north in the summer.
Thanks, guys. Im considering a Tolly 44 on the left coast I found. I realize fuel prices are much different now. But the mpg figures are what I am glad to hear. Unfortunately the engines are Crusader 454’s, but looking at a cummins repower with similar power, so yeah… thanks
Honestly I have the 454's in my 41' Concorde and they are definitely thirsty, but if you cruise about 12 knots they aren't as bad as you think. The money you spend in gas, you save on parts in my experience. Plus the Tolly Tri Cabins are amazing boats. I usually burn about 18-20 liters per hour depending on conditions. A repower is gonna take a long time to break even on.
Great vidios have been watching them for some time now always informative and fun, I purchased my 1st boat a 42'aft cabin 1982 egg harbor twin cats I live in Denver Colorado but my boat is in Edgewater Maryland, I had it hauled in December going back end of March to get it ready to cruise it south,!! Going much the same way you did Thanks for sharing your adventures wishing the best 👍🍹⚓😎
@@SearchingforCShels hi I'm a newbie but i think your engines have more power, but I'm not going to be in a hurry Thanks would love to see you out there, good luck in your travels
Great video! Thanks for breaking down the numbers and showing that cruising like you've been doing is not out of reach for "normal" folk. When are you going to truck your boat out to the west coast and do some cruising here?
Thanks! Ah, we'd love to go cruising out west, would love to go to a Tolly Rendezvous as well. :-D Not in the plans to take the flybridge off the boat and truck her west, but you never know what the future could holds. We will come without the boat, if we get a ride on yours. ;-)
Very interesting data. Hope that you will eventually let us know the total cost of your trip , including docking fees, repairs, food, restaurants etc.. Glad that you made it safe to Canada, where the water level is still very high and hope that your boat repairs are not to expensive. As always, looking forward to seeing all your next videos.
Thanks For this info. I just bought a 34 Tolly and after many years of sailing as a cheap way to get around ( No boat ownership is cheap) . But Comfort and a different style is at hand. I saw you had info on the fuel consumption for gas on your 34 Tolly below . Thanks for that input. I'll see how mine compares.
lol, I guess you're right. You probably cut that in half if your NT is a single. You have a beautiful boat. We are wondering if we seen that boat in Solomons last fall or this spring?
Thanks. Yes, the NT is pretty economical, but I'm not sure I'd cut yours by half. And no, that wasn't Egret. I've only sailed her in western and eastern Florida, GA, and the Carolinas so far, but we will be headed to the Bahamas early 2018 when I retire, then on to the Caribbean from there. Maybe we'll cross paths. :)
Hello from Toronto.. New subscriber. I follow many sailing channels, you are my first MY channel. Those fuel numbers are impressive..about 11.5 litres per hour especially considering that your engines are not the latest technology. I'm currently looking at an Elling e6, which has trans Atlantic capabilities, an alternative to a sailing catamaran. These newer semi displacement hulls open up a world of possibilities. Thank you for your informative videos.
Hi! Glad to have you aboard. That Elling is really nice. There are a few semi-displacement hulls capable of the transatlantic journey these days. Some of the Flemings come close. I was reading about one of the Marlows having over 9000 nautical mile range when you pull back to 6-7 knots. Both of these boats are Class A rated ocean-going vessels.
@@SearchingforCShels Flemings are good boat, a little old school for me. Look like a Bayliner pilot house. The other thing with these super low cruise speeds is you get a lot of wallowing in big seas. You can extend your range with portable fuel bladders, 1000 litres is only a cubic meter. This way you could make your way to Europe via NFLD, Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands to Scotland. The elling is very expensive, but is virtually unsinkable. It has a kevlar reinforced hull, and is self righting. Also it will do 20 knots as well as displacement speed. Its a no nonsense boat.
Great information. Just about to start rebuilding a 40 ft cape islander . going to be my home . I have nowhere to go and all day to get there. Thanks for the video.
Thanks! Yes, we were sort of stunned as well. Fuel is a little more expensive now than our first year described in this video, but fuel is still not much to worry about.
That is really great fuel consumption! And the cost is almost nothing for a couple on a vacation. I currently live in Okinawa, Japan, work with the military. To fly to the US for a month with my wife and daughter costs us over $6,000. We don't pay for hotels because we just go to family and friends in S.F., NM, NY and Florida. But you took a 3 month trip for less than what it cost us just to fly, and you could have easily had 4 or more guests with you splitting the fuel bill. I will retire in 5 years not into a house or condo, but onto a trawler out of Florida, and travel to the Bahamas and the Caribbean until I can't. I was originally going to buy a sailboat as I sail, but I am also a technical dive instructor, so for me, the trawler is perfect. Thank you for this valuable info!
That was a lot less expensive than I had imagined. But I had no notion of fuel economy per nautical mile. I imagine you could spend that much in marina fees, without ever firing up an engine. $800 a month, that's rent for a 1 br apartment. :D Great information, I like your conversation, and enjoy the random bird interjections. Too bad there's not a way to cancel out the sounds of the jet ski or whatever was revving its motor. But I didn't mind too much, it adds a very real element.
That's nice easy running at 8 to 10 knts. Your engines will last almost forever at that rate. It's good to give them a high speed workout once in a while like you do along with gentle easy cruising most of the time. That's a lot less fuel than I was thinking for that trip.
If you are time limited on being able to travel( only having 3 months out of year to travel) we stay near the coast of Savannah Ga. and wanting to travel to the Bahamas and Caribbean’s, would you suggest a motor vessel or sailboat( sail with wind and motor/motorsail when not enough wind or wrong direction). Which platform would be best suited? Do you know how many days it takes a sailboat to do the same trip you did? Is the time you save motoring worth the price in fuel ? That is my biggest thought. On average if you compare your boat to a 50ft monhaul going to the same marinas island hopping the Bahamas and Caribbean’s on average what would be the time saved by motoring, what’s your best guesstimate, 20% less time spent on traveling vs. sailboat? Thanks for you time and help
After searching with no luck to find someone with some real data I stumble across this awesome video. Great job. I’m kinda wondering how big your fuel tank is and how far you can travel safely on one tank of fuel?
Hi Jason. Thanks for you kind comment. To answer your question, we carry 400 gal of fuel. With the way we use the boat, we can travel 600+ NM with a 25% reserve.
How many days were you out of Canada? What did you do about medical coverage upon your return if you were gone for more than the 7 months??? you are allowed to be gone and still keep your provincial coverage?
We get this question a lot. We will answer it more in-depth in a future episode. But I'll just say that it is not too difficult to get back to Canada for the 5 months. There is also the option of applying for a 2 year leave and maintain your Canadian health care. You can do this every 5 years.
Good video, it was interesting. I have a few questions, what is the range with the 3208's on a full tank? How many hours before a rebuild on CAT marine diesels on average? I think most CAT diesels in equipment are good for 10 - 12k hours.
Were the marinas able to fill you up or did you have to schedule a tanker truck fill up? Enjoying your videos by the way, trying to talk my wife into buying a trawler!
Thanks for watching! We take 400 gal to fill up from dry, which never happens. We have no problem filling up anywhere we go along the east coast. The marinas fill up boats much bigger than ours and with a lot more fuel. Cheers!
Just another data point...We just went from NYC to a marina south of Annapolis - about 300 statue miles. We have a 40ft flybridge cruiser (43 LOA, 12'8" beam,3'6" draft), a bit smaller than your Tollycraft with similar engines to yours (Volvo TAMD63P - 370hp aftercooled turbos from 2002). Since it was very cold, we ran the generator (7kw Fischer Panda) the entire time. We were lucky enough to have otherwise perfect seas and ran mostly 2300-2400rpm and 20-22 knots. Statute MPG was between 0.75 and 0.85. This gives us a range of 210 to 235 SM if we were foolhardy enough to try to run the tanks completely dry. Now that we have established approximate range at those speeds we are going to continue our trip south in the next few weeks with some longer and slower sections to see what the numbers look like at 7 or 8 knots.
@@SearchingforCShelsWe had a scheduled stop in Maryland for some regular maintenance and now waiting for a part to come in to fix a leak that sprung up in our hydraulic steering. We're back in NYC right now and hope to continue our journey late this week no doubt with the generator running to keep the heat going. The plan is to make it to my parents in Daytona for Christmas before continuing further south. I'll do my best measuring fuel use using our dipstick for accuracy as soon as we start moving again. I hope all is well with you guys and you're somewhere warm and relaxing. We're pretty excited to be taking our first major trip, and we'll keep an eye out for your boat when we are sufficiently south and visiting friends in Miami before heading to the keys or Bahamas. Wish us luck!
We are excited for you! It is a beautiful trip down the east coast. Enjoy! We are in the warm Bahamas right now, will probably be here until next summer.
Thanks Roger! While cruising we would run an hour in the evening and in the morning. Mostly for heat until we got past North Carolina, of course for coffee in the morning. In the Bahamas where we don't cruise as much, so solar would keep up with an hour or 2 of genny a day, and a bit more on cloudy days.
I am watching your vids and they are great. I have seen that you have been in Canada and I wonder if you ever traveled the St Lawrence river and down to the east coast of Canada
once or twice a day, one or two hours total. Yes, refrigeration, didn't run the Air Conditioning much. We have the fridge and small freezer along with a separate 3.5 cubic foot freezer.
Thanks for your great videos... on this one you say it took you 56 days total to get to the Bahamas (37 actual cruising days). How many days did you stay in marinas and what was the average cost ? (If you don’t mind sharing)...
Very interesting and informative. I am planning on selling my home and living on a boat again, no go fast this time tho. Definitely a 65+ foot cruiser. Just found your videos today and have been watching your adventures. Like the style and content of your work. Keep it up. And yea, I subscribed and hit the bell notifications too.
Thanks so much for the fuel info. Shel, I like your attention to detail. We just bought a 1989 44’ Sea Ray with a pair of 375HP 3208’s, and I hope we burn as efficiently as you guys. If you would answer a couple questions...? Did you add the fuel flow meters? And what would you say the key to maintaining your 3208’s is? -Allan & Diane
Hi Allan. Yes we have fuel flow meters. The numbers in this video come from a combination of the fuel flow meters backed up with spreadsheets of fuel purchased, etc. Key things are keeping the oil in them fresh and topped up, along with bringing the engine up to recommended load capacity every 4-8 hours. Also keep to the recommended regular service intervals for the engine. That engine should last a long time. Cheers, and congrats on the new boat. 👍
Searching for C-Shels Thanks for the reply. What type of fuel flow meters are they? Are they on both engines or just one? Do they account for the diesel that is returned to the tank (that is, not all the fuel going to the injector goes to the engine, right?)? I’d like to add flow meters to my engine(s), but I’m not sure what kind to get. Thanks! You guys are great!
I watched the vid and got excited. I have been looking at boats with twin deisel 120 horse engines wanting the fuel burn you guys got. But if I can get the same fuel consumption at less rpm's with larger engines at idle and still have the same fuel burn, that's what I would like to buy. Is the steering more of a problem at slower speeds? Do you have auto steer? I have owned trucks and farm tractors and understand the need not to idle deisel engines constantly. Your's is the only video I have seen that actually did it and talked about it. Thanks for sharing!!
Brad Hammonds thanks so much for watching! Glad you enjoyed it. Remember though everything is a trade off. Because we have larger engines, we have to get the boat up on plane every 4 hours or so for 20 minutes. There are times I can't do this and it can be hard on the engines. A boat with 120 horsepower diesels will be quite fine going forever at slow speeds. The engines are working at their optimal rpm, whereas mine are not. Of course we have the ability to outrun weather, and if we need to make up time for whatever reason, we can. My advice would be, if your going to be going slow speeds, keep looking for smaller engines, but don't write off a boat with larger engines, just weigh the pros and cons. Yes we have autopilot and it runs well at lower speeds. We also don't have any low speed maneuvering issues, but that is more of a factor of rudder size than the engines. Hope this helps. Cheers!
Wow a lot cheaper then I imagined!! Wow I’m serious I thought it would be double that price one of the reasons that keeps me from buying a live aboard is fuel costs ... after accidentally watching your page I subscribed right away and started checking out your brand boat and found 2 on the market both 44 foot one in 120+ and the other 144 + both had outdated interior ... I’m in Jupiter Florida now and there are thousands of boats for sale lol so I’m going to pull the trigger within two years , I’m 48 so I’m giving it to my 50th lol .. your videos have shown me it’s possible on a budget to live on a power boat ... next time you guys are in the west palm / Jupiter area send me a email or DM I would love to pick your brains on live aboards plus drinks and dinner on me ...
Thanks, you are very kind! Yes our interior was outdated as well when we bought it. We replaced all soft goods and modernized the boat quite a bit without too much cost. Yes fuel is one of the cheapest things when cruising a boat. We don’t worry about fuel at all. It’s the other unexpected things that can blow your budget though. If you look back a number of episodes you will see some engine issues and an accident we had in Hope Town. We blew our budget then for sure. It’s doable, just have some reserves for the unexpected things. Speaking of Jupiter, we just spent the summer in Stuart, we went to Jupiter many times.
Hey guys great info. We are living in Ireland but our boat is in the U.S. We left New York heading south and have left our Gulfstar 44 MC in Chesapeake. We are heading down to the Bahamas over the next two summers. Our boat has Perkins diesels and we average 4 gal per hour at 8 knts. Are dockage prices reasonable as you head south on the ICW? Sean & Mairit
Hi Sean & Mairit! Wow what a life, living in Ireland must be amazing, and also able to go to the tropics in your own boat! Love Perkins engines. Rock solid. To be honest we anchor 95% of the time so we have limited visibility into dockage. I do know you can get deals if you look in the right places. We will do a future episode on some of the best places to get dock deals on the east coast, from free to cheap. Nothing beats anchoring though. Cheers!
This is great information, thank you! Do you have any fuel burn info you can share for your 34’ Tolly? I realize they are very different boats. I see myself following a similar path from a 34-36’ for a couple years before getting into the mid 40’ range. Thank you!
Hi Brian. Thanks for the question. The 34 Tolly we had was an awesome boat for summers up north. We actually would have kept it to travel south if she had diesels. We didin't have fuel flow meters so it's going to be difficult to give you completely accurate numbers. So keep in mind that you may or may not hit these numbers. We purchased our 34 on the West side of Lake Erie. So we took 3+ weeks to get from there to the Rideau River. We spent ~3500 CAD for fuel on that trip. We planed on the lakes around 20+ knots, I can't really tell you what she burned in fuel but when those 4 barrels opened up on the 454s, she drank it down. It was at least 1 mpg. On that trip we topped up with fuel whenever we could. That number initially worried us a little, but when we got to our cruising grounds, we more often than not only cruised at 7 knots. This only burned 5-7 GPH. At that speed fuel is not an issue. If you want to run the boat at 20+ knots, then fuel is going to be a consideration. A 3-4 week vacation on the 34 burned more fuel than a trip down to the Bahamas for the winter in our 44. That said, I would not hesitate to have another gas Tolly 34 if I was staying up north with just one summer vacation a year. The maintenance is lower, and if you needed a rebuild on those gassers, it is cheap compared to diesels. Hope this helps. Cheers!
@@SearchingforCShels Thank you for the thoughtful response. This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping for. We’ll be based on Vancouver island, so we hope to use the boat throughout the year. Fuel will be a consideration for sure so diesel will probably be our best bet. I spent so much time researching sail boats, primarily for economy in an early retirement. The whole sailing thing and waiting for wind and waves never fully appealed to me. I shifted my focus to trawlers and the whole concept seems so much better to me. We hope to have our learning boat this year or next. Your videos are inspiring! Thanks again.
Not quite idle. We run at about 1050 rpm on 375 hp CAT 3208TA engines. Every 4 hours we like to run her up to 20 knots 2300-2400 RPMs for 20 minutes, to blow them out.
I still love engines over a blow boat but that’s just me. It always makes me laugh when non boaters balk at a bit of fuel. The fuel is minor compared to other expenses. Lol. My late husband would laugh and say “ya gotta out fuel in something “. Lol.
Not a lot when we started, but we did have a numerous Great Lakes crossings under our belt. Now we have crossed the gulf stream 4 times, and a bunch of off shore cruises on the east coast. In the past we took Navigation and other courses with the Canadian Power and Sail squadron. I would recommend courses through your local power and sail squadron.
Hey guys, do you ever run just one engine, and alternate them? At 7.5 knots you would load one engine better than running both, save hrs and have even better fuel efficiency. There are many reasons why alternating engines is effective in cluding oil changes and much more. The lower the carbon footprint the better. C Shels did fine though I must admit.
We have tried that. It may have benefit on other boats but our experience is we burn the same amount of fuel on one engine to go the same speed. There is also the problem of the transmission on the non running engine. Unless you stop the prop from freewheeling, with the engine off, there is no heat transfer in the transmission cooler, which can damage the transmission. It also doesn't really load the engine like is recommended. 7.5 to 8 knots is still running that engine low. We have to bring the boat up to 20 knots to load our engines. Running on one engine just doesn't pay off in our case. Your milage may vary. Cheers mate!
What kind of diesel can you run on the water? Off road diesel? I’m curious to know if that’s legal? Its usually cheaper that might be why you were getting it cheap?
This is marine diesel. Same stuff at most marinas I would assume. It's red, not sure if it's the same for off road diesel. These numbers are three years ago as well, so fuel is more expensive now.
Turbo Cat engines? So these figures are for diesel fuel (you didn’t clarify)? I think most Tollycraft come with 5.7 litre gassers, or is that just the smaller ones? P.S- Love your videos and detailed info, it’s been massively helpful.
I have a new interest in boats and I was wondering why you dont just get a sail boat? I mean, if it takes a diesel boat 2 months to go 2000 nautical miles why not just sail it for free and save 800 gals. of fuel? is sailing too much work? what am i missing? thanks
That is a great question. Sounds like a good topic for a future video. 90+ percent of sailors just don't go out in the ocean and head north or south sailing the whole way. Those types of sailors are far and few between, and the ones that do are usually hardcore and don't mind being uncomfortable for days on end. Most sailors are motoring most of the time, and are going much slower than us. During the years we've done the east coast (up and down) we would always beat our sailing comrades. So sailing certainly isn't a faster way to do the east coast. It takes just as long for a sailboat to wait for suitable weather windows, wind blowing in the correct direction, favorable tides so they don't go aground on the ICW and inlets, etc. We prioritize comfort over fuel consumption. A sailboat with the space and comfort of our boat would be a very large and expensive sailboat. To be honest, though 800 gals may seem like a lot, it is really the cheapest part of cruising throughout the year. It's a non concern; Well I say that not having to do the east coast with the cost of diesel right now, but even with that extra cost, it still would be the one of the cheapest expenses we have. Thanks for the question. Let us know if you would like further explanation. Cheers!
I have CAT 3208's in my Californian 260 turbo horse versions, I have estimated I get about 1 nautical mile per gallon @1400rpm and 7-8knts. What am I doing wrong 😭😭😭
Don't think you are doing anything wrong. Your boat must be larger and a different hull design. I know to pull 8 knts out of our boat we are running at around 1050rpm. If I went to 1400, I think we'd be running 10-11 knts.
That one is easy. Zero. We have never bought Diesel for our 44 Tolly in Canada. Its always cheaper in the US. So we wait to fill up when we enter the US or fill up there before we leave. Hope this answer the question? Cheers!
thanks for the great info guys. We live in Sydenham, just north of Kingston and are selling our house presently. We are seriously considering taking a year or two off work to do what you are doing. We were parked at Leek a couple of weeks ago and you were a few hundred yards out from us (it got really bumpy in the afternoon, you went around to the back, we went back to Trident). I have a million questions, but for today, just three. Q: Does the fact that your engines are turbo help? I am seeing other people's spreadsheets and they are claiming 3gph for single engine and 6-7 for twins. Q: did you see many people with express cruisers over there, how are they in the swell? and last, my wife wants to know how scary it is on a fly bridge when it gets rough in the Atlantic Stop by Trident some time, have a drink!! We are on the Miss-Conduct.
Hi Rob! Thanks for following. The turbos should have nothing to do with the fuel economy at low speed. It is rare for a boat to double in fuel with two engines over a single. Going the same speed the twin engine boat will burn slightly more than the singe. It still requires the same HP to move the boat, single or twin. The only thing I can figure is it has to do with hull efficiency/design. All I know is that our numbers are extremely accurate. We actually don't see many express cruisers in the Bahamas, it is more sailboats and long range cruisers. MAybe in the summer there would be more coming over from the US. I do know we seen a family in a mid 30' SeaRay on the day of our crossing, and it looked like they were having a rough time in the swell. The dinghy is a good question, I have not tracked much on that. I do an oil and filter change once a year. 10 Gal of gas lasts about a month for our 20hp engine. Really not much expense at all. Look forward to more questions, and next time you see us on the water make sure you say hi! Cheers!
It sometimes is, but we were very careful to plan fuel stops at the known cheaper fuel stops along the east coast. Some were below 2.00 /gal. On the way back it was quite different though, everything was closer to 2.20-2.30 /gal at the time.
My maths isn't that great but doesn't $2.30 a gallon equate to around 60c per litre? I may be completely wrong though as grade 4 was the best damn ten years of my life. ;)
How on earth did you consistently find diesel for $2 per gallon, even two years ago? Its almost $4 a gallon at my current Lake Erie marina! Is it still that cheap along the east coast?
Hi Thomas, that’s a great question. Active Captain use to keep an updated list of fuel prices on their website. Waterway Guide still does at www.waterwayguide.com/fuel-price-report. We just plan our journey such that we would top up at the cheapest fuel docks. Fuel these days can be up to $4 on the high side, but you can find places still below $3. Hope that helps. Cheers!
Those are pretty interesting. However I believe the rig costs a lot to purchase and install. Can buy a lot of fuel for that, may make it not really worth the effort.
Do the hour meters accumulate time faster while driving slower? I'm new to all this. For some reason I thought going faster increases hours more rapidly.
Hi, enjoying your videos, just wondering if the math is off a bit over 820 gallons and only cost 1600 dollars?? thats only 2 dollars per gallon and that would be really cheap buying at marinas..
Yes, that is correct. At the time we first went to the Bahamas we were being selective and found the marinas with the cheapest fuel. Some as low a $1.80 a gallon. Wouldn't find that now though.
Oh are you to be sorry you left the door open for questions...lol I have a ton of questions, like where did you register your boat and what is a cruising permit? what advise can you offer to those who have a parrot as a first mate if any? yes my wife had to be demoted to second mate, a price my bird was willing to make and that I am sure I will pay for as time goes on, but to be fair he does much better then her at cracking coconuts...lol
We registered our boat in Canada. A cruising permit is given to a visiting boat to another country. In our case as Canadian, we need a cruising permit to be legal cruising through the US and one in the Bahamas. You get one when you check in with Customs for the country you are entering. Sorry we don't know anything about Parrots! lol But we do know Wives don't like demotion. Actually just tell your wife she is the Admiral and all will be fine. :D Really, your parrot opens coconuts???
My son claims "Bud" has a can opener for a beak, having been bitten a few times, both I and my wife have scars to prove it, yes we give him coconuts to tear apart when people ask me why I have parrots I tell them it is because flying tigers are illegal...lol I have been searching on youtube for video's of people that travel with their parrots but there appears to be a real shortage of proper sailors. Even in your case, never saw a proper admirals cap in any of your video's. If you do some checking that is more or less required equipment...lol Thanks so much for the information Here in the states I hear many register theirs boats in Delaware as they have a flat $300.00 dollar registration fee...Watched a video this morning of a fellow that travels all around the world and only takes the wheel when making port calls, sails by autopilot...
Yes, one could do that, its a great resource, but that doesn't have most diesel engines. Also economy is also determined by prop pitch and hull design as well (among other things), so numbers on the same engine can be wildly different in 2 different boats.
The way I understand it is, to push a boat at a certain speed requires a specific amount of horsepower. If you get that hp from one engine, that engine will burn approximately the same fuel to reach that hp as two engines working together to provide the same level of hp. Each engine in the twin scenario is working less to produce the same hp as the single. This of course is a generalization, a lot has to do with hull design, displacement, among other things as well. The twin vs single decision shouldn't come down to fuel burn. Fuel is the least expensive thing in cruising, either with single or twins.
@@SearchingforCShels ..... I will be using two engines.... though that is not what I am saying.... he said in his video that with two 3208 running he was burning a combined 3.11 gallons a hour...... the specks for the 3208 say 3.11 gallons a hour is possible for one engine not two....... so how did he do this?
Another awesome video where you explain to all of us what the cost of Living The Dream is. Thanks Guys
Love it Shel. All too many people don't chase their dreams. Keep cruising and inspiring!!!
Thanks Darrell for the encouragement!
That was a really great video on detailing your trip !thanks a lot😀
You're welcome. Thanks for watching. Cheers!
Hey there guys, this is very helpful. You said near the end that you would do more of this type of video. I would love to hear more about the fuel usage as that was quite awhile ago.
Tim
A fuel update video is on the list. Thanks!
Thank you ...Very informative !!!
Presented very well and quite complete, thank you!
Thank you!
MY wife and I enjoy watching your videos I have the same ENGINES!!! They are Awesome ENGINES!!!! We enjoy traveling up and down the east coast I also enjoy deep sea fishing . The ICW. Starts believe it or not in NJ OUR home state ! We do enjoy your adventures WE ARENT quite ready to leave for months at a time but its getting more each year . We will be free soon to take off FOR as long as we like ! STAY SAFE !!! 🇺🇸
Thanks! Hope to see you on the water.
This is the first video of yours that I watched. Great real world video on costs and time. Nice and simple.
Thank you! Good information!
Thank you, very informative.
This is very helpful. thanks
You are very welcome. Thanks for watching!
Thanks a ton Cyndi and Sheldon. Loved this video and it answers lots of questions bout a tolly. I have been moving the last five days with my boys to Talyns place on the river.
We are planning a moving sale and every time she asks if something needs to be kept or go in sale we repeat "boat" under our breath. Makes us try to sell things and thin down what we have.
We know it's a few years coming but planning already. Very very hard to get rid of things.
Loved the video and the updates and the boat repair. Looking good so far! Cheers and enjoy the summer.
P.S. yard sale is at 6pm today if y'all need anything. Lol. Bret and Talyn.
Bret Fields thanks guys, always love hearing from you. It does certainly take a while to purge. It took us 3+ years, and we still think we have too much. It is hard letting go, but is so freeing after a while with much less stuff. Good luck!
Thanks for this informative video, I'm undecided between sailing & motor boat, I'd prefer motor for simplicitys sake but have found it hard to get an idea of running costs. So thanks again.
Great video, thanks for the numbers...
You are quite welcome. Thanks for watching!
Excellent information. Just found your video. As a comparison, we owned a 48ft Californian (80,000 lbs.) with twin 485hp 671 turbo Detroit engines. Burn rate at 9 knots was 12 gallons per hour (6 gal per engine) Your burn rate of 3.11 gallons is excellent.
thank you guys for this video...you answered all my questions. as im planning on a jamaica trip from florida.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.
Perfect video! We are planning on doing the same thing!
So cool keep chasing the smiles guys
Great breakdown and stats! Thanks
You are welcome.
Awesome video! I am a sailor but I still love power boat info! I always wondered on fuel consumption.
Thanks! Glad to have you watching. We love sailboats and sailors as well. Cheers!
once again, and again. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
love it
Thanks! Cheers!
I keep on viewing this film in particular. We finally bought a boat last springtime....a 1977 40ft Pacemaker...After driving on a tour of the deep south...we found the new SIGMACHI in a covered slip marina in rural Mathews County, Virginia. She has been in a very slow refitting...unwarranted..in Deltaville, VA. Complete new HVAC system.
We will be ready to cruise somewhere next springtime. Give us a hail! Maybe you could be a our pathfinder!?
Alan and Jeanne
M/V SIGMACHI
Deltaville, VA
The fuel burn numbers by hours and NMPG were VERY good for that boat! I had a SR 450DA with Cats 3126(420hp) and they were very efficient as well. I did not get nearly as good as numbers as you because we cruised faster due to time constraints.
Not much trawlering done. That will change this fall. Thank you for making this video it is very helpful and useful. GOD bless you guys. JC
You are welcome JC. You might be interested to know that this seasons numbers are up slightly. We are running just a little harder than last season, but still under 4 GPH. Cheers!
Thats still very impressive!!! JC
Awesome video and very helpful.
Glad it was helpful!
Just found your videos and glad to have happened upon it. I prefer to review motor boat living but seems mostly all I find are sailing videos. Not knowing a lot about sailing, motor cruising is very interesting and something I may attempt to do someday. I enjoy boating but on a lake in Madison Wisc and is nothing like what you two are doing. Watching your videos makes me want to make the move to living on a boat and motor cruising (not sailing).
Welcome aboard Wes! keep us up to date with your plans. If there is any questions we can answer let us know. Cheers!
Those are great numbers. That's on par with what some PDQ owners told me they spent on fuel. That's very reasonable. On the other hand I had another one of our customers here at Winter Harbor tell us they spent roughly $20,000 in fuel!!! Much bigger yacht with massive engines though.
Sailboat's are free to go anywhere.Why Waste Your money On fuel.When you Can Use It For Good food,wine,Ect,Dock Fee's At All the Island's.Motor boat's Are Good for Around Home Area,but To Expensive for bluewater.But,If You Have All that Money,And don't Mind Letting It go,'Then Go Right Ahead,To Each his Own..Sailboat's ?Have motor's also,For the Windless Area's,etc.'Docking*
Hi FiddleStick's bessette,
Every boat is a compromise, the little bit of extra expense for fuel gives us more living space, and a faster cruise speed than our sailing cousins. I'd bet our expenses are on par with someone in a sailboat of similar size doing the same type of cruising we are doing. On the east coast, especially in the ICW, people in sailboats motor 90% of the time. Not to mention the hazards that a deep draft vessel has to deal with in the ICW. A sailboat just doesn't make sense to us at this time. Maybe in the future, when we can stay south longer, a sailboat could be a possibility.
I appreciate the info!
We appreciate you watching Scott. Cheers!
Super informative thanks
One thing to keep in mind. 253 hours at 65mph (say it was a car) is over 16k miles. Now... Boats don't do 65 (at least our style of displacement hulls). So my question. How many oil changes and filter changes were involved? Honest curiosity. We sailors run our steel sail the entire way down the ICW so the answer applies broadly here.
Your consumption was VERY good!
Thats a very good question. It depends on the engine and the maintenance intervals for them. Our 3208s require oil and filter changes at 250 hours. The primary fuel filter is also at 250 hours. So it all was changed before we left for the Bahamas, once in Florida before we crossed, and on the way back about 3/4 the way up th east coast. Doing this every year from Ontario is going to take 3-4 oil and filter changes per year, depending on how much cruising one does in the Bahamas, or up north in the summer.
Thanks, guys. Im considering a Tolly 44 on the left coast I found. I realize fuel prices are much different now. But the mpg figures are what I am glad to hear. Unfortunately the engines are Crusader 454’s, but looking at a cummins repower with similar power, so yeah… thanks
Honestly I have the 454's in my 41' Concorde and they are definitely thirsty, but if you cruise about 12 knots they aren't as bad as you think. The money you spend in gas, you save on parts in my experience. Plus the Tolly Tri Cabins are amazing boats. I usually burn about 18-20 liters per hour depending on conditions. A repower is gonna take a long time to break even on.
Great vidios have been watching them for some time now always informative and fun, I purchased my 1st boat a 42'aft cabin 1982 egg harbor twin cats I live in Denver Colorado but my boat is in Edgewater Maryland, I had it hauled in December going back end of March to get it ready to cruise it south,!! Going much the same way you did Thanks for sharing your adventures wishing the best 👍🍹⚓😎
Thank you! Does your Egg Harbor have the same 3208s I have? Hope to see you out on the water.
@@SearchingforCShels hi I'm a newbie but i think your engines have more power, but I'm not going to be in a hurry Thanks would love to see you out there, good luck in your travels
Great video! Thanks for breaking down the numbers and showing that cruising like you've been doing is not out of reach for "normal" folk.
When are you going to truck your boat out to the west coast and do some cruising here?
Thanks! Ah, we'd love to go cruising out west, would love to go to a Tolly Rendezvous as well. :-D Not in the plans to take the flybridge off the boat and truck her west, but you never know what the future could holds. We will come without the boat, if we get a ride on yours. ;-)
Love the video and love your numbers. 🙂👍
Thank you so much 😁
Very interesting data. Hope that you will eventually let us know the total cost of your trip , including docking fees, repairs, food, restaurants etc.. Glad that you made it safe to Canada, where the water level is still very high and hope that your boat repairs are not to expensive. As always, looking forward to seeing all your next videos.
Thanks Michel. Yes, on the list we will answer those questions and more. Cheers!
Thanks For this info. I just bought a 34 Tolly and after many years of sailing as a cheap way to get around ( No boat ownership is cheap) . But Comfort and a different style is at hand. I saw you had info on the fuel consumption for gas on your 34 Tolly below . Thanks for that input. I'll see how mine compares.
So true, boating isn't cheap. What engines do you have in your Tolly?
Thanks guys. Not bad for a motor yacht!!
lol, I guess you're right. You probably cut that in half if your NT is a single. You have a beautiful boat. We are wondering if we seen that boat in Solomons last fall or this spring?
Thanks. Yes, the NT is pretty economical, but I'm not sure I'd cut yours by half. And no, that wasn't Egret. I've only sailed her in western and eastern Florida, GA, and the Carolinas so far, but we will be headed to the Bahamas early 2018 when I retire, then on to the Caribbean from there. Maybe we'll cross paths. :)
Thank You ☺️
Hello from Toronto..
New subscriber. I follow many sailing channels, you are my first MY channel.
Those fuel numbers are impressive..about
11.5 litres per hour especially considering that your engines are not the latest technology. I'm currently looking at an Elling e6, which has trans Atlantic capabilities, an alternative to a sailing catamaran. These newer semi displacement hulls open up a world of possibilities. Thank you for your informative videos.
Hi! Glad to have you aboard. That Elling is really nice. There are a few semi-displacement hulls capable of the transatlantic journey these days. Some of the Flemings come close. I was reading about one of the Marlows having over 9000 nautical mile range when you pull back to 6-7 knots. Both of these boats are Class A rated ocean-going vessels.
@@SearchingforCShels Flemings are good boat, a little old school for me. Look like a Bayliner pilot house. The other thing with these super low cruise speeds is you get a lot of wallowing in big seas. You can extend your range with portable fuel bladders, 1000 litres is only a cubic meter. This way you could make your way to Europe via NFLD, Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands to Scotland.
The elling is very expensive, but is virtually unsinkable. It has a kevlar reinforced hull, and is self righting. Also it will do 20 knots as well as displacement speed. Its a no nonsense boat.
Great information.
How about your mooring costs, uber and food costs?
Great information. Just about to start rebuilding a 40 ft cape islander . going to be my home . I have nowhere to go and all day to get there. Thanks for the video.
Good luck on the rebuild! Sounds adventurous. Cheers!
Graet video
great video ... i am stunned how little the fuel cost
Thanks! Yes, we were sort of stunned as well. Fuel is a little more expensive now than our first year described in this video, but fuel is still not much to worry about.
That is really great fuel consumption! And the cost is almost nothing for a couple on a vacation. I currently live in Okinawa, Japan, work with the military. To fly to the US for a month with my wife and daughter costs us over $6,000. We don't pay for hotels because we just go to family and friends in S.F., NM, NY and Florida. But you took a 3 month trip for less than what it cost us just to fly, and you could have easily had 4 or more guests with you splitting the fuel bill. I will retire in 5 years not into a house or condo, but onto a trawler out of Florida, and travel to the Bahamas and the Caribbean until I can't. I was originally going to buy a sailboat as I sail, but I am also a technical dive instructor, so for me, the trawler is perfect. Thank you for this valuable info!
Thanks, and good luck in your future adventures!
@@SearchingforCShels Yup, see you in the Bahamas, maybe on another Tolleycraft :)
That was a lot less expensive than I had imagined. But I had no notion of fuel economy per nautical mile. I imagine you could spend that much in marina fees, without ever firing up an engine. $800 a month, that's rent for a 1 br apartment. :D Great information, I like your conversation, and enjoy the random bird interjections. Too bad there's not a way to cancel out the sounds of the jet ski or whatever was revving its motor. But I didn't mind too much, it adds a very real element.
That's nice easy running at 8 to 10 knts. Your engines will last almost forever at that rate. It's good to give them a high speed workout once in a while like you do along with gentle easy cruising most of the time. That's a lot less fuel than I was thinking for that trip.
Should certainly last a long time for sure.
If you are time limited on being able to travel( only having 3 months out of year to travel) we stay near the coast of Savannah Ga. and wanting to travel to the Bahamas and Caribbean’s, would you suggest a motor vessel or sailboat( sail with wind and motor/motorsail when not enough wind or wrong direction). Which platform would be best suited? Do you know how many days it takes a sailboat to do the same trip you did? Is the time you save motoring worth the price in fuel ? That is my biggest thought. On average if you compare your boat to a 50ft monhaul going to the same marinas island hopping the Bahamas and Caribbean’s on average what would be the time saved by motoring, what’s your best guesstimate, 20% less time spent on traveling vs. sailboat? Thanks for you time and help
After searching with no luck to find someone with some real data I stumble across this awesome video. Great job. I’m kinda wondering how big your fuel tank is and how far you can travel safely on one tank of fuel?
Hi Jason. Thanks for you kind comment. To answer your question, we carry 400 gal of fuel. With the way we use the boat, we can travel 600+ NM with a 25% reserve.
How many days were you out of Canada? What did you do about medical coverage upon your return if you were gone for more than the 7 months??? you are allowed to be gone and still keep your provincial coverage?
We get this question a lot. We will answer it more in-depth in a future episode. But I'll just say that it is not too difficult to get back to Canada for the 5 months. There is also the option of applying for a 2 year leave and maintain your Canadian health care. You can do this every 5 years.
Good video, it was interesting. I have a few questions, what is the range with the 3208's on a full tank? How many hours before a rebuild on CAT marine diesels on average? I think most CAT diesels in equipment are good for 10 - 12k hours.
Very good video. The run on file would’ve cost just over €5K in Ireland . 😭😭
Were the marinas able to fill you up or did you have to schedule a tanker truck fill up? Enjoying your videos by the way, trying to talk my wife into buying a trawler!
Thanks for watching! We take 400 gal to fill up from dry, which never happens. We have no problem filling up anywhere we go along the east coast. The marinas fill up boats much bigger than ours and with a lot more fuel. Cheers!
Just another data point...We just went from NYC to a marina south of Annapolis - about 300 statue miles. We have a 40ft flybridge cruiser (43 LOA, 12'8" beam,3'6" draft), a bit smaller than your Tollycraft with similar engines to yours (Volvo TAMD63P - 370hp aftercooled turbos from 2002). Since it was very cold, we ran the generator (7kw Fischer Panda) the entire time. We were lucky enough to have otherwise perfect seas and ran mostly 2300-2400rpm and 20-22 knots. Statute MPG was between 0.75 and 0.85. This gives us a range of 210 to 235 SM if we were foolhardy enough to try to run the tanks completely dry.
Now that we have established approximate range at those speeds we are going to continue our trip south in the next few weeks with some longer and slower sections to see what the numbers look like at 7 or 8 knots.
let us know that numbers at 7-8 knots, would love to compare the boats.
@@SearchingforCShelsWe had a scheduled stop in Maryland for some regular maintenance and now waiting for a part to come in to fix a leak that sprung up in our hydraulic steering. We're back in NYC right now and hope to continue our journey late this week no doubt with the generator running to keep the heat going. The plan is to make it to my parents in Daytona for Christmas before continuing further south. I'll do my best measuring fuel use using our dipstick for accuracy as soon as we start moving again. I hope all is well with you guys and you're somewhere warm and relaxing. We're pretty excited to be taking our first major trip, and we'll keep an eye out for your boat when we are sufficiently south and visiting friends in Miami before heading to the keys or Bahamas. Wish us luck!
We are excited for you! It is a beautiful trip down the east coast. Enjoy! We are in the warm Bahamas right now, will probably be here until next summer.
great video and very informative!! i was just wondering on average how many hours a day did you run your Genny?
Thanks Roger! While cruising we would run an hour in the evening and in the morning. Mostly for heat until we got past North Carolina, of course for coffee in the morning. In the Bahamas where we don't cruise as much, so solar would keep up with an hour or 2 of genny a day, and a bit more on cloudy days.
2.3 mpg...that's something to think about when buying a boat. I might have to pass on that 90 footer and go with a 40. LOL Great video. Thanks.
lol. Thanks.
I am watching your vids and they are great. I have seen that you have been in Canada and I wonder if you ever traveled the St Lawrence river and down to the east coast of Canada
Thanks Daniel! We've only traveled the St. Lawrence River to Montreal. Would love to someday do the Down East Loop.
Thank you for the video. How often did you run the generator? Was it used primarily for refrigeration and AC?
once or twice a day, one or two hours total. Yes, refrigeration, didn't run the Air Conditioning much. We have the fridge and small freezer along with a separate 3.5 cubic foot freezer.
Thanks for your great videos... on this one you say it took you 56 days total to get to the Bahamas (37 actual cruising days). How many days did you stay in marinas and what was the average cost ? (If you don’t mind sharing)...
Maybe 5% of the time we stayed at paid facilities. Ranged from $1 to $2.50 per foot.
Very interesting and informative. I am planning on selling my home and living on a boat again, no go fast this time tho. Definitely a 65+ foot cruiser.
Just found your videos today and have been watching your adventures. Like the style and content of your work. Keep it up. And yea, I subscribed
and hit the bell notifications too.
Thanks! So great to have you aboard. Glad you are enjoying our videos.
Thanks so much for the fuel info. Shel, I like your attention to detail. We just bought a 1989 44’ Sea Ray with a pair of 375HP 3208’s, and I hope we burn as efficiently as you guys. If you would answer a couple questions...? Did you add the fuel flow meters? And what would you say the key to maintaining your 3208’s is? -Allan & Diane
Hi Allan. Yes we have fuel flow meters. The numbers in this video come from a combination of the fuel flow meters backed up with spreadsheets of fuel purchased, etc. Key things are keeping the oil in them fresh and topped up, along with bringing the engine up to recommended load capacity every 4-8 hours. Also keep to the recommended regular service intervals for the engine. That engine should last a long time. Cheers, and congrats on the new boat. 👍
Searching for C-Shels Thanks for the reply. What type of fuel flow meters are they? Are they on both engines or just one? Do they account for the diesel that is returned to the tank (that is, not all the fuel going to the injector goes to the engine, right?)? I’d like to add flow meters to my engine(s), but I’m not sure what kind to get. Thanks! You guys are great!
I watched the vid and got excited. I have been looking at boats with twin deisel 120 horse engines wanting the fuel burn you guys got. But if I can get the same fuel consumption at less rpm's with larger engines at idle and still have the same fuel burn, that's what I would like to buy. Is the steering more of a problem at slower speeds? Do you have auto steer? I have owned trucks and farm tractors and understand the need not to idle deisel engines constantly. Your's is the only video I have seen that actually did it and talked about it. Thanks for sharing!!
Brad Hammonds thanks so much for watching! Glad you enjoyed it. Remember though everything is a trade off. Because we have larger engines, we have to get the boat up on plane every 4 hours or so for 20 minutes. There are times I can't do this and it can be hard on the engines. A boat with 120 horsepower diesels will be quite fine going forever at slow speeds. The engines are working at their optimal rpm, whereas mine are not. Of course we have the ability to outrun weather, and if we need to make up time for whatever reason, we can. My advice would be, if your going to be going slow speeds, keep looking for smaller engines, but don't write off a boat with larger engines, just weigh the pros and cons.
Yes we have autopilot and it runs well at lower speeds. We also don't have any low speed maneuvering issues, but that is more of a factor of rudder size than the engines. Hope this helps. Cheers!
Thanks!
Brad Hammonds I had twin natural 3208 in a 40 ft. At 8kts I used 2 gallons per/hr per motor so 4 gallons total. I was towing a 20 ft fishing boat.
Wow a lot cheaper then I imagined!! Wow I’m serious I thought it would be double that price one of the reasons that keeps me from buying a live aboard is fuel costs ... after accidentally watching your page I subscribed right away and started checking out your brand boat and found 2 on the market both 44 foot one in 120+ and the other 144 + both had outdated interior ... I’m in Jupiter Florida now and there are thousands of boats for sale lol so I’m going to pull the trigger within two years , I’m 48 so I’m giving it to my 50th lol .. your videos have shown me it’s possible on a budget to live on a power boat ... next time you guys are in the west palm / Jupiter area send me a email or DM I would love to pick your brains on live aboards plus drinks and dinner on me ...
Thanks, you are very kind! Yes our interior was outdated as well when we bought it. We replaced all soft goods and modernized the boat quite a bit without too much cost. Yes fuel is one of the cheapest things when cruising a boat. We don’t worry about fuel at all. It’s the other unexpected things that can blow your budget though. If you look back a number of episodes you will see some engine issues and an accident we had in Hope Town. We blew our budget then for sure. It’s doable, just have some reserves for the unexpected things. Speaking of Jupiter, we just spent the summer in Stuart, we went to Jupiter many times.
Hey guys great info. We are living in Ireland but our boat is in the U.S. We left New York heading south and have left our Gulfstar 44 MC in Chesapeake. We are heading down to the Bahamas over the next two summers. Our boat has Perkins diesels and we average 4 gal per hour at 8 knts. Are dockage prices reasonable as you head south on the ICW? Sean & Mairit
Hi Sean & Mairit! Wow what a life, living in Ireland must be amazing, and also able to go to the tropics in your own boat! Love Perkins engines. Rock solid. To be honest we anchor 95% of the time so we have limited visibility into dockage. I do know you can get deals if you look in the right places. We will do a future episode on some of the best places to get dock deals on the east coast, from free to cheap. Nothing beats anchoring though. Cheers!
thanks
Thank you for watching.
You guys need to post more thier a lot of good people will subscript
Yes, that is probably the case, however we are busy most of the time, and one or two videos a month is about all we can handle right now.
I just subbed
Thanks dave22!
That was all SOOOOOO interesting and informative. Thanks a mil yet again guys
Our pleasure Philip!
This is great information, thank you! Do you have any fuel burn info you can share for your 34’ Tolly? I realize they are very different boats. I see myself following a similar path from a 34-36’ for a couple years before getting into the mid 40’ range. Thank you!
Hi Brian. Thanks for the question. The 34 Tolly we had was an awesome boat for summers up north. We actually would have kept it to travel south if she had diesels. We didin't have fuel flow meters so it's going to be difficult to give you completely accurate numbers. So keep in mind that you may or may not hit these numbers.
We purchased our 34 on the West side of Lake Erie. So we took 3+ weeks to get from there to the Rideau River. We spent ~3500 CAD for fuel on that trip. We planed on the lakes around 20+ knots, I can't really tell you what she burned in fuel but when those 4 barrels opened up on the 454s, she drank it down. It was at least 1 mpg. On that trip we topped up with fuel whenever we could. That number initially worried us a little, but when we got to our cruising grounds, we more often than not only cruised at 7 knots. This only burned 5-7 GPH. At that speed fuel is not an issue. If you want to run the boat at 20+ knots, then fuel is going to be a consideration. A 3-4 week vacation on the 34 burned more fuel than a trip down to the Bahamas for the winter in our 44. That said, I would not hesitate to have another gas Tolly 34 if I was staying up north with just one summer vacation a year. The maintenance is lower, and if you needed a rebuild on those gassers, it is cheap compared to diesels.
Hope this helps. Cheers!
@@SearchingforCShels Thank you for the thoughtful response. This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping for. We’ll be based on Vancouver island, so we hope to use the boat throughout the year. Fuel will be a consideration for sure so diesel will probably be our best bet. I spent so much time researching sail boats, primarily for economy in an early retirement. The whole sailing thing and waiting for wind and waves never fully appealed to me. I shifted my focus to trawlers and the whole concept seems so much better to me. We hope to have our learning boat this year or next. Your videos are inspiring! Thanks again.
Glad it helped Brian. If you need to bounce anything off of us while you are searching feel free to reach out.
Hi very well done. were you idle on engines.? What kind of engines? Every 4 hours you were pushing engines for few minutes? Thanks
Not quite idle. We run at about 1050 rpm on 375 hp CAT 3208TA engines. Every 4 hours we like to run her up to 20 knots 2300-2400 RPMs for 20 minutes, to blow them out.
Great info. Thanks!
Not bad
I still love engines over a blow boat but that’s just me. It always makes me laugh when non boaters balk at a bit of fuel. The fuel is minor compared to other expenses. Lol. My late husband would laugh and say “ya gotta out fuel in something “. Lol.
For sure. Fuel is a minor cost when cruising.
What type of Training and Experience do you have for navigating on the open ocean?
Not a lot when we started, but we did have a numerous Great Lakes crossings under our belt. Now we have crossed the gulf stream 4 times, and a bunch of off shore cruises on the east coast. In the past we took Navigation and other courses with the Canadian Power and Sail squadron. I would recommend courses through your local power and sail squadron.
Hey guys, do you ever run just one engine, and alternate them? At 7.5 knots you would load one engine better than running both, save hrs and have even better fuel efficiency. There are many reasons why alternating engines is effective in cluding oil changes and much more. The lower the carbon footprint the better. C Shels did fine though I must admit.
We have tried that. It may have benefit on other boats but our experience is we burn the same amount of fuel on one engine to go the same speed. There is also the problem of the transmission on the non running engine. Unless you stop the prop from freewheeling, with the engine off, there is no heat transfer in the transmission cooler, which can damage the transmission. It also doesn't really load the engine like is recommended. 7.5 to 8 knots is still running that engine low. We have to bring the boat up to 20 knots to load our engines. Running on one engine just doesn't pay off in our case. Your milage may vary. Cheers mate!
Boy do I wish it was 5 years ago!
It certainly was more cheaper back then.
How big are your fuel tanks each and combine all together plz Hi from Seattle Wa USA
Thank you. I have simular boat. Going to do FL to St. Maarten. My concern will be port fees etc..
Why are you concerned about port fees? I hear it’s not all that expensive.
Ohh, not the cost. But search still to know how much to pay at each port stop. I was overcharged one time by a particular port.
Very good breakdown of fuel costs. Based on engine age and type those are great numbers.
Their "breakdown" of fuel cost makes no sense. There is no way they paid $2 / g for diesel at the dock.
I can't remember how long ago this was, but not too long ago I could fill my tanks on the Chesapeake for just under $2 a gallon.
What kind of diesel can you run on the water? Off road diesel? I’m curious to know if that’s legal? Its usually cheaper that might be why you were getting it cheap?
This is marine diesel. Same stuff at most marinas I would assume. It's red, not sure if it's the same for off road diesel. These numbers are three years ago as well, so fuel is more expensive now.
very informative thumbs up
Turbo Cat engines? So these figures are for diesel fuel (you didn’t clarify)? I think most Tollycraft come with 5.7 litre gassers, or is that just the smaller ones?
P.S- Love your videos and detailed info, it’s been massively helpful.
You are correct, 3208 TA. Most bigger Tollys came with diesel engines. Some 44s had gas. Thanks David. We appreciate you watching.
I have a new interest in boats and I was wondering why you dont just get a sail boat? I mean, if it takes a diesel boat 2 months to go 2000 nautical miles why not just sail it for free and save 800 gals. of fuel? is sailing too much work? what am i missing? thanks
That is a great question. Sounds like a good topic for a future video. 90+ percent of sailors just don't go out in the ocean and head north or south sailing the whole way. Those types of sailors are far and few between, and the ones that do are usually hardcore and don't mind being uncomfortable for days on end. Most sailors are motoring most of the time, and are going much slower than us. During the years we've done the east coast (up and down) we would always beat our sailing comrades. So sailing certainly isn't a faster way to do the east coast. It takes just as long for a sailboat to wait for suitable weather windows, wind blowing in the correct direction, favorable tides so they don't go aground on the ICW and inlets, etc. We prioritize comfort over fuel consumption. A sailboat with the space and comfort of our boat would be a very large and expensive sailboat. To be honest, though 800 gals may seem like a lot, it is really the cheapest part of cruising throughout the year. It's a non concern; Well I say that not having to do the east coast with the cost of diesel right now, but even with that extra cost, it still would be the one of the cheapest expenses we have. Thanks for the question. Let us know if you would like further explanation. Cheers!
I have CAT 3208's in my Californian 260 turbo horse versions, I have estimated I get about 1 nautical mile per gallon @1400rpm and 7-8knts. What am I doing wrong 😭😭😭
Don't think you are doing anything wrong. Your boat must be larger and a different hull design. I know to pull 8 knts out of our boat we are running at around 1050rpm. If I went to 1400, I think we'd be running 10-11 knts.
Different size/pitch props, different gear ratio in the trans final drive, different hull... Lots of factors...
How much fuel was bought in Canada in Canadian funds on your trip to the Bahamas ? Thanks
That one is easy. Zero. We have never bought Diesel for our 44 Tolly in Canada. Its always cheaper in the US. So we wait to fill up when we enter the US or fill up there before we leave. Hope this answer the question? Cheers!
thanks for the great info guys. We live in Sydenham, just north of Kingston and are selling our house presently. We are seriously considering taking a year or two off work to do what you are doing. We were parked at Leek a couple of weeks ago and you were a few hundred yards out from us (it got really bumpy in the afternoon, you went around to the back, we went back to Trident). I have a million questions, but for today, just three.
Q: Does the fact that your engines are turbo help? I am seeing other people's spreadsheets and they are claiming 3gph for single engine and 6-7 for twins.
Q: did you see many people with express cruisers over there, how are they in the swell?
and last, my wife wants to know how scary it is on a fly bridge when it gets rough in the Atlantic
Stop by Trident some time, have a drink!! We are on the Miss-Conduct.
also, since you anchor out 95% of the time, maybe you could touch on fuel/oil and maintenance on that awesome dinghy.
Hi Rob! Thanks for following. The turbos should have nothing to do with the fuel economy at low speed. It is rare for a boat to double in fuel with two engines over a single. Going the same speed the twin engine boat will burn slightly more than the singe. It still requires the same HP to move the boat, single or twin. The only thing I can figure is it has to do with hull efficiency/design. All I know is that our numbers are extremely accurate.
We actually don't see many express cruisers in the Bahamas, it is more sailboats and long range cruisers. MAybe in the summer there would be more coming over from the US. I do know we seen a family in a mid 30' SeaRay on the day of our crossing, and it looked like they were having a rough time in the swell.
The dinghy is a good question, I have not tracked much on that. I do an oil and filter change once a year. 10 Gal of gas lasts about a month for our 20hp engine. Really not much expense at all.
Look forward to more questions, and next time you see us on the water make sure you say hi! Cheers!
We made it in 5 days and a wake up from NYC in a 30 footer.
GT Vitti no need to rush man! :D
$1658 fuel cost / 817 gallons = $2.03 US per gallon fuel cost for diesal. Thought it would be higher cost per gallon for Marine.
It sometimes is, but we were very careful to plan fuel stops at the known cheaper fuel stops along the east coast. Some were below 2.00 /gal. On the way back it was quite different though, everything was closer to 2.20-2.30 /gal at the time.
That is about right for red dye diesel.
My maths isn't that great but doesn't $2.30 a gallon equate to around 60c per litre? I may be completely wrong though as grade 4 was the best damn ten years of my life. ;)
Phil Box that's about right. 1 gallon equals about 3.8 litres. We pay 3 times that here in Australia.
wow thats when fuel was cheap triple that today almost $5000 to take same trip
How on earth did you consistently find diesel for $2 per gallon, even two years ago? Its almost $4 a gallon at my current Lake Erie marina! Is it still that cheap along the east coast?
Hi Thomas, that’s a great question. Active Captain use to keep an updated list of fuel prices on their website. Waterway Guide still does at www.waterwayguide.com/fuel-price-report. We just plan our journey such that we would top up at the cheapest fuel docks. Fuel these days can be up to $4 on the high side, but you can find places still below $3. Hope that helps. Cheers!
How much did you have to pay for engine repairs?
Were those numbers for round trip or just to the bahamas from canada?
Just from Canada to the Bahamas.
How long did it take from Florida to Bahamas & @ what speed. 🍹
We were cruising at about 7-8 knots. Lake Worth to our anchorage referenced in this video was 10 hours.
Have you ever looked at the cost of adding a kite sail to your boat?
Those are pretty interesting. However I believe the rig costs a lot to purchase and install. Can buy a lot of fuel for that, may make it not really worth the effort.
Do the hour meters accumulate time faster while driving slower? I'm new to all this. For some reason I thought going faster increases hours more rapidly.
Nope, an hour is an hour. ;-)
Searching for C-Shels I'd better start moving faster then. Haha
🚤
an hour is an hour! traveling faster only increases RPM'S which result in more wear and tear at higher RPM'S.
Hi, enjoying your videos, just wondering if the math is off a bit over 820 gallons and only cost 1600 dollars?? thats only 2 dollars per gallon and that would be really cheap buying at marinas..
Yes, that is correct. At the time we first went to the Bahamas we were being selective and found the marinas with the cheapest fuel. Some as low a $1.80 a gallon. Wouldn't find that now though.
Oh are you to be sorry you left the door open for questions...lol I have a ton of questions, like where did you register your boat and what is a cruising permit? what advise can you offer to those who have a parrot as a first mate if any? yes my wife had to be demoted to second mate, a price my bird was willing to make and that I am sure I will pay for as time goes on, but to be fair he does much better then her at cracking coconuts...lol
We registered our boat in Canada. A cruising permit is given to a visiting boat to another country. In our case as Canadian, we need a cruising permit to be legal cruising through the US and one in the Bahamas. You get one when you check in with Customs for the country you are entering.
Sorry we don't know anything about Parrots! lol But we do know Wives don't like demotion. Actually just tell your wife she is the Admiral and all will be fine. :D Really, your parrot opens coconuts???
My son claims "Bud" has a can opener for a beak, having been bitten a few times, both I and my wife have scars to prove it, yes we give him coconuts to tear apart when people ask me why I have parrots I tell them it is because flying tigers are illegal...lol I have been searching on youtube for video's of people that travel with their parrots but there appears to be a real shortage of proper sailors. Even in your case, never saw a proper admirals cap in any of your video's. If you do some checking that is more or less required equipment...lol Thanks so much for the information Here in the states I hear many register theirs boats in Delaware as they have a flat $300.00 dollar registration fee...Watched a video this morning of a fellow that travels all around the world and only takes the wheel when making port calls, sails by autopilot...
@@fritters56 Check out " Captain Rick Moore " on YTube. He has been sailing forever And he has AB named Tiki.
Did you get the same numbers on your 2018 trip?
liska2203 we got similar, but a little more. We ran the boat at a little higher rpm and we went further.
Is diesel engines they to go ??? To me they are more reliable? Any thoughts
Absolutely more reliable, especially on long distance cruising like this. I would not go with gas for this type of cruising. Cheers Mitch!
You can also go to www.boat-fuel-economy.com select your motors and it will calculate your gph. Obviously this would be estimate.
Yes, one could do that, its a great resource, but that doesn't have most diesel engines. Also economy is also determined by prop pitch and hull design as well (among other things), so numbers on the same engine can be wildly different in 2 different boats.
did you sail back from Bahamas?
You were cruising at 7,5 k at how many rpm?
Aproximatley 1050rpm.
I am looking to build a boat...and I am going for most efficient engin..... I am I little confused.... because 3.11 GPH is only possible for one 3208
The way I understand it is, to push a boat at a certain speed requires a specific amount of horsepower. If you get that hp from one engine, that engine will burn approximately the same fuel to reach that hp as two engines working together to provide the same level of hp. Each engine in the twin scenario is working less to produce the same hp as the single. This of course is a generalization, a lot has to do with hull design, displacement, among other things as well. The twin vs single decision shouldn't come down to fuel burn. Fuel is the least expensive thing in cruising, either with single or twins.
@@SearchingforCShels .....
I will be using two engines.... though that is not what I am saying.... he said in his video that with two 3208 running he was burning a combined 3.11 gallons a hour...... the specks for the 3208 say 3.11 gallons a hour is possible for one engine not two....... so how did he do this?
Is there a boat tour video on your channel?
Not recently. We did a boat tour when we refitted the boat years ago. czcams.com/video/fB4h8iRTUKA/video.html