The thread about jerry cans got me thinking. I'm contemplating a delivery
style voyage from Portland to Halifax, NS so I can participate in a series
of meetings without the expense of staying in a hotel. Light winds could
result in a lot of motoring so I decided to work up this graph based on
observed speeds last season and the engine data:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Fuel.gif

This should be typical of many cruising sailboats around 32 feet, 20 HP, 20
gallons of fuel but I wouldn't want to draw less than 17 for fear of sucking
air and to have some reserve.

The graph shows the economic benifit of slowing down but also the exposure
to weather changes. It's about 230 miles from Portland to the first place
in NS that I could refuel. In the absence of wind, I would have to run at
1900 and it would take me 1 3/4 days.

My boat is smoother and pleasanter above 2000 RPM than below due to
structure that resonates at lower speeds so I would probably carry a jerry
can or two lashed to the lifelines for this trip unless I had forcasts of
fair winds.

I can go a long ways at 4 knots if I have the patience

Wind and waves will change these numbers a lot but, in that case, I would be
sailing.

--
Roger Long

On Thu, 7 Jun 2007 06:53:25 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

The thread about jerry cans got me thinking. I'm contemplating a delivery
style voyage from Portland to Halifax, NS so I can participate in a series
of meetings without the expense of staying in a hotel. Light winds could
result in a lot of motoring so I decided to work up this graph based on
observed speeds last season and the engine data:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Fuel.gif

This should be typical of many cruising sailboats around 32 feet, 20 HP, 20
gallons of fuel but I wouldn't want to draw less than 17 for fear of sucking
air and to have some reserve.

The graph shows the economic benifit of slowing down but also the exposure
to weather changes. It's about 230 miles from Portland to the first place
in NS that I could refuel. In the absence of wind, I would have to run at
1900 and it would take me 1 3/4 days.

My boat is smoother and pleasanter above 2000 RPM than below due to
structure that resonates at lower speeds so I would probably carry a jerry
can or two lashed to the lifelines for this trip unless I had forcasts of
fair winds.

I can go a long ways at 4 knots if I have the patience

Wind and waves will change these numbers a lot but, in that case, I would be
sailing.

I've been following this thread with some interest. The reaction of
people who "cruise" for a week and the people I meet in the marina
here who have "cruised" half way round the world is noticeably
different. Nearly all the boats here have at least six jerry cans of
fuel lashed to the lifelines along with two or three boat hooks, tanks
of outboard fuel, spare anchors, and so on. Nearly all the boats have
built in fuel tanks of fifty gallons or more and still carry 100-200
liters of deck fuel.

A mate of mine set out for the Philippines from Singapore.. Waited
around for the right season and off he went. 100 miles a day for the
first three days and then he sat up in the S.china seas bobbing around
in a dead calm. After a day he started motoring and got into Kota
Kinabalu on fumes. Refueled and also bought a bunch of jerry cans.
Ended up motoring all but one day the rest of the way to Cebu.

Fuel is good. More fuel is better.
Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Jun 7, 1:11 pm, Bruce wrote:
On Thu, 7 Jun 2007 06:53:25 -0400, "Roger Long"





wrote:
The thread about jerry cans got me thinking. I'm contemplating a delivery
style voyage from Portland to Halifax, NS so I can participate in a series
of meetings without the expense of staying in a hotel. Light winds could
result in a lot of motoring so I decided to work up this graph based on
observed speeds last season and the engine data:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Fuel.gif

This should be typical of many cruising sailboats around 32 feet, 20 HP, 20
gallons of fuel but I wouldn't want to draw less than 17 for fear of sucking
air and to have some reserve.

The graph shows the economic benifit of slowing down but also the exposure
to weather changes. It's about 230 miles from Portland to the first place
in NS that I could refuel. In the absence of wind, I would have to run at
1900 and it would take me 1 3/4 days.

My boat is smoother and pleasanter above 2000 RPM than below due to
structure that resonates at lower speeds so I would probably carry a jerry
can or two lashed to the lifelines for this trip unless I had forcasts of
fair winds.

I can go a long ways at 4 knots if I have the patience

Wind and waves will change these numbers a lot but, in that case, I would be
sailing.

I've been following this thread with some interest. The reaction of
people who "cruise" for a week and the people I meet in the marina
here who have "cruised" half way round the world is noticeably
different. Nearly all the boats here have at least six jerry cans of
fuel lashed to the lifelines along with two or three boat hooks, tanks
of outboard fuel, spare anchors, and so on. Nearly all the boats have
built in fuel tanks of fifty gallons or more and still carry 100-200
liters of deck fuel.

A mate of mine set out for the Philippines from Singapore.. Waited
around for the right season and off he went. 100 miles a day for the
first three days and then he sat up in the S.china seas bobbing around
in a dead calm. After a day he started motoring and got into Kota
Kinabalu on fumes. Refueled and also bought a bunch of jerry cans.
Ended up motoring all but one day the rest of the way to Cebu.

Having cruised halfway round the world, the only time I carried fuel
in jerry cans was to transit the Red Sea and Suez. It also resulted
in the antisyphon on the engine exhaust going under water and giving
me an engine full of sal****er in Eritrea.

Carry extra fuel if you must, but otherwise use your sails!

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
The thread about jerry cans got me thinking. I'm contemplating a delivery
style voyage from Portland to Halifax, NS so I can participate in a series
of meetings without the expense of staying in a hotel. Light winds could
result in a lot of motoring so I decided to work up this graph based on
observed speeds last season and the engine data:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Fuel.gif

This should be typical of many cruising sailboats around 32 feet, 20 HP,
20 gallons of fuel but I wouldn't want to draw less than 17 for fear of
sucking air and to have some reserve.

The graph shows the economic benifit of slowing down but also the exposure
to weather changes. It's about 230 miles from Portland to the first place
in NS that I could refuel. In the absence of wind, I would have to run at
1900 and it would take me 1 3/4 days.

My boat is smoother and pleasanter above 2000 RPM than below due to
structure that resonates at lower speeds so I would probably carry a jerry
can or two lashed to the lifelines for this trip unless I had forcasts of
fair winds.

I can go a long ways at 4 knots if I have the patience

Wind and waves will change these numbers a lot but, in that case, I would
be sailing.

--
Roger Long


The trip from Portland to Halifax is a familiar one. One time when I was in
Shelburne NS, we monitored the Canadian Coast Guards rescuing a sailboat
coming from Portland destined to Halifax.

When the rescued sailboat arrived in Shelburne, I inquired as to what was
the problem. I was told that the diesel engine stop running when the sea
was flat as a pancake... After investigation, it was learned that dirt in
the fuel system was the culprit.

A local mechanic came and cleaned the fuel tank and system. Then the
sailboat engine worked well. Then I asked the mechanic if this happen
often? He replied every summer we have a few sailboats coming from Portland
and other places with that problem... After I talked to the owner of the
sailboat and he replied that in 20 years of use he never had a problem with
his diesel engine. Then the mechanic asked him how often he cleaned the
fuel tank, the replied was never.

Yup. That tank cleaning was letting all sorts of bugs and critters get in
there

--
Roger Long

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
The thread about jerry cans got me thinking. I'm contemplating a delivery
style voyage from Portland to Halifax, NS so I can participate in a series
of meetings without the expense of staying in a hotel. Light winds could
result in a lot of motoring so I decided to work up this graph based on
observed speeds last season and the engine data:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Fuel.gif

This should be typical of many cruising sailboats around 32 feet, 20 HP,
20 gallons of fuel but I wouldn't want to draw less than 17 for fear of
sucking air and to have some reserve.

The graph shows the economic benifit of slowing down but also the exposure
to weather changes. It's about 230 miles from Portland to the first place
in NS that I could refuel. In the absence of wind, I would have to run at
1900 and it would take me 1 3/4 days.

My boat is smoother and pleasanter above 2000 RPM than below due to
structure that resonates at lower speeds so I would probably carry a jerry
can or two lashed to the lifelines for this trip unless I had forcasts of
fair winds.

I can go a long ways at 4 knots if I have the patience

Wind and waves will change these numbers a lot but, in that case, I would
be sailing.

--
Roger Long



If you could arrange your schedule to rendezvous with this group, you'd have
lots of company...
http://www.marbleheadtohalifax.com/

On 2007-06-07 06:53:25 -0400, "Roger Long" said:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Fuel.gif

This should be typical of many cruising sailboats around 32 feet, 20
HP, 20 gallons of fuel but I wouldn't want to draw less than 17 for
fear of sucking air and to have some reserve.

I've been keeping track of our consumption since we got the boat,
actually driving at set RPMs for long enough to half-empty the tank.
Surprisingly, our mileage is steady from about 2000 down, a bit over 20
nmpg. At 2500, it's about 17; 3000+, about 6. We typically run at 2200
and hold between 5 and 5.5 knots, depending on the conditions.

Ours is a Yanmar 2GM20F, swinging a 16" 3-blade MaxProp, which changes
the rules somewhat.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's new pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI pages: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/