Fun per gallon

With prices at the gas pump hovering around the $4-per-gallon mark, fuel efficiency is a hot topic among drivers – of both autos and watercraft. But you don’t have to burn huge quantities of pricey fuel to enjoy your summer at Smith Mountain Lake.
    Sure, there will be times when you can justify guzzling gallons – pulling the kids on towables, water-skiing or wakeboarding on a picture-perfect day, heading out to meet friends at a waterfront restaurant (see pages 82-83 for our Dock & Dine Guide). Those are all instances when you might say, “There is boating fun to be had, memories to be made, and we’re all over it!”
    But Lakers – residents and visitors alike – can maximize their summer fun while minimizing impact on their wallets by adopting a new gas usage index we call “fpg” – fun per gallon. The goal is to get your fpg average as high as possible by adopting some tried-and-true strategies for enjoying the lake on fewer gallons of gas.

Get Light
    Every pound of unnecessary weight carried on your boat sucks up unnecessary gas while underway. Go through your boat and remove “excess baggage” that has accumulated in storage compartments. Other than safety equipment, if you don’t plan to use gear on a particular outing, it should stay on the dock. Most boaters will admit they’ve allowed rarely-used items to collect in out-of-sight places. But with gas prices up, it’s time to offload that unnecessary weight. And don’t push around a full tank of water (or gas) unless you plan an outing that will use most of it.

Avoid jackrabbit starts and full-throttle runs
    Most boats will easily pull up a skier, especially a child, with three-quarter or less throttle. Taking care not to “overspeed” on the start will save gas and make it more comfortable for your rider. Remember, once you pass your boat’s sweet-spot cruising range (usually around 4,000 rpm for outboards and 3,500 for inboards and stern drives), fuel efficiency plummets. Slowing down and taking a few extra minutes to get to each new fishing spot can slash the fuel consumption for an outing by several gallons.

Get on and off plane quickly
    “Plowing through the water is the least efficient use of gas and also causes the greatest damage to nearby docks and shoreline,” said Tom Buck, owner of Halesford Harbour Marina. “You’ll use less gas if you get the boat on plane quickly and then reduce throttle to hold an efficient cruising speed, usually about 25 mph. When slowing down, quickly cut the throttle so you avoid a long period of plowing water as you transition to idle speed.”

Spend some “idle hours” afloat
    You don’t have to be going far or fast to relish a boat ride. You’ll be amazed at how pleasant it can be to idle through coves close to your lake place – admiring the scenery, observing wildlife and greeting other Lakers on their docks. Two hours on the water poking about in a typical SML runabout costs less than $15 — a reasonably inexpensive evening’s entertainment, even for just a couple.

Enlist friends and neighbors in a shared gas-saving strategy
    Pal up and drive your boat to dinner this weekend, theirs the next. Make a few calls to neighbors and arrange a raft-up in a cove just a short run from home, where lots of socializing can take place with consumption at 0 gph. When you bring hors d’oeuvres or snacks to share boat-to-boat, the fpg quotient can go off the chart. Swimming from an anchored boat on a hot summer day is also a delight. Float on noodles, life jackets or rafts with snacks and beverages arrayed on a swim platform or tethered float.  

Say yes to guests who offer to help with the gas
    It’s OK to put a cap on how much fuel those teens run through the PWCs before they start spending some of their own allowance money to fuel up. A limit on “free” fuel will encourage them to make full-throttle sprints shorter and less frequent (and provide an added safety bonus). Having kids help with fueling and maintaining the PWCs also teaches boating responsibility.

BY THE NUMBERS
Most recognize the abbreviation mpg — miles per gallon, the standard used for measuring automobile fuel efficiency. For watercraft, the common fuel-usage measurement is gallons per hour (gph). How does that equate for your favorite on-board activities? A few consumption examples provide a clue.

1.0 gph – Idling through a quiet cove (.5-1.5 or more depending on boat/engine)
3.5 gph –  Slow cruise aboard a typical pontoon (150-hp outboard)
5.0 gph – Running a personal watercraft (PWC) at 40-45 mph
6.5 gph –  Optimum cruise speed in a 19-foot family runabout (200-hp inboard/outboard)
8.0 gph –  Towing boarders in a 23-foot wake sports inboard
12.8 gph – 45 mph run to a fishing spot in a 19-foot bass boat
60+ gph – Wide-open dashes in a 35-foot twin-engine cruiser or performance powerboat

Of course, there’s also 0 gph, which applies to sailboats, kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, boats anchored in quiet coves or pulled up at beaches, as well as Lakers content to simply “veg out” on the dock.

Estimates based on tests published in Boating Magazine’s 2012 Boat Buyer’s Guide.