# Boat gas mileage?



## cole tarnok

I am looking to purchase a boat soon but am skeptical because of the high gas prices. Im looking at boat ranging from 19' to 22' with motor in the 150 range. I am curious of what kind of gas mileage you guys are getting and how big is the mileage difference between a 2 stroke and a 4 stroke. If anybody can help me out it would be appreciated. 

thanks,cole


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## fishin' fool

Not sure what boat you are looking at, but if it is a later model you might want to try looking at some of the outboard brand websites. Not sure about the other manufacturers, but if it has a Yamaha outboard you can look up most boats and engines and see all sorts of data. It is full of good info. (Just look for the performance bulletins tab)


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## drlile

Yamaha has some great performance bulletins. Different boats, different power options. Lists RPM, MPH, GPH, MPG and seconds to plane. 

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard/products/perfbull.aspx?ls=outboard

Hope this helps, Bill


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## bluffman2

i run a yamaha f150 on the boat shown below and i get 3-4 mpg with a pretty good load when fishing.....IMO i would stick with a 4 stroke......


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## ucf_motorcycle

There is little MPG difference between a 4-stroke and a Direct Injection 2-stroke. Now compare these to an older carbed 2-stroke and there is a huge difference. 

I havelooked at severalperformance charts with engines of the same HP and typically the DI 2-strokes get slightly better mileage and overall better performance. 

There are alot of tradeoffs though other than just mileage so you should do some research.


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## cuzmondo

With our boat, a 21.5' W/A and F200 Yamaha and hard top in this picture;with a moderate load and the right conditions I can squeak out about 3 mpg. Loaded for fishing and diving in 2-3 ft. seas, that drops to about 2 mpg. I am very very happy with this combination as it's the best fuel economy of any of the boats we'ver ever owned. I would stongly encourage you to not underpower your boat of choice. We've owned 4 cuddy cabin boats, so I can't comment on the center consoles, but with a 21 - 22 ft. W/A cuddy anything less than 200 hp is underpowered for anything more than light loads and cruising. Loaded for fishing and diving more power is a must. Most mfr.s put the bare minimum as standard power to get the price point lower.


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## Orion45

> *drlile (10/2/2008)*Yamaha has some great performance bulletins. Different boats, different power options. Lists RPM, MPH, GPH, MPG and seconds to plane.
> 
> http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard/products/perfbull.aspx?ls=outboard
> 
> Hope this helps, Bill


Take this data with a grain of salt. Check out the following example from the Yamaha website.










Forget about the actual performance data results. I just wanted to point out that the data can be misleading. In this case, the boat's dry weight is 2,200 lbs. The engine weight is 475 lbs. Assuming a full tank, 80 gals of gas (@ 6 lbs/gal) weigh 480 lbs. Two people at 175lbs each weigh 350 lbs. Total weight = 3,505 lbs. Now compare that to the testweight of 3,568 lbs. Only 63 lbs of difference. Now start adding the weight of 1)One or two 2 extra people (some of them probably weighing more than 175 lbs each), 2)Fishing gear or worse yet, diving gear, 3)Anchoring gear, 4)Ice, water, beer, and food, 5)Ice chest, 6)Weather and sea conditions,7) Electronics, safety equipment, extra battery, and so on.... Do you get the picture? Pretty soon thatboat that performed so well is suddenly grossly underpowered.

Bottom line: Make sure your boat is not underpowered foryour intended use.


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## flyliner

I have been running a Pathfinder 22TE with an F150 getting 4 to over 5 miles per gallon at cruise speed of 25 to 30 mph. I have a new 24 and this one is for sale


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## DreamWeaver21

Assuming you are talking about a deep V fishing boat, you can expect somewhere between 2.0 and 3.5 MPG depending on size and power. I am on the low end of that with a 21 footer and a 225 HP motor. Bay boats and skiffs will likely get better. 

Direct injection 2 strokes and 4 stroke motors generally get about the same MPG maybe with a slight nod to DI motors. Both will get about 20-25% better economy then a fuel injected 2 stroke and can be up to 30-50% better than a carbed motor. These are rough numbers I have seen around the net and I am sure there are examples that don't fit these numbers.


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