All due respect, but both Hatt's and Sea Ray's got lighter as time went on. My 41DC is not only lighter with the gas engines, but the aft sections are more flat. That helps her get up and go while keeping her draft down.
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Randy, I have great memories of you taking our 40DC from Ft Pierce to Joe Wheeler.The boat, as you say, which has twin 3208TA’s gets on plane easily and gets “good” mileage at about 20mph. We love it.
I think I'm around the 1mpg at 8-9mph, but I'm jealous of your cruise speed and consumption while there. I haven't figured it out exactly just yet, but my 36 with crusaders is a friggin pig on plane. I cruise at 17ish, around 3250rpm, and suck fuel. I figured .5 mpg and make sure to have some customers on the boat when she needs to be filled up.....:D
Everyone warned me!
Thanks for the input everyone. I read in another thread an owner was getting 16-17kn at 35 gph. For the price of the boat I can buy a truck load of gas. Saw the boat today. Love the layout. Aft stateroom is very comfortable but the boat is old and has a ton of issues. Nothing that scares me and I’d rather spend my time and money fixing a Hatt as opposed to my carver. We shall see
What RPM does she turn at WOT?
Your hull speed mileage sounds right, but you may have issues that are hurting you on plane. If the engines reach their rated RPM, you may want to try pushing her up to 3,500 as some big blocks do better there when anything lower has the hull on the wrong side of the hump. My 345DB Sea Ray was like that. Just have someone in the ER with the flame arrestors off to see where the secondaries start to come in. You definitely don't want that, or you will definitely suck gas. You may be there at 3,250 if she doesn't spin up to 4,200-4,400.
I've always been so tickled with my 3,000 RPM cruise numbers that I have never tried cruising her at anything higher. She jumps right up on plane at that level without messing with the tabs, and the wake is flat as a pancake.
For any of the new guys or those who haven't looked at my gallery pics. This is what 20MPH @ 3,000 looks like with full fuel and water, and she will turn 4,400. Again, she's a whole other animal than a 40DC, but don't let anyone tell you that gassers don't have any place in a 40 foot boat.
[QUOTE=Freeebird;402282]What RPM does she turn at WOT?
Your hull speed mileage sounds right, but you may have issues that are hurting you on plane. If the engines reach their rated RPM, you may want to try pushing her up to 3,500 as some big blocks do better there when anything lower has the hull on the wrong side of the hump. My 345DB Sea Ray was like that. Just have someone in the ER with the flame arrestors off to see where the secondaries start to come in. You definitely don't want that, or you will definitely suck gas. You may be there at 3,250 if she doesn't spin up to 4,200-4,400.
She's a bit tired, so I'm not getting full 42-4400. I'm in the 4000 range but honestly don't push it too much. I'm OK with it as we really don't travel far, our fishing areas can be as close as 1 mile or as far as 12 miles from port, and then we drop down to one motor and troll... so nothing crazy.
If we're going to travel far to say 1000 island region, I'm just going burn the gas and enjoy the ride. She really should be a diesel boat, seems really heavy for a 36 at 26000 lbs., but it does the job and for the price difference I can repower to new big blocks and still buy a TON of gas.
That said, if/when we move up, the next one will be a diesel.
These are the exact same numbers we are seeing when on cruise. When I brought the boat home from Detroit to Wilson, NY, the long way their the entire eastern Erie Canal (thanks covid), we used just shy of $4000 in gas. Considering we crossed both lake Erie and Ontario on plane, I didn't think it was terrible. Hell of a nice trip!
Good Luck!
"She's a bit tired, so I'm not getting full 42-4400. I'm in the 4000 range but honestly don't push it too much."
You don't have to run at or near WOT to be pushing it hard when it won't reach it's rated RPM at WOT. In fact, you're pushing it hard to run it at 3,250, and that's why she's drinking the extra fuel. I would bet money the secondaries have opened at that point. Did it ever turn its rated RPM?
If not, I would start with props, assuming it runs well at whatever RPM you're running. Lots of people over-prop gas engines thinking it will get them better economy at hull speed. It may a tad if you don't get carried away, but it will hurt you (and your engines) everywhere else. It's like pulling a loaded trailer up a hill with your truck in 5th gear. Lower RPM doesn't mean you are saving anything, and you're killing your engine.
It would be worth your while to see if you can get her RPM up where they should be. Tired probably is not your issue.