New Owner With A Question

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:51 am

Hi! I am the proud new owner of a 1979 Trojan 36' Tri-cabin and this will be my first season at the helm. My last boat was single screw with a 5.7L I/O and I knew I could trip plan it at about 12 GPH at 20kts.

Can anyone tell me the approximate fuel burn value I should use in planning for trips cruising at 20kts? I have to move the boat 625 miles from where I purchased it to its new home and wanted to get some idea of my expected fuel consumption for the trip.

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Mon May 11, 2009 11:06 am

Based on what my F-36 burned with the 440 gas engines, I would estimate 1,040 gallons for a 625 mile trip at 16-17 knots.

guglielmo6160 · Post by **guglielmo6160** » Mon May 11, 2009 11:47 am

Yikes,,,,, 3100 bucks at 3.00 a gallon, thats alot of cash,,, but hey what the hell

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Mon May 11, 2009 12:20 pm

We are going to make this trip a one week vacation. I am not sure what engines are in the boat. I have the owner's manual but we just moved and it is packed away until I can get to that particular box.

They are gasoline and I just looked at a photo I took and the number on the side of the engine says 255. I think they are Mercs but not positive. So I am guessing they are not the 440's you are talking about.

TADTOOMUCH · Post by **TADTOOMUCH** » Mon May 11, 2009 2:35 pm

Plan on about 0.8 miles per gallon. Yikes!! $2,250 but hey you are doing your part to stimulate the economy.

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Mon May 11, 2009 3:05 pm

Thanks for all the help. My wife and I are really looking forward to the trip. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Just noticed that you are in SW Michigan TadTooMuch. I am moving the boat from lake St. Clair to its new home in Michigan City, IN over Memorial Day weekend and have the following week off also. Where are you docked?

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Mon May 11, 2009 8:00 pm

I have a 79 F36 with 440's. The 440â€™s are rated at 330hp. I get 5/8 gal/mile cruising at 19 mph. At that rate you can expect to burn 1000 gallons. It sounds like your Mercs have 255hp per engine. Youâ€™re probable not going to be able to cruise at 20nts unless you really push it. Youâ€™re going to want to run as fast as you can without opening the secondaries of the carburetors. That should be somewhere between 2900 & 3000 rpm. Once the secondaries open you really stat going through the fuel.

You should consider carrying some spare parts with you for your trip. Have extra fuel filters, engine belts, impellers, and oil. Be sure you have some toilet paper. After your first fill up you may need it.

LSP · Post by **LSP** » Mon May 11, 2009 8:04 pm

good advice

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Mon May 11, 2009 8:36 pm

Gas engine boats, particularly big, heavy ones, burn a LOT of gas if you try to run them like speed boats. I did get over 1 MPG with my 440's if I ran them at trawler speed....7 - 8 knots. But if you're trying to get somewhere, that speed will drive you crazy. The best compromise I found was 2650 - 2700 rpm's with the bow trimmed down, making 16 - 17 knots and burning 12-13 gph each. My secondaries were disconnected. They don't come into play until above 3600 rpm, and if you have to turn a big gas burner that hard to achieve your desired speed, you own the wrong boat. The spec sheets for my engines said 55 gallons per hour per engine at WOT / 4000 rpm. That is 110 gallons per hour....insane in this day and time, and with these gas prices.

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:16 am

Thanks so much for all of the help and good advice.

This is a new boat to me, and while I have been boating for many years, this is my first twin engine boat and my largest boat, so I am a little nervous about the trip. This will be my first time taking the boat out.

Before leaving on our adventure, I am getting lessons from a Captain who makes his living ferrying large ocean-going vessels and used to own one of these in how to operate the boat, the various systems of the boat, and the differential steering.

If you have any other advice, please, chime in. I am smart enough to know what I don't know and don't mind asking.

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:18 am

boat tow...dont leave home with out it...seriously..even if ur not going a million miles

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:50 pm

We finally got moved into our new house and found my owner's manual which lists performance charts for every Trojan made that year with all possible engine combinations - pretty handy!

Looks like the best setting is 3000 RPM which will get me 21.7mph and burn 27.6gph taking me 5.2 hours to go 113 miles before refueling.

I was amazed that the low cruise setting was 2500 RPM yielding 14.8 MPH and burning 19.4gph which would take me 7.36 hours to go 109 miles before refueling.

What a difference - take two hours less to go four miles further burning the same amount of fuel!

Think I'll try the max cruise setting and see if it works.

We leave tomorrow on our 550nm cruise to take our new boat to her new home. Weather looks great with 1-2 foot waves forecast for many days ahead.

Wish us luck and I will let everyone know how our first cruise aboard our new '79 Trojan went.

LSP · Post by **LSP** » Fri May 22, 2009 1:27 pm

Have a great trip Sea Dog ....

David Kane · Post by **David Kane** » Fri May 22, 2009 1:54 pm

Hi Sea Dog:

Hope you have a great trip! Just saw this posting-I've got a '75 tri-cabin with the same Merc 255's. I'll have to dig out our fuel curve-sorry I can't be of much help with what the burn rate will be for you. Have you checked the engines over real good? Like it was sstated in an earlier post-take spare parts & lubricants (engine oil/vee drive 80-90 gear oil) with you. It's a long trip in a vessel you're not familiar with what state the systems are in. People can say what they want when they're selling a boat, but like anything else, you really get to know what's what after running it yourself for awhile.

jwrape · Post by **jwrape** » Fri May 22, 2009 2:17 pm

This is why we go and sit in the cove right across from the Marina. We call it Econo Cove. Cost Very little to plow over there and anchor out

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