I'm happy to be able to oblige. Over the 66 days of our Big Summer Cruise the engine did 311.7 hours which is an average of 4.7 hours per day. That's not to say that we cruised for nearly five hours per day as some engine running was with the boat stationary and just for battery charging.
I would like to be able to give a precise figure for fuel consumption, but my boat log suffered a minor disaster. Early in the voyage the wind caught several pages which had come loose and blew them off the cabin top. Some landed on the counter, but some ended up in the cut. I rescued a couple but lost at least one, covering two days' worth. Gone is the record on the first fill-up.
Nevertheless, I have enough data to make a reasonably accurate calculation of fuel consumption.
Second fill: nb Alton, Macc. Canal: 37 litres, 28.5 hours: 1.30 l/h
Third fill: Sowerby Bridge: 72 litres, 65.3 hours: 1.10 l/h
Fourth fill: Thorne: 76 litres, 64 hours: 1.19 l/h
Fifth fill: Shobnall Wharf: 60 litres, 41.1 hours: 1.46 l/h
Sixth fill: Cathiron (GU): 56 litres, 44 hours: 1.27 l/h
Overall consumption for these figures: 301 litres, 242.9 hours giving 1.24 l/h.
Some interesting things are apparent from these figures. Doing the heavily locked Ashton and Rochdale Canals we got the best consumption of just over a litre per hour. Much of the time in locks the engine is idling in neutral, and doesn't have to work hard between locks. The fill-up at Shobnall Wharf was the first after the River Trent - much hard running and few locks leading to the worst consumption rate of nearly 1.5 litres per hour.
The overall figure of one and a quarter litres per hour of engine running is what one is led to expect, so I'm happy with that.
The engine, by the way, is an Isuzu 38 horsepower.
Here is a rare photo of me, attending to a barbecue at Cosgrove (no, we haven't gone far from the marina).
1 comment:
You're really making the most of your boat, now, Halfie. Wonderful!
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