Fuel Economy

[jtdox]

I have been riding behind I/O all my life and am now in the market for a new boat. I am interested in the xlv, i realize that most tow boats don't compare as far as fuel usage, but was wondering what some numbers might be.

[Reese350]

I think there was an earlier thread where it seemed like the general average was between 4-5 gallons per hour. Whatever it is, it's worth every penny!

[ian ashton]

My Outback is about 4 GPH when we are boarding and skiing.


-EDIT: That is using the Outback fuel gauge, we have yet to run the boat out of gas, and "E" is never really empty. Since we fill it with gas cans at the marina its hard to tell how much gas is actually in the boat.

[Sled491]

THe XLV is a big boat! How big is your IO. To truely compare they need to be kind of close. I mean if you are not only going to a V, but your also going to a 2000 lb bigger boat with tones more space and 3 ft longer your gonna see a difference.

[04OUTBACK]

My LSV is around 5-6 GPH loaded...
XLV will probably be a little more..

[csmsk]

My LSV is also 5-6gph, even without the ballast full, but we always have at least 4 adults and around 6 kids.

It's always been my thought that "if you can't afford the gas, you can't afford the boat."

[yearround]

we get about 5-6 gph in our 08 lsv this is skiing, surfing, boarding, cruising. i agree with your interest in the fuel usage, irregardless of your ability to pay for it. it is good to know what you are getting into.

we rented a boat last january for a day. we did not have any idea what the fuel use would be, simple expected to be in the 5-7 gph (it was an IO), after we filled it up and complained about the fuel usage, they showed the back page of the agreement that stated 12-14 gph.

[Hyper]

I'm new to this board so first off hello.
Just my opinion but 5 -6 gph with 4 adults and 6 kids, ballast plus what the boat itself weighs and considing that you are not using the hull at its optimum efficiency point that is pretty damn good fuel economy. I have an 18 foot wanna be wakeboard boat with a 135 HP O/B and tower using 400 Ibs. ballast and 4 people and I would say I'm not any better. I'm totally convinced an I/B is the way to go. Been wanting one for several years, just gotta decide which brand. :confused:

[2000OUTBACK]

I'm totally convinced an I/B is the way to go. Been wanting one for several years, just gotta decide which brand. :confused:




Moomba-Need I say more?

[Sled491]

It's all in the Board. Get it? ha ha :)

[501]

I did EXACTLY what you want to do, 18.5 foot i/o with crappy fat sacks to an 08 XLV. Dream come ture. Personally, I wouldn't want a smaller boat, I love all the room. We went riding this morning at 6 am with 6 adults, didn't even take the front cover off and there was tons of room (This way the heaters kind of trap in that area and make it warmat the opening). As for fuel economy I got the ETX Cat motor (340hp) and the fuel economy seems great too me. We can go riding like 5 or 6 times for $100 in fuel (Canada). I have to say that it uses maybe 20 to 30% more fuel then my i/o did. But I almost always have some ballast in it filled.


I don't track it too closely cause I bought the boat to use, and the way I look at it, the more fuel you go through, the more fun you had!

[Sled491]

501 makes my point for me. He had an 18 ft IO that was about 2200lbs now a 24 ft boat that weighs about 3700. How could you expext the same mileage?

[Ian Brantford]

With my 2005 XLV, I get about 4-5 GPH without ballast, and 5-6 GPH with ballast. This is with 4-5 adults. Add or subtract 1GPH anywhere to allow for variation in activity.

This is right in line with my previous boat, an 18' I/O with a 4.3L V6, which got about 3 GPH (roughly the same as a mid-size car/truck with the same engine, which my truck at the time had).

[Razzman]

I don't even care, never tracked it and never will. I bought this boat (and my previous ones) to use, but if your worried about gas then don't buy a boat 'cause that's all you'll do is worry about it! I have a buddy that won't blow up the tube for his kids until the last day of a three or four day outing because he's worried about gas. Where's the fun in that for the kids? I will say the Moomba has far better fuel consumption than most other brands. Just last weekend i did two days of boarding, surfing and tubing on 40 gallons, that's good imo. :cool:

[yearround]

I don't think that jtdox, the guy that started this thread has been back.

[wolfeman131]

I don't think that jtdox, the guy that started this thread has been back.

maybe he went out for a ride and ran out of gas? :p

[zabooda]

I never really cared about gas consumption except to keep a mental gas guage as the real one is off-set by a 1/4 of a tank. I have used it more as people are paying and want to know how much it costs. I do simple math so at 5 gph at $4.00/gal I pay $20/hr. A 15 minute run is $5 and that is what I tell them. They know I've never taken money in the past so I find it in strange places like in drink coozies and on the tow vehicle seat. Most skiers don't go 15 minutes but the consumption is higher so I try to keep it simple.

I never got 4 gph with this boat but I did with a 18' I/O with a 305. The 5-6 gph range is more consistant with the 350 and the 4bbl.

[Hyper]

The only reason I paid attention to the economy of my boat was to initially see if it came close to the test results, other than that when it's low I fill it. I know a couple of guys at the lake who complain to some degree about the cost of running their V-Drives (Moomba Outback and Malibu) and understandably so with escalating pump prices. These same guys though, still rack up 50 - 70 hours per season with their happy smiling families. My boat will be either traded in or sold for a V-Drive by next summer thats a for sure. The manf. is still to be decided, and on that note I need to start another thread. I'm looking forward to your input. Later. :D

[Razzman]

They know I've never taken money in the past so I find it in strange places like in drink coozies and on the tow vehicle seat.

Same here! In fact two weeks ago our group had three boats out for a four day'er and a lot of non boat owners were invited along. My personal credo is if i invite you i won't take your money, so two days after we got back home we found $60 stashed in our gear! So far nobody will fess up to who put it there!

[kaneboats]

I need some new friends. I can't even get them to buy ice.

[Sled491]

Most of our friends are already boaters so not much money from riders coming in. But it was funny that this weekend my Wifes sister was out both days, on sunday my wife made an ofhanded comment about wishing her sister would buy a jug. We've never asked anyone for gas money, I guess my wife is getting tired of her sisters free ride.

[zegm]

I have noticed that now that "this" new engine has about 40 hours on it, it is starting to get much better gas mileage.
I also noticed that I was incorrect in believing that with the wakeplate down and the boat trimmed level it was going to get better mileage. With the plate up and the nose high it will runs about 3mph faster without touching the throttle. So now we cruise with the wakeplate up, bow high!

[dtlaine]

I usually end up going wakeboarding w/ my 15 year old neighbor, so I don't expect anything from him. My other neighbors that go frequently make it up by providing meals or saltwater excursions on their boats. I don't think about it. I bite the bullet once in a while and fill the boat up, and then it seems like it takes a month or so before it's due again. Plus, I get a company truck and motorcycle, so I don't pay for any other fuel.

[Sled491]

OK, I'll bite "company motorcycle". I'm all ears this sounds good.

[dtlaine]

I am a district manager for Honda, so I get my choice of a Honda car (I chose a Ridgeline), and a Honda motorcycle (currently a Gold Wing because we didn't get a choice for 2008).

[Sled491]

DT very cool. My old neighbour is an electrical engineer for Harley. They get there choice of "Pool" bikes anytime as much as they want. The day before the V Rod was introduced to the market it was parked in my driveway.

[dtlaine]

Our office in LA has a pool of bikes. I typically check one out when I am there for meetings. They had to take the ATV's out because they were getting destroyed. I wouldn't trade living in LA with the bike pool for Tampa with my OB V tied up 50 ft from where I sit.

[Sled491]

DT, excellent point, a battle I fight with myself everyday...Boat on a lift by my lake house or big city opportunities?

[Razzman]

DT, excellent point, a battle I fight with myself everyday...Boat on a lift by my lake house or big city opportunities?

I wrestled with that same issue myself recently Sled. Not for lakefront property but for the simple fact i was sick of corporate America and they never ending politics of same. So after 10 years with AT&T as a senior manager i left to join my brother in the commercial glass biz. It was a smart decision for me at this stage as the headaches & politics are gone and i have a much more relaxed demeanor now! :D

[Sled491]

Razz, must have something to do with water people. We must realize that life is too short!

[Razzman]

Razz, must have something to do with water people. We must realize that life is too short!

Amen Sled ... amen! :D

[yearround]

this went along ways from fuel economy, especially when the original author ran out of gas on the lake and could not get back to the computer to give us his findings, maybe he bought the wrong boat?

[Sled491]

It is truely sad when they don't stay until the end for all the valuable useless advice HA HA

[Mallardhunter83]

You guys are lucky, i have been filling up atleast twice every outing (6 or 7 hours) with gas on the water (1.25 more a gallon) in my 07 outback. I dont have a way to pull my boat right now so i am stuck paying 5 dollars a gallon when it cost 3.85 at the pump. Last outing i figured out why i was burning so much found, i had a cracked fitting on the fuel line and was getting a small but constant stream of gas running into the hull. Should be fixed tomorrow and and can afford to take it out.

[Sled491]

Yikes, that sounds dnagerous. Man We ski like mad and surf plus a little toot around the lake every once and a while and I don't burn half that amount of fuel.

[jtdox]

Thanks for the feedback. Going next weekend to look at and hopefully tow a new xlv home, super stoked. Fuel economy with a boat will be quiet a mute point as with all of my other gas guzzling toys it is just nice to know some facts, especially with the economy we live in today. "you can't put a price on a good time."

[jtdox]

Oh, and after quickly examining the posts, no I didn't run out of gas, and the money to pay for gas and a boat has to come from somewhere, they don't run on hopes and dreams. I don't mind paying for a good time thats what it is all about right. Thanks for the help guys. and the **IT much appreciated

[Sled491]

Hmmm, seems like end of discussion.

[wolfeman131]

Oh, and after quickly examining the posts, no I didn't run out of gas, and the money to pay for gas and a boat has to come from somewhere, they don't run on hopes and dreams. I don't mind paying for a good time thats what it is all about right. Thanks for the help guys. and the **IT much appreciated

Don't get mad, get even and post some pics of your new boat. :cool:

[jtdox]

Definetly will