Figured you guys might ask! I've bought 5473 gallons of diesel.
I've burned around 650 gallons in the genny. At my 800 rpm happy speed, I'm usually making 7.5 knots at 2.3 mpg. On plane, it's 23 knots at 0.5 mpg. And of course, we've spent a fair amount of time idling at zero speed in locks or waiting for bridge openings.
Wow awesome! You are getting there. Looks like you went east in to TN and then back? I'm sure it's out there and I missed it, but was that to check out a spot or some friends? Had to have been a couple days each way in the rivers. How many gallons burned?
So with happy speed 800rpm (My D6's are similar), how are you making sure to work the engines some? I've read many places that our Volvo's are designed to run with a good load so if we are going to do long term idling we need to periodically get on plane. Something like 30 min on plane for every 4 hours off plane/under load. I dont recall. Are you making sure to work them too?
Oh I'm not bashful with the throttles! We've done a fair amount of time on plane. We crossed the Gulf from Carabelle to Clearwater on plane (150 miles) and yesterday from Marco Island to Key West (90 miles). But even going long days at idle speed, the engines never complain.
@Liberty44140 - terrific side trip to Chattanooga. The Tennessee River Gorge is spectacular. My brother and his wife came to see us ... stayed on the boat and cruised the final 20 miles up the Gorge. It's called the "Grand Canyon of the East" for good reason.
Very cool on the side trip to Chattanooga! Thanks for sharing.
Good info on idle vs plane. There are a lot of days where the admiral wants to just cruise at 800 - 1000rpm and all the "diesels NEED to be run with a load" posts out there have made me wonder.
Trip looks awesome!!!! Nice run from Marco to KW - so freaking cool!
Rainy day project in Key West: finished removing the crappy tint film from the windshield.
We started this project seven months ago. Despite our best efforts, we could not reach the bottom of the center section because we don't have 6-foot monkey-long arms. Believe me, we tried everything. Then July came, we started our Loop, and this job got pushed to the back burner.
In this photo it doesn't look too bad, but the film looks black viewed from outside. And yes, for the past seven months there was a bit of peeled film hanging down from the windshield! All gone now.
So, if it looked so terrible, why did I wait this long to finish the job?
It was a big project. I had to remove the entire helm pod. An hour of disassembly, an hour of hard work to get the film off, two hours to reassemble and clean up. The only other option was to remove the center window, and I didn't want that risk.
Once I took out the instruments from the main panel, there were only six screws holding the pod in place. I'd be lying if I claimed that I designed the pod for easy removal. It just worked out that way. This result makes me happy, and I got a great full-body workout today.
Yesterday's adventure: repairing the pop-up TV stand in the salon. A cabinet hides the TV when we're not using it. The lift motors decided to stop working, and unfortunately the TV was down making it impossible to reach anything. I had to remove the cabinet, cut an access hole in the back, and remove some bolts to get the TV out. Good healthy fun!
The worst problems are the ones that spontaneously self-heal. That's what happened here ... it just started working. If it happens again, I'll know what to do.
Comments
Boat Name: King Kong
"Boat + Water = Fun"
I've burned around 650 gallons in the genny. At my 800 rpm happy speed, I'm usually making 7.5 knots at 2.3 mpg. On plane, it's 23 knots at 0.5 mpg. And of course, we've spent a fair amount of time idling at zero speed in locks or waiting for bridge openings.
@Liberty44140 - terrific side trip to Chattanooga. The Tennessee River Gorge is spectacular. My brother and his wife came to see us ... stayed on the boat and cruised the final 20 miles up the Gorge. It's called the "Grand Canyon of the East" for good reason.
@J3ff -- Key West is your neighborhood, right?
Good info on idle vs plane. There are a lot of days where the admiral wants to just cruise at 800 - 1000rpm and all the "diesels NEED to be run with a load" posts out there have made me wonder.
Trip looks awesome!!!! Nice run from Marco to KW - so freaking cool!
We started this project seven months ago. Despite our best efforts, we could not reach the bottom of the center section because we don't have 6-foot monkey-long arms. Believe me, we tried everything. Then July came, we started our Loop, and this job got pushed to the back burner.
In this photo it doesn't look too bad, but the film looks black viewed from outside. And yes, for the past seven months there was a bit of peeled film hanging down from the windshield! All gone now.
So, if it looked so terrible, why did I wait this long to finish the job?
It was a big project. I had to remove the entire helm pod. An hour of disassembly, an hour of hard work to get the film off, two hours to reassemble and clean up. The only other option was to remove the center window, and I didn't want that risk.
Once I took out the instruments from the main panel, there were only six screws holding the pod in place. I'd be lying if I claimed that I designed the pod for easy removal. It just worked out that way. This result makes me happy, and I got a great full-body workout today.
The worst problems are the ones that spontaneously self-heal. That's what happened here ... it just started working. If it happens again, I'll know what to do.
Dream 'Inn III -- 2008 400 Express
@Dream_Inn - I also found and removed the original Simrad rate compass, which will get sold on eBay. I knew there had to be one on the boat somewhere!