MPG in a 14' Rib?

[c-level]

Hello I'm new to ribs but have owned a 17' boston whaler montauk and a 18' boston whaler outrage. I'm looking at getting a 14' AB rib with a 50 hp 4 stroke on it. I've read other threads and did a search online and haven't really found a good estimation on mpg on a rib this size? I know it will vary widely with wind, swell etc, but can anyone give me a ballpark estimation?

I'm hoping to take this rib around coastal areas in california and maybe to the islands when weather permits but need to figure out the range.

Thanks, I'm sure I'm going to have a bunch of questions later!

[Adamn]

Hi I have a 4.7m (approx 15.6ft) Zodiac 9 man powered with a 60 HP Yam.
I get close to 2nm per litre ( 4.5 litres in a gallon ). I would say you should be getting close to 10 miles per gallon. Hope this helps.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Adamn

Hi I have a 4.7m (approx 15.6ft) Zodiac 9 man powered with a 60 HP Yam.
I get close to 2nm per litre ( 4.5 litres in a real gallon ). I would say you should be getting close to 10 nm miles per Proper imperial gallon. Hope this helps.

ftfy

[hank]

I read somewhere that a outboard burns 1 gallon per hour per 50 hp.

[Peter_C]

You must be in SoCal when you talk about the "islands"? In NorCal the Farallons are not somewhere I would condsider taking a 14' RIB. I do know someone who routinely takes his 15' SIB out to Catalina and the like.

I have never tried to figure out my fuel mileage, but with a 40hp on a 14' SIB I can run for around 4 hours on 6.6 gallons. Even with my 2 stroke I consider it very fuel efficient. A 4 stroke would be even better.

Whalers are nice boats, and I have often dreamed of owning an Outrage.

[Adamn]

What I go by is what fuel I actually use! I have a 35 litre console tank (8 imperial Gallons) so if I am out fishing on tick over and moving from place to place at various speeds I look at the GPS for my NM and when I fill up I see what it takes. It is only an average and of course gunning it on WOT and towing will be a different story.

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by hank

I read somewhere that a outboard burns 1 gallon per hour per 50 hp.

That sounds really low to me.

Depends on a lot of things: Throttle setting is the main thing, but sea state, load, currents, and wind all play a part.

At cruise (24 or so mph) my 18'/F115 burns about 6 gph in reasonable conditions. WOT it's closer to 11 or 12 GPH at around 40 mph.

I'd guess the OP would get somewhere in the 6-8 mpg range if he stays off the stops (don't run wide open.) That is just a guess though.

jky

[c-level]

I'm surprised that most people don't really keep track of it, I guess everyone just has a rough idea of how long their tank will last and for most folks down here the smaller ribs are just used as tenders.

You are correct Peter, I live in southern California. Catalina island is one of my favorite stops, I loved running there in my whaler Outrage. I'd even take that boat to San Clemente Island in good weather. Right now I'm just looking for something safe to run that gets good gas milage so I can take it out by myself.