Carver Mariner 350 (454’s) fuel burn

[amanphoto]

I just got back from a trip with our Carver Mariner 350. The Mariner has 454’s, full tank of water (100 gallons) and full gas tanks (250 gallons) The trip was about 36 miles long. I cruised in fairly flat water at 3,200 - 3,400 rpm at 20 mph. I burned about 1/3 of my 250 gallons.

According to my calculations I burned about 85 gallons of gas. Making about 2.36 gallons a mile.

Does this seam about right for my setup? Should I be running faster or slower?

[waybomb]

That is not right. Did you put 85 in our are you assuming the gage is correct?
Were you on plane without tabs, or making it plane with tabs?

[mjk1040]

I think he forgot to divide by 2! Per Tank!!

[amanphoto]

Let me check this again.

I was combining for total fuel. I have two tanks totaling 250 gallons.

I was on plane using very little tab. (more tab, less speed because your diving the nose down).

[km1125]

Source of the post
I was on plane using very little tab. (more tab, less speed because your diving the nose down).

That part's not necessarily true. Yes, you are pushing the nose down, but you're also causing more air pockets to be trapped against the hull which help reduce the "friction" of the water. More importantly though, you're also allowing the props to be closer aligned to forward movement, rather than be pitched up, which makes them more efficient pushing the boat. This is where you get most of the improvement in GPH.

TOO MUCH TAB results in what you describe, but "no" or "very little" might not be the best.