Heading south, where's fuel?
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caltexflanc
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Maka Marina in Neah Bay.
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Albacore tuna are on the bite from the La Push area to Newport, OR, anywhere from 20-50 miles offshore. You may want to drag a lure or three and see what bites....
Safe trp to you!
Safe trp to you!
caltexflanc
Guru
That works, and all usually (relatively) easy to get into; Eureka can be tricky in bad weather. I'd still advise calling now and garnering local knowledge from marinas and CG at various states of tide. Bodega Bay is a nice stop, especially if you decide to skip Eureka for some reason and have the range. Noyo (Ft. Bragg) is very doable, but you definitely want local knowledge the first time and good conditions.
Have a super trip!
caltexflanc
Guru
Astoria is about 15 miles or so, 30+ total out of the way for a delivery cruise, but is a fun cruising destination; neat town and a great maritime museum you can spend the better part of the day in. Worth a special trip IMO.
hollywood8118
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caltexflanc
Guru
That applies to all the inlets. Weather this coming week looks pretty good out there, avoid the ebb if you can and have fun.
http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn.pl?file=raw/fz/fzus56.kpqr.cwf.pqr.txt
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sunchaser
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Lutarious
What is the vessel's safe range and cruising speed? For many vessels Neah Bay to Bodega Bay, or further, is a nice delivery alternative. That way the bar crossings are negated with the weather windows now the issue.
If you want to sight see the bar crossings and weather windows can take a 4 or 5 day trip and double it, or more.
What is the vessel's safe range and cruising speed? For many vessels Neah Bay to Bodega Bay, or further, is a nice delivery alternative. That way the bar crossings are negated with the weather windows now the issue.
If you want to sight see the bar crossings and weather windows can take a 4 or 5 day trip and double it, or more.
Adding to his questions, is this to be just a delivery trip or a pleasure trip? What crew? I know it sounds a bit off from your fuel question but it's really relevant to potential fuel stops.
It's mostly a delivery trip. Not sure about fuel and range as we havent actually measured it, but we have a week or so to figure that out. With 250 gallons at 5 per hour, makes 50 hours at 7 knots or 350 mile range. That's what I'm using g for plan I. Purposes at this point. We are planning to leave Olympia on the 14th of October and spend a few days in Anacortes and the San Juans. Leaving from there on the 20th-21st and heading south at Delivery pace with me (professional sailboat captain) one hired crew with thousands of ocean miles on Power and sailboats, and my girlfriend who gets seasick, but is incredibly willing to try hard under bad conditions.
caltexflanc
Guru
Your calculation should include at least 20% reserve off fuel capacity for that trip. There's nowhere to hide for a lot of the way if you guess wrong, have to run harder, or a bar is impassable. Try to get a very accurate consumption benchmark as you head up and out Puget Sound, run different speeds and fill up every chance you get. Always better to know than assume, if nothing else you get a good night's sleep.
And keep in mind that you don't precisely how much fuel it holds. And may not know what is in the bottom of the tank.
If I didn't fuel daily, I would at least every other day, which would mean every 160-180 nm or so. There's just always that possibility you'll need to choose to pass the next planned stop by. But if I was stopping nightly at marinas as I understand your plans, then I'd fill it more frequently than normal since you're still learning it.
Ski in NC
Technical Guru
Numbers seem funny. A boat big enough to burn 5gph at 7kts usually carries way more than 250gal.
What kind of boat and engine is it?
My 38 carries 300gal and burns 1.9gph at 7.5kts.
caltexflanc
Guru
Don't guess!
That would be nice.
sunchaser
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Burn rate in the open ocean is higher than the protected waters of the San Juan islands. Then there are ocean currents and wind. Being a sailor you have a pretty handle on this I'd guess.
BTW, are your fuel tanks calibrated? What is full fuel load and how much can be pulled from each tank before they suck air?
Sounds like fun, enjoy the trip and good luck.
BTW, are your fuel tanks calibrated? What is full fuel load and how much can be pulled from each tank before they suck air?
Sounds like fun, enjoy the trip and good luck.
Edelweiss
Guru
Yikes 250 gallons in a 44' foot twin diesel trawler?? Aren't those Volvos like 165 hp? I burn 7 gph at 10 k with twin 135 hp and carry 500 gal. Figuring 5 gph @ 7.5 k should give you a reasonable fuel buffer. But like others have said confirm those numbers before you go.
That's really a light fuel load, but maybe it was only used in Puget Sound!! I would have expected 350 gallons minimum and something closer to 500 gallons.
How many tanks total?
That's really a light fuel load, but maybe it was only used in Puget Sound!! I would have expected 350 gallons minimum and something closer to 500 gallons.
How many tanks total?
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caltexflanc
Guru
On this trip, he's going "downhill" with both wind and current. Personally, rather than try to calculate what that would add, range wise, I'd ignore it and to the extent it helped, that goes into padding the reserve allowance.
I somehow didn't pick up on the 250 gallons; "yikes" x2 ! If that is really true, make double sure the tank and fuel are clean, bring plenty of spare primary and secondary filters, and learn how to change them.
If it's two tanks, then I'd run one only and see how many gallons and hours I got out of it, preferably using a flow meter of some sort. If it's only one tank that I have limited knowledge of it's condition then I'd get a small bladder to take with me on the first trip.
ksanders
Moderator Emeritus
Guys....
He has 250 gallons of fuel.
We're talking about the Pacific Coast, not some ocean crossing here.
A 44' aft cabin boat like that is going to get something over 1.5NMPG at hull speed and I'm VERY conservative with that number. Fuel range just is not a real issue here.
With a 44' aft cabin boat, as an experienced sailor he's probably going to be harbor hopping anyway.
All he needs to do is plan his departure times from harbor A to arrive during daylight hours and favorable bar conditions at harbor B.
These are simple one day runs. He might need to leave before dawn sometimes to catch favorable bar conditions at his origination and destination harbors, but leaving a semi unfamiliar harbor pre-dawn is a whole lot funner than pulling into a totally unfamiliar harbor at night.
After ONE fuel up he will KNOW his fuel burn, and his range and can then make plans as to where to purchase fuel.
He has 250 gallons of fuel.
We're talking about the Pacific Coast, not some ocean crossing here.
A 44' aft cabin boat like that is going to get something over 1.5NMPG at hull speed and I'm VERY conservative with that number. Fuel range just is not a real issue here.
With a 44' aft cabin boat, as an experienced sailor he's probably going to be harbor hopping anyway.
All he needs to do is plan his departure times from harbor A to arrive during daylight hours and favorable bar conditions at harbor B.
These are simple one day runs. He might need to leave before dawn sometimes to catch favorable bar conditions at his origination and destination harbors, but leaving a semi unfamiliar harbor pre-dawn is a whole lot funner than pulling into a totally unfamiliar harbor at night.
After ONE fuel up he will KNOW his fuel burn, and his range and can then make plans as to where to purchase fuel.
caltexflanc
Guru
Kevin, I think we are violently agreeing with each other.
CPseudonym
Moderator Emeritus
Exactly Kevin, Lutarious send a private message to a member named Alaskan Sea Duction. He made the uphill trip from SF Bay up to PNW last year in an almost identical boat.
I don't see the quantity of fuel on that route as being an issue at all. I do see an issue of knowing the quality and usable amount of fuel in his tank or tanks. Hopefully by the time he starts this trip he will know. I think that is always a concern when you purchase a used boat. What is really in there. Dauntless encountered an unpleasant fuel surprise. If this boat encountered the same on their 250 gallons then it would be a problem.
The other thing is just for the OP to learn his true usage. Not theoretical, not a similar boat, but his boat, his engines, his usage.
