Fuel for thought

LAST time I filled up my boat it cost $177, which is a crazy amount of money. The rising fuel prices we are currently suffering tend to make their presence felt when you fill up a 200l tank in a 6.6m boat powered by a 200hp outboard. I had about a quarter of a tank in the boat when I filled up – I would have been up for more than $230 if it had been empty.

Fuel is stupidly expensive and looks set to remain so for the foreseeable future. As fishos, how do we cope with this extra expense?

Following are a few ideas I’ve been pondering over the past few months. I realised early on that rising fuel prices weren’t going to stop me from going fishing, especially offshore fishing, but
I wanted to reduce the cost as much as possible.

(1) Go for efficiency: If you drive a big boat with a traditional two-stroke on the back, you will bleed money. These old technology donks chew prodigious amounts of fuel. Trade up to a new age four-stroke or DI two-stroke engine and you will see an immediate decline in your fuel bill. Even a small boat with an old two-stroke will use far more fuel and oil than one powered by a new generation outboard. Also, it’s false economy to go for a small engine. A bigger engine will work far less and be more efficient than a lower HP one you have to use at max revs to get the boat moving.

(2) Go diesel: Diesel engines have traditionally been associated with big game boats but companies like MerCruiser, Nanni, Penta and so on have developed small displacement turbo-charged units that will fit in specifically designed trailer boats. The new breed of marine diesels are quiet, powerful, clean and deliver awesome fuel economy.

(3) Go slower: Any engine will suck down fuel when run at full revs. My E-TEC 200 H.O. chews 76 litres an hour when pushed to 5800rpm. I’m doing 40+ knots and covering lots of water very quickly but the fuel use is intense. Drop back to 3500rpm and I’m using 22 litres and hour and running at about 25 knots. This is a more than respectable open water cruise speed at very reasonable fuel usage. In my home waters of Jervis Bay I can cross the bay (about eight miles) and reach the shelf line (another 8-9 miles) in about 40 minutes and use about 20 litres. Trolling for four hours uses about 40-50 litres (at eight knots and 10-12 litres an hour) and then the run home uses another 20 litres (including a few stop-overs to jig for kings or drift softies for reds. All up is less than 100 litres, which
I reckon isn’t bad for an offshore fishing trip.

(4) Go smoother: It might be fun to wham the throttle down and blast out of the hole but you will use huge amounts of fuel in your attempts to look cool. Smoothly applying power and rising onto the plane gradually is far more effective. Also ensure you trim your boat correctly and distribute
weight efficiently – this will make a big difference to overall fuel use.

(5) Plan your trips: I sometimes find myself wasting a lot of time and fuel by driving all over the place. For example, I might fish for reds at Long Nose Point on the northern side of JB then drive five miles across the bay to target salmon and tailor at Bowen Island on the southern side then head eight miles over to Long Beach on the north to finish the day with a few squid. If I planned things better I’d fish Bowen first up, then head over to Long Nose and then it’s just a short trip to Long Beach. I’d probably save upwards of eight miles and 10-12 litres simply by thinking and planning more efficiently.

(6) Establish a collective: Fuel bills are much easier to swallow if you split them with a mate or two. I always tended to not worry too much about asking for fuel money. These days, however, it’s a different story. The fairest way is to stop at a servo after a day’s fishing and fill the boat up. Then the fuel bill can be equally divided. Next time you go out you have a full tank and can gauge accurately how much you use when you stop at the servo to fill up again on the way home.

(7) Modify your fishing: I tend to do a lot more drifting and ultra-slow trolling these days. Both methods dramatically lower your fuel bill when compared to more traditional trolling techniques. Downrigging at 1-2 knots sees my E-TEC use less than two litres at hour, which I reckon is pretty amazing. Trolling for yellowfin used to be my preferred method but this season will see a lot more cubing going on.

(8) Use quality fuel: Strange as it sounds, filling your boat with more expensive higher octane fuel could well be cost effective. I don’t have any hard data on this, but I get far better mileage in my car if I use premium fuel over standard unleaded. I average about 11 litres per 100kms with standard unleaded and nine litres per 100kms with premium. I see no reason why the same shouldn’t work out on the water.

(9) Get a kayak or canoe: I invested in a Hobie Mirage Outback Fish over summer and reckon I have saved plenty of money by using it for inshore fishing trips I otherwise would have used the big boat for. Apart from saving money, I’ve got a lot fitter by pedalling around in the nifty Hobie.

(10) Buy Lotto tickets: If you win Lotto, you won’t ever have to worry about paying through your nose for petrol!