To get started, here is the first topic:
Getting Out & Back
What are the issues for getting out and back safely in ocean skiffs? Let’s start with:
Getting Gassed
Do I Have Enough Fuel?
How do you know if your boat has the range to get you where you want to go? The usual rule is 1/3 – 1/3 – 1/3: Use 1/3 of your fuel for the trip out, 1/3 for the trip back, and keep 1/3 in reserve for poor weather. And don’t forget- if you are running a 2-stroke engine, make sure that you also have enough oil.
Is keeping 1/3 of your fuel for bad weather being too conservative? Perhaps…but consider that that if you have to run at just below planing speed, your fuel mileage may drop to half or less than your optimum. In Toy Boat 2, minimum planing speed fully loaded is around 15 mph. If the weather and water conditions are such that we have to run 10 – 14 MPH, we’ve seen the mileage on our old carbureted 2-stroke cut in half!
Toy Boat 2 has a 45 gallon tank, all of which is usable (we’ve actually run the tank dry before). With our new E-TEC, if we cruise at 21 MPH at 4.5 MPG, we should be able to get 63 miles offshore in 3 hours, using 14 gallons of gas Using the 1/3 – 1/3 -1/3 rule, this means we would need 42 gallons of gas. So we should have adequate fuel capacity for our “worse case” trip with just the main tank.
With our old 2-stroke motor, we averaged 2.9 MPG, so our 45 gallon tank was not enough. We usually carried three 6 gallon tanks in reserve, which brought our capacity to 63 gallons. Since gas weighs roughly 6.25 lbs per gallon, those 18 extra gallons added about 111.5 lbs to the boat. Now we don’t need them. Note: if you must carry extra gas, look into a collapsible gas tank, such as the ATL flex bladders. While pricey, they can be flattened when empty, taking up a lot less space.
Standard Horizon FF41
Fuel Management
Because skiffs usually don’t have a lot of fuel capacity, fuel management can be critical. Unfortunately, the basic dashboard fuel gauges on boats are notoriously unreliable. On Toy Boat 2, the dashboard fuel gauge does not move from “Full” until the tank is at least 3/8, almost 1/2 empty! Digital fuel flow meters can be much more accurate, which is why we installed one on Toy Boat 2.
On most modern outboards, digital fuel flow meters are available as part of an integrated engine control package. Sometimes they are an extra cost option, but are well worth it. In the case of TB2, because we started with an older 2-stroke motor, we purchased it separately,
These instruments use a small impeller to measure the rate of gasoline passing through the fuel line. This data is sent to a small computer inside the gauge, where it is analyzed and displayed. In addition to real-time fuel consumption rates, they also display total fuel used and fuel remaining. Some models can store fuel consumption information from multiple trips, and some units can be tied to your GPS to give you fuel economy numbers as well (miles per gallon).
Lowrance HDS5 Gen2 GPS Screen with fuel flow info. Click for a larger image.
On Toy Boat 2 we originally installed a dash-mounted Standard Horizon FF41, which is no longer available. When it bit the dust in 2013, we replaced it with the Lowrance EP-60R, which shows the data on our sonar display, rather than a dashboard gauge. Of course, we left the dead Standard Horizon gauge in the dash, because we’re too lazy to patch the hole it will leave when we remove it, but that’s a different story…
Boat Maintenance
Regular maintenance on engines is critical. In a small boat on open water, you are extremely exposed if you can’t move. Not only are you subject to the elements, but you are relying on battery power for bilge pumps and lights, so if your alternator is not working, it’s only a matter of time before you run out of juice. You must have absolute faith in your motor, or don’t go.
You also need to make sure that the rest of your boat is operationally sound. Losing your steering, lights, bilge pump, etc. offshore are all bad situations. Go over all aspects of your safety gear before you leave. This includes things like:
- Critical wiring (lights, bilge pump)
- Bilge pump operation
- Communications equipment
- EPIRB