Sunday, July 20, 2008

GillBilly Chronicals: Know Your Cost of Fuel Numbers


Remember the phrase fish or cut bait? Now the question is eat or buy gas. Did you know if your road rig gets 20 miles to the gallon, you driving 60 mile per hour costs you $12 an hour at a cost of $4 per gallon at the pumps… ponder that for a minute, and convert the equation to what your vehicle gets per gallon and what you are paying for fuel. The numbers go like this – speed in miles per hour divided by miles to the gallon your vehicle gets (averaged over the hour), multiplied by the cost per gallon of gas. So if the same rig listed above getting 20 miles to the gallon at $4 per gallon at the pumps drives at a pace of 80 miles per hour, it costs you… $16 an hour to drive that hour. And so on… down the road you go with a greater realization of the money you are hourly burning into polluted thin air.



These same numbers can be applied to your water borne rig, and to most efficiently operate that craft, you have to be very aware of the speed you are traveling across the water and the resultant gallons of fuel you will be consuming at that speed. In a boat, the fuel consumed is directly related to your speed across the sea. Consult your engine manufacturer for a spec sheet as to how your particular engine make is fuel rated. Before you buy a new or used boat be very aware of these numbers, do some research on the most fuel efficient propulsion units that are on the market. Engine manufacturers have made great advancements in engine fuel saving technology, and you want to be sure you as a consumer are fully aware of what you are going to encounter in fuel consumption during the period of time you own your new pleasure yacht or fishing craft… that will determine just how much each of those fish you landed and cocktails you enjoyed while on your cruise actually cost in fuel dollars.

BIG FUEL NUMBERS HERE!

NO FUEL NUMBERS HERE IN PARADISE!
Reading about baseball is a lot more interesting than reading about chess, but you have to wonder: Don't any of these guys ever go fishing?
Dave Shiflett

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