self driving boats

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Probably a lot less fuel also Dave??...

Sounds like you having a blast!!

Dan

Not less fuel, about the same, actually, but only because I occasionally get on plane to load the diesels and blow out the soot, which is recommended by Caterpillar. The boat has a 1200 mile range so fill ups are few and far between, but they are shockingly expensive when they happen. Our first two fill ups added up to more than our first boat cost...

We went from a 6000 lb boat to a 32,000 lb boat, but at hull speed (8.5 knots) the bigger boat is pretty thrifty and gets about 2.8 nautical miles per gallon pretty much regardless of load or sea state. The smaller boat got 2.6ish statute miles per gallon at 32ish MPH, but that varied wildly depending on sea state and load.

We are having a fantastic time. It's so cool to see whales/dolphins/seals/sunfish all the time (like almost every trip out) and the virtually unlimited ports of call make for interesting boating. I miss the warm water for swimming and I am tired of dodging lobster traps all the time though.