Powerboats and the price of fuel

[Shanachie]

So I was reading about the soaring price of gasoline, thanks to Putin's war, and got to thinking about a big speedboat that tossed a sizeable wake at me in a narrow ICW channel.


He had four 350-hp outboards on the stern, from what I could see, and he had them close to wide-open throttle.


Each of those motors can burn as much as 60 gallons an hour at WOT, according to what I read. Times four. The way I work it out, that's 240 gallons of gasoline an hour.



Let's see. 240 by $5 a gallon (the price they're predicting soon) equals $1,200 an hour to endanger manatees and annoy people content to enjoy the water at a more leisurely pace.



I hope he was having fun.

[JPA Cate]

Also, think of the carbon loading.

Ann

[tuffr2]

Humm, the price of oil has been going up way before Putin's war. Just look when the price started to climb. Putin's war is not helping but either is the president.

I am taking a guess when they started to use oil as a fuel. I think in the 1870's or maybe a bit later. You will never see a fuel that will be used as long as oil. 150 years and counting. I don't know the exact energy produced by a gallon of gasoline but it is a lot. So those old timers picked a good fuel.



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[MicHughV]

Folk that can afford a fishing boat with quad 350's are unlikely to be bothered by the cost of fuel.....$1,200/hr x 8 hour fishing trip...$9,600.......be it $9K or 10K is rather meaningless in the grand scheme of things for them....they are likely to use that boat maybe 10 times a year....

A jumbo jet burns about 3,600 gal/hr....using your $5/gal = $18,000/hr....a 12 hr flight is 43,200 gals or about $216,000, those jets fly most every day...

A cruise ship can burn 80,000 gal/day.....again....using your $5...$400,000 per day...on your basic 5 day cruise....400,000 gallons...that's enuff to keep 40,000 cars running for a week...

We moan and groan about the carbon footprint, but the average joe in the street is small potatoes compared to the above..

[astokel]

While there is no question that the fuel rice is high, I'm sure the price of fuel is almost as high.

[peter57]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Also, think of the carbon loading.

Ann

Our trees and crops will love the C02 and they will use less water.

[Scorpius]

Rice fuel? Sounds like a great idea. Would probably catch on in Asia.

If we can make it from corn, I'm sure we can from rice.

Probably not cheap though.

[subdude]

Shanachi, I agree with your assessment and also think this is an obscene display. Faulty parallels aside, the relative footprint is microscopic to the industries McHughV mentioned.

That said, Rice of Fuel in the subject line does suggest another story

[ilanortho]

Originally Posted by Shanachie

So I was reading about the soaring price of gasoline, thanks to Putin's war, and got to thinking about a big speedboat that tossed a sizeable wake at me in a narrow ICW channel.


He had four 350-hp outboards on the stern, from what I could see, and he had them close to wide-open throttle.


Each of those motors can burn as much as 60 gallons an hour at WOT, according to what I read. Times four. The way I work it out, that's 240 gallons of gasoline an hour.



Let's see. 240 by $5 a gallon (the price they're predicting soon) equals $1,200 an hour to endanger manatees and annoy people content to enjoy the water at a more leisurely pace.



I hope he was having fun.

Can't think of any downsides!
I remember marveling every summer when these big engine guys would boast that they could get to a destination in a half hour that would take me hours to sail to, and when I asked, it cost them several hundred dollars to fill up while I spent $30 or so on diesel. Even so I was still jealous especially when the sail was an upwind slog. Not any more!

[Allied39]

Originally Posted by ilanortho

Can't think of any downsides!
I remember marveling every summer when these big engine guys would boast that they could get to a destination in a half hour that would take me hours to sail to, and when I asked, it cost them several hundred dollars to fill up while I spent $30 or so on diesel. Even so I was still jealous especially when the sail was an upwind slog. Not any more!

Cant think of a downside?? Cant be thinking real hard. Grinning because some fellow who is probably going to feel this less than you has to pay more for fuel?

Perhaps he owns a business you purchase from......he is just going to pass that fuel hike on, like everybody else......like me.

When it hits you every time you make a purchase and that $50 goes only as far as a $20 used to.........I am thinking you will see a downside.

[ilanortho]

Originally Posted by Allied39

Cant think of a downside?? Cant be thinking real hard. Grinning because some fellow who is probably going to feel this less than you has to pay more for fuel?

Perhaps he owns a business you purchase from......he is just going to pass that fuel hike on, like everybody else......like me.

When it hits you every time you make a purchase and that $50 goes only as far as a $20 used to.........I am thinking you will see a downside.

Sorry; just humoring the man....

[Allied39]

Originally Posted by ilanortho

Sorry; just humoring the man....

Fair enough, good to have a sense of humor about it all.

[seandepagnier]

didn't the japanese power their zeros from fuel made from from rice alcohol?

As for the guy with $1200 an hour. Don't you realize in the current system the rich write the rules? A basic example: you get paid just for being rich. You can simply bribe (I mean pay lobbyists) to ensure politicians pass laws such that average people remain in debt. Change some rules to penalize someone in debt more and more every year, put the property into hands of fewer and fewer, and a sure stream of income to the rich for producing nothing of actual value.

Consider the billionares today have multiplied their wealth by 20x since 2000. This is basically impossible for everyone else since the actual wealth available did not increase anywhere near this amount: it is a theft from everyone else.

Consider bill gates. He set computer science back by decades by requiring the government and schools to install spyware (windoze) on their computers, and immorally charged money for copying something which cost nothing to make a copy of. Then used the money to distribute pharmaceuticals in africa that have side effects so dangerous they were banned in western nations. Finally he buys up farm land to use for mono culture degrading the soil ensuring future famines long after he is gone all while having a massive emissions using private jets and preaching about how he is saving the climate. Claiming he only gave his kids 10 million each (so they would have to work to make it in life), but signs over estates worth hundreds of millions to them.

Basically all the rich people are like this. In fact, most of the people here on cruisers forum belong to the 1% of humans who cause most of the world's pollution. This 1% cause more than twice the emissions of the poorest half of humans.

So while you are over here complaining about $1200 per hour fuel burned, imagine what it is like for someone who is below world average in emissions. This person _never_ flies in planes, never even rides in a car, rarely eats meat or any animal product, reuses/repairs and spends a lot of time effort doing so. Is under-compensated for their efforts, and constantly insulted by over privileged snobs. When they see you motoring your pleasure yacht and polluting when there is perfectly good wind for sailing, the feeling is also similar as described by the OP.

[wingssail]

The boat pictured below, I was informed, took on 200,000 gallons of fuel in Falmouth Harbor, Antigua, in order to cross the Atlantic.

At $5/gal that is $1,000,000 for fuel for one crossing, and apparently they were doing it twice a year.

I was unable to determine if the owner was going to be aboard, but the crew was, and when I saw a staff meeting on the upper deck one day, it looked rather large. So, we could divide that fuel use by the number of people.

Still, it seems like a large carbon footprint.

[Cliffhanger]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

A jumbo jet burns about 3,600 gal/hr....using your $5/gal = $18,000/hr....a 12 hr flight is 43,200 gals or about $216,000, those jets fly most every day...

A cruise ship can burn 80,000 gal/day.....again....using your $5...$400,000 per day...on your basic 5 day cruise....400,000 gallons...that's enuff to keep 40,000 cars running for a week...

We moan and groan about the carbon footprint, but the average joe in the street is small potatoes compared to the above..

A 747 with 500 passengers burns 3,600 gal/hr = 7.2 gal per passenger per hour

A cruise ship with 5000 passengers uses 3,300 gal/hr = 0.66 gal per passenger per hour.

The boat with the 4 x 350hp motors and say 5 onboard uses 240 gal/hr = 48 gal per passenger per hour.


Now, kiddies, can anyone tell me who has the largest carbon footprint?