[JoeDoyle]

Hi guys and thanks for the great info on this site! Im am in the market to buy an older Mariah and and trying to do some research.

My topic on this thread is fuel consumption. Us newbie boaters would like to know how different motor sizes, boat lengths, and hull types affect fuel consumption.

Personally I am going to look at a 1995 z272 Barchetta w/ Mercruiser 7.4 this weekend. I would like to know anybody's estimate about what to expect for gas usage, gph, mpg, etc.

Im sure other new boaters would also appreciate other estimates from other sizes of motors and boat lengths.

It may also be of use to tell us what sort of gas mileage your vehicle gets while you trailer your boat, and what kind of vehicle you are using to tow.

Thank you so much for all of the information! This is a great site with great members!

[ShabahZ280]

I'll be the first one to tell you that the 7.4L isn't the most economical engine out there.

The Z272 is a heavy boat, (reportedly one of the toughest hulls ever built) and the 7.4L was the midline engine option available for that year. It'll probably be one of the best choices if you're looking for a balance of power and economy. It'll keep you in the 50-55mph range. The base engine of the 5.7L might be a little underpowered and you might be unhappy with that combo, and the 454 Mag is the largest option for 1995. At 110 gallons, the tank will cost a pretty penny to fill up, so you'll probably learn very quickly that full throttle isn't the best place to be all the time. Most of us tend to just run our boats at cruising speed (around 3000-3200rpms). As for specific GPH figures, the best I could find is a 1995 Z275 Davanti review with the 7.4L which was reporting fuel consumption of 23GPH at full throttle, and around 14GPH at 3500rpms. Now the Davanti is the cuddy version, so it's a bit heavier than the Z272, so I'd expect a few less GPH on those figures for the Z272 Barchetta model. Unfortunately the only way to get accurate fuel economy figures would be to put on fuel flow meters, and they're pretty pricy, so not many of us use them.

Trailering MPG depends on the vehicle, and the loaded weight of the boat and trailer. I tow my Z250 fully loaded with a 2001 Ford Excursion with the 6.8L V10, and I get about 10-11mpg on the highway. Many people post their MPG and trailering experiences in the "Trailering and Tow Vehicles" section of the forum. Stop in there and check it out!

Good luck with looking at the boat, and if you've got any questions, by all means feel free to ask. We're all here to help!

[Dredd]

Mariah MX-19 4.3LX
Cruise
~3mpg
Towing
13mpg with a GMC 4.3 5 speed

Rinker Captiva 272 7.4MPI
Cruise
~2mpg (I hope)
Towing
6mpg with F-150 5.4 Auto
8mpg with F-350 7.4 IDI Auto (lots of stop and go, hope I can get this to average closer to 10)

Floating around with friends and family
Priceless

[scubydo]

3 MPG may sound bad, but I will tell you this, My old boat was a Maxum 17 footer with a 3.0, and it only got 4 MPG at an easy cruise. So 2 or 3MPG with a bigger boat is very reasonable.
I'm not sure what my 96 200 Shabah with a 4.3 gets yet(just got it last fall), but I suspect it is around 3MPG.

[garyg]

Mr Joe I have a 2000 Z 272 7.4 MPI Bravo 111. Last year on vacation we used our boat every day about 6 to 8 hrs. a day tubing and skiing. I used bout 30 t0 35 gallons of gas a day.Can't put a price on all the fun we had.I tow our boat with a GMC Yukon XL(4 wheel drive) or GMC Sierra 4 door heavy half 4 wheel drive. Some of the launch ramps we use can be steep and wet.Mileage will depend on how fast you go,flat land or hills like we have in TN. I get anywhere from 8 to 11 miles to the gallon.I like my pick-up best for towing,it has a bigger engine with more power.( both trucks have tow mode) I also have a tri-axle trailer for our boat which handles the heavy boat great. If you look in the GALLERY 2000 models GaryG Z 272 has pictures of our boat Hope this will help you Gary G UPDATE THIS SUMMER WE WENT TO PARIS LANDING ON KENTUCKY LAKE AVERAGE AROUND 30 GALLONS OF GAS A DAY TUBING AND RUNNING AROUND.IF GOOGLE BOATING AND TUBING AT PARIS LANDING ON YOU TUBE YOU CAN SEE MY BOAT PULLING A HOTDOG AND A TUBE.WE WERE GOING ABOUT 25 MILES AN HOUR .I USED ABOUT 4 TO 5 GALLONS AN HOUR.HOPE THIS HELPS.YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE ON ALL THE FUN THE KIDS HAD. GARY G

[scubydo]

33 foot pace arrrow Motorhome with a 454 pulling 1996 200 shabah. 6 Miles a gallon

1996 200 shabah with a 205hp V6 got 3.17 mpg on a mellow cruise about 3500 rpm. Miles were verified by gps at Flaming Gorge 2 weeks ago. I filled the tank up, reset the gps odometer, then drove down to the dam and back to the pump, filled up again, and calculated, about 45 miles round trip. Pretty sad huh. Guess I'm glad I don't have the 350 mag, would probably be 2.5mpg.

[DFZ272]

Hi Joe, I bought a 1995 Z272 with the 7.4 Dualprop Bravo III outdrive, Weber carb, about 5 months ago. I have been boating all my life. Fuel economy on the boat, I couldn't be happier. I am actually using less fuel than my last boat a 19ft bowrider with a 5.7 magnum mercruiser. I burn about 25 to 30 gallons per day for a 6 to 8 hour day on the water, actual miles travel not exactly sure. I am not a speed demon I cruise between 3300 to 3800 rpm, but I can do that in most wave/wind conditions I have encountered with no problems. Top speed no wind, no waves, light load about 55. Cruise(depending on wind and waves 35 to 38 mph). These are fresh water numbers, salt water are slightly higher rpm for same speed. They are pretty heavy around 6000 lbs. Tow vehicle 2001 Chevy 2500 4x4 diesel 12-14mpg depending, if terrain is very hilly, a good bit lower. If you buy it and it was well taken care of I think you will be very happy. But I am a little biased. One thing when towing put on the bow cover or take off the top removable backrests in the bow seat section, they can vibrate and blow out.

Note smaller engines have to work harder(higher rpm=more fuel burned) to make the same power as larger ones. With 4 barrel carbs u will usually burn more fuel
Let us know if you get it, any questions the great ppl here will try to answer
Happy Boating
Dan

[Dredd]

Update on mine, now that we're in the middle of the season. I am pleasantly surprised with the cruising economy of the 7.4/B3 in my 27' boat. I can about see the gauge move if I run it pinned for long but as long as I'm just cruising, like DFZ272 said, it does really well. I'll get some numbers, if I remember, when I'm on big lakes the rest of this month.
My quad cab F-350 has also been getting 10mpg on flat highways, as I'd hoped. I do plan to upgrade to a turbo for more power on hills within the next couple seasons though.

PS - Joe did end up with a 272.

[Lee B]

Some of those vehicle fuel consumption figures are astonishing, well, to folk this side of the pond anyway...

I drive a 2011 Toyota RAV4 2.2 turbo diesel and on a recent (5000+ kms) drive from the south of Spain to Scotland and back averaged 46.6mpg, yes, everything on the car is in kms/litres but being a Brit I work it back to mpg coz that's what I'm most familiar with. The car is a 6 speed manual, puts out a bit over 150bhp and manages a sub 10 second 0-60.

The boat, on the other hand, a SX18 with 3.0 Mercruiser manages about 4 mpg, maybe it's time Toyota started making marinised diesels!

Lee

[DFZ272]

Lee, we a talking 2 different animals. Here in the US we use a lot of trucks that have high gross weight capacities. For instance the truck I have and also use for construction work is rated for towing approximately 15,000 lbs. My boat weighs about 6000lbs. I don't think a RAV 4 would suit my needs. That being said I also have a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle that gets much better mileage.
Happy Boating
Dan
A barely civilized American bloke