Diesel Cost Increase -ICW Traffic -?

[Manateeman]

With the price of diesel fuel climbing, we are surprised there is no discussions on the volume of vessel traffic ICW.
Will vessel movement be limited to the Russian mega yachts and small sailboats?
What do our fellow sailors see happening now and in the future.
Mark and the manatee crew

[marcjsmith]

Sail boat owner... glad I topped off my tank last november. Figure I'm good for most of the 2022 season, but I'm staying the Chesepeake.

That being said. People who boat are still going to go boating.
Maybe you'll see a decline of the some of the wake boats and jetski's (no gonna hurt my feelings). With higher fuel prices might see a decline in charter fishing boats as they raise their prices.


Maybe more sailboats will decide to go outside and sail, rather than motoring down the ICW.

[4arch]

I can't speak specifically to the ICW, but when fuel prices were last this high in the summer of 2008, there was a sharp drop-off in the number of boats on the water, especially powerboats. Boat owners would come to the marina and hang out on their boats, but not leave the dock. If fuel prices stay high into the spring and summer, or even if they ease a bit but people keep feeling uneasy about the economy overall, I expect we're on a similar trajectory for this boating season.

[womensetsail]

We just motored the ICW from Jacksonville,FL to Cocoa Beach last week. We paid just shy of $5/gallon for diesel in Jax. Our plan was to take the boat around to the West coast in Punta Gorda, where we live. With the Okeechobee Waterway closed we were going to take her all the way around, but now with fuel prices going upward, we may wait and cross the waterway when it opens. Crazy times, at least there may be less traffic on the ditch.

[Adelie]

A 30% reduction in speed would about double most motor vessel’s mpg.

That means if it’s 40nm between anchorages it’s 10hr at 4kt instead of 7hr at 6kt.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Adelie

A 30% reduction in speed would about double most motor vessel’s mpg.

That means if it’s 40nm between anchorages it’s 10hr at 4kt instead of 7hr at 6kt.

There's a limit to how slow a given boat can practically go, however. My boat is powered to run on plane at 17 - 18 kts, but burns less than half the fuel per mile at a nice slow cruise of 6.5 - 7 kts, so that's the speed we typically travel. We can slow down to about 6 kts and save even a little more fuel and the engines are still loaded enough and far enough above idle RPM for everything to stay good and happy. But if we slow down to 4 kts, we're now quite literally just in gear at idle, which is not a sustainable cruising speed due to reduced steering response and not being good for the engines. I'd put our absolute minimum continuous speed somewhere in the 5 - 5.5 kt range, and I'd generally avoid being below 5.5 - 6 kts for any long period of time when possible.

[bil56]

in France today, average 7.60$/gal !!!

we don't have oil but only ideas...

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

There's a limit to how slow a given boat can practically go, however. My boat is powered to run on plane at 17 - 18 kts, but burns less than half the fuel per mile at a nice slow cruise of 6.5 - 7 kts, so that's the speed we typically travel. We can slow down to about 6 kts and save even a little more fuel and the engines are still loaded enough and far enough above idle RPM for everything to stay good and happy. But if we slow down to 4 kts, we're now quite literally just in gear at idle, which is not a sustainable cruising speed due to reduced steering response and not being good for the engines. I'd put our absolute minimum continuous speed somewhere in the 5 - 5.5 kt range, and I'd generally avoid being below 5.5 - 6 kts for any long period of time when possible.

I assume you have diesel prime movers since if they were gas there would be only minor issues motoring at low speeds for long periods.

[kmacdonald]

Fort Myers today: Diesel $5.47/gal

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Adelie

I assume you have diesel prime movers since if they were gas there would be only minor issues motoring at low speeds for long periods.

Mine are gas. They're fine with running lightly loaded at low RPM, but running at idle for long periods is considered sub-optimal. Not so much due to low combustion temperature concerns like with a diesel (mine will maintain normal temperature just fine at idle), but because some of the valvetrain components, etc. aren't lubricated as well at idle, in particular the flat tappet camshafts and lifters. Getting them a few hundred RPM above idle makes things much better. I personally try not to run long periods below 1000 RPM for that reason (our normal slow cruise is 1300 giving 6.5 - 7 kts depending on fuel load). Idle in gear settles up to about 750 once the boat has settled up to speed (a little over 4 kts at idle).

[Adelie]

Ahh, that makes sense.

[rslifkin]

Most engines have some limitations about running right at idle, it's just the primary cause for concern varies between designs. I know Cummins says for some of its engines that as long as it comes up to normal temp it's fine to run lightly loaded a few hundred RPM above idle, but that you shouldn't run at idle speed continuously. They don't specify what their primary concerns are though.

[sailorboy1]

If the price of fuel cuts down on the number of those wake making sport fishing boats blasting along I will be disappointed ............... NOT!

And this “go slower” debate is meaningless to those guys, they only know fast.

[Knotical]

Boaters are gonna boat, those who can afford it at least. I will definitely not complain about seeing less powerboats on the water this summer 😊

[Bent Bugle]

Diesel where i am in Oz east coast, is $2.15/l, equates to a bit over $8 us gallon, petrol is anywhere from $2.10 - $2.50 /l depending in what grade you buy...over here they're quick to raise prices & slow to lower them...it'll slow down the powerboat usage not so much the sailboats. Hopefully most of the jetskis will get stored in their owners garages (& stay there)..