How Much Fuel Does A Sportfishing Boat REALLY Burn?? (Here's What We Found)

Thinking about buying a sportfishing boat but want to know how much fuel the boat will burn? Well, in this video, we share exactly what our 40' express boat burns, and discuss the fuel economy and fuel consumption of other boats too.

[@wineo84]

People do NOT think of that.. makes me want to fuel up before my guests disembark for the day so they can SEE what fuel ALONE costs.

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Exactly Stewart! Most folks really have no understanding of this!

[@ryany4326]

40 to 50’ boat is often double the weight. So twice the comfort and overnight accommodations. Yes much more fuel but it’s also double the boat in a lot of cases

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Great point. 👍

[@Lazybones52]

Our old 45’ semi displacement boat burned 4 gallons an hour at 8 knots with her old Detroit 😊

[@Skywanker69]

Enjoying the videos. That’s such a good looking boat!

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Appreciate that Lucas!

[@independentanalysis9875]

Great explanation again on expenses. The old "BOAT" adage holding true for repairs/parts AND fuel...Break Out Another Thousand, or two. With today's fuel prices, have noticed some charters adding fuel surcharges. The offshore charters down in Venice LA have formed a little Cajon Mafia contingency. All charters are the Charter Price + Fuel. Running quad outboards on 40ft catamarans isn't cheap. Nor is the boat payment on those Freeman hulls. Makes for some interesting customer interactions I'm sure. The fuel charge is how F$CK'n much??? Good thing you brought two credit cards today.

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

That’s super interesting. Curious: How did Freeman become the dominant force for charters in La??

[@leftycosta1899]

Now do maintenance costs a year on sportsfish & those diesels.

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Good idea Lefty. Will do.

[@BullySportfishing]

65 viking “bully” 130 gallons per hour doing 34knots on clean bottom and running geae

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

That’s some serious fuel 🔥. Wow.

[@sharonbraselton4302]

good fir it 300 nm ranfe at fruser

[@josephhervieux7374]

What fish are you catching at that speed?!!

[@BullySportfishing]

@@josephhervieux7374 you are traveling to fishing grounds at that speed. We have long runs from port to where we fish. Usually between 50-190 miles one way.

[@josephhervieux7374]

@@BullySportfishing that's what I thought. I use to fish salmon and tuna commercially . We would cruise at 10 knots to get to the fishing grounds and once there would putter at between 5 and 7 knots. A 50 foot Monk would cost 15k to fill and the fuel would last 3-4 weeks of constant running. We would shut the engines at night for 5-6 hours and drift while we slept.

[@luigivincent3369]

This video could've been broken down into 60 seconds but instead they dragged it out to 6.40 mins

[@fedupdomer5654]

how much fuel? enough to say if you have to think about it , you shouldnt be in the hobby

[@SlipItIn.Fishing]

People who don't own a boat or offshore fish have no clue all the expenses. I explained to someone fishing fuel burn and pointed to a 55gallon drum, then said, we pretty much throw one overboard every hour the boat is moving.

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Now thats a great way to explain it Peter!!

[@wbmoore7305]

Getting rich? “It’s not happening”…..love it!! You gotta be rich to begin with! I got a boat, you are so right, we ARE fortunate! Love your videos!!

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Thanks Bill!!!

[@rickss69]

Economy and boats are rarely used in the same sentence.

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Good point.

[@Lazybones52]

Better switch to the Duffy in the next slip much cheaper to run

[@roberthind3394]

Just found you guys, love the your honesty. Subscribed

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Appreciate that Robert!

[@bryanlee8577]

Big CC are not much better or the same. .9-1.2

[@jimminyxmas]

Just curious to know, how long do those giant 16 cylinder mtu engines last before they need to be fully replaced? Can they be refiited indefinitely, or does it make more sense to replace them at some point? Thanks.

[@rski1036]

Their rebuilt, INFRAME.

[@KodaGSD-uf3hg]

My buddy told me if you got to go Diesel no gas

[@thomaslangton3464]

Funny, you guys didn't even touch on how important diesel tuning is when trying to achieve maximum fuel economy. Your "Professor" is completely out of touch with diesel engine technology / tuning if he assesses engine performance by audible turbo whistle, and some outdated rule of thumb mentality. You should get your powerplants professionally tuned and then redo your video showing the real-time gains live on a laptop while running a speed. Only then, can you accurately discuss fuel burn rate(s), fuel economy, and the true cost of operation.

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

@@thomaslangton3464 we’re just a couple of guys sharing our experience. Instead of choosing a condescending approach, why not share your thought in a way that helps others?

[@axscdvfb]

How fast can you get with that 1NMPG fuel burn?

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

About 23 knots

[@warlordop713]

I’ll stick with my Grady white 282 sailfish 😂 😅 ofc a year later and I have a 40 foot boat.

[@floridabornoutdoors]

Put $1000 worth of fuel in my sport fisher last week just to have everyone cancel. Gotta love it!

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Painful brother!!

[@sharonbraselton4302]

yes

[@rski1036]

So big deal; you'll use it another day.

[@robertkwiatkoski1292]

I was once told one of the bigger Bayliss boats was burning 80 gallons per hour. A commercial fisherman said you could have stacks of 20 dollar bills and couldn't make it rain fast enough to pay the bill. Just what i was told by 2 different people.

[@rski1036]

What a stupid analogy. The FACT is, fuel cost is generally only a small part of the cost of ownership but that's life and you can't take it with you so if you have it and enjoy boating BUY A BOAT.

[@derekprillaman8194]

Best videos out there. Love how they are transparent and honest about the pros and cons.

[@saltwaterfishinguniversity]

Appreciate it Derek!

[@OttoTheWeim]

A bit late to the party here but a question I’m curious about is so you run a dedicated tank for your diesel generator or suck from the propulsion tanks?

[@drifter9425]

31 Tiara express twin 6BT Cummins 1.5 MPG at 28mph

[@sharonbraselton4302]

góod for it

[@TheInsultInvestor]

@@sharonbraselton4302 bless your heart

[@josephhervieux7374]

I'm looking at a 41 open with twin Cat 3208's. Any idea what the fuel burn on that would be? Technically do you have to go that fast? Doesn't lower speed mean less fuel burn? Trolling Salmon at 5 knots and Tuna at 8 knots. Unless you have a big jog to the fishing spot ,why go so fast?

[@chiphill4856]

33 Scout center console twin 350 v10 mercury outboards: 1.2mpg at 43mph

[@georgewilliams7078]

I run 33 foot harpoon boat twin diesel have to shut off one engine to get 2 miles To the gallon not bad when fuel was one dollar a gallon

[@williamwebberjr8045]

It's probably not 1% but .001%. A blessing for sure.

[@michaelwhitney4196]

I have a friend that owns a custom 75’ sport’s fishing boat with big MTU diesels…At cruise speed he burn 3 to 4 gallons per mile traveled! KaChing!🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑💸💸💸💸💸

[@ronschwolsky1626]

I need friends like that. 😎

[@michaelwhitney4196]

If you have to worry about the $$$ of fuel…you have no business owning one. Any fish caught on these beasts costs approx $100 to $1000 per ounce…🍭’s

[@chiphill4856]

It's not about catching inexpensive fish.

[@benw2569]

Do you have to buy fuel at the dock or can you shop around and have it delivered via fuel truck? Always wanted to know that.

[@dannyv2335]

You can find some public docks where a fuel truck can get close enough. If you’re in a Marina then odds are No, especially if the marina sells fuel.

[@BlairNix-e5w]

You could always get a 250 gallon transfer tank in the back of a truck and run enough hose to get to your boat

[@rski1036]

A truck delivers diesel to my dock.

[@rski1036]

Fuel cost is typically a small percentage of the cost of boat ownership.