Fuel Consumption

[Irish Mist]

Back to the technical stuff again, I'm running twin 454s @ 350 HP Marine Power Motors in a 1990 320 Luhrs Tournament. I have a very high fuel burn and I'm trying to find a way to do better.

I have three blade props on her and I'm wondering if I was to change up to four blade props would that reduce the fuel use or make no difference at all? Just to give you an idea I'll run 60 miles at 3200 rpm's and burn 150 gallons. Motors are running great, no smoke and well tuned. They'll turn up to 4500 max so their running fine except for the fuel consumption. Any thoughts or comments?

Appreciate the help guys,

[captainjay]

Man I am not a marine architect, and I didn't stay at a holiday inn express las t night, but I have lots of friends with twin big blocks and most get .6 to .75 miles to the gallon. You are getting in the .4 range. It might be worth trying the props if you can find a reasonable set to use. The four blades should hold the boat on plane at a lower rpm but the trade off will be on the upper end. Also make sure your trim tabs are working correctly as its a heavy boat.
Jay

[FishBlueWater]

I would definitely try the props first. There might be a prop guy around that has several different ones to try. You may find all it takes is getting your current props re-tuned. Sometimes they can lose their pitch or come off balance a little and that will def affect your fuel burn. I had a guy in the dock that switched out his props for the proper size and pitch for his boat and ended up almost doubling his efficiency.
Just my $.02

[luv2fish67]

I would say props aswell. Maybe a bit more pitch, so they grab more water at the same RPM. Just not too much , or it will overwork the engines.
I'm no expert.......so maybe someone else knows a bit more about it.

[rarhomes]

I have a 04 32' luhrs with twin 315 Yanmar's with 22/27 four blade props. I burn 1 gal per mile or 25 gallons per hr. at 25 knots at 3000 rpms. I can run 50 miles each way and troll all all day on 125 - 130 gals.

Hope this helps.

Capt. Rick

[Irish Mist]

Back to the technical stuff again, I'm running twin 454s @ 350 HP Marine Power Motors in a 1990 320 Luhrs Tournament. I have a very high fuel burn and I'm trying to find a way to do better.

I have three blade props on her and I'm wondering if I was to change up to four blade props would that reduce the fuel use or make no difference at all? Just to give you an idea I'll run 60 miles at 3200 rpm's and burn 150 gallons. Motors are running great, no smoke and well tuned. They'll turn up to 4500 max so their running fine except for the fuel consumption. Any thoughts or comments?

Appreciate the help guys,

If I wanted to get the spec's on what size and pitch I should be pushing with, can anyone give me name or company that can do that for me?

Merry Christmas Everyone,

[luv2fish67]

hey Mist, Google ...Michigan wheel boat props.....lots of tec info on choosing the right prop......This should help you.