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Let's face it - offshore fishing usually requires burning a lot of gas or
diesel. Larger boats often get no more than 1 - 2 miles per gallon, which means
100+ gallons of gas per trip. Ocean skiffs are better because of their smaller
size, at 4 - 6 miles per gallon (with a 4-stroke or DFI motor), but still chew
up quite a bit of gas. That translates into quite a bit of cash on every
trip.
Also, while I'm not a rabid environmentalist, I think it's clear
that burning fossil fuels contributes to a number of our
environmental problems. Whether it's acid rain (NOX emissions), global
warning (carbon dioxide), or groundwater contamination (MTBE fuel
additive), burning gasoline contributes to pollution at some level. So
better fuel economy means not only less cost, but also a cleaner environment.
In the 90 HP shootout article mentioned in "The E-TEC
Buzz", the test boat with the best mileage got just
around 9 MPG . The test boat was an extremely
light, minimally loaded aluminum skiff. A little later, I saw an article in Boating magazine that talked about a boat
that achieved over 100 MPG . That boat was
essentially a high-tech rowing shell with a small motor running at 1-2 mph, but
it got me thinking - could we reach double-digit fuel economy at cruising
speeds in an ocean skiff?
Seems to me that in theory, a light power catamaran or
trimaran around 18 - 20' LOA, with one or two small DFI
2-stroke or 4-stroke motors could achieve over 10 MPG with a cruise
speed around 15 - 20 mph. What do you think?
I'd like to hear your opinion on the topic... . Could such
a hull be made strong enough to survive regular offshore use?
Another, less obvious, way that boats contribute to air pollution is
through the fumes from resins and solvents used in manufacturing
fiberglass or composite boat hulls. In recent years, some of the larger boat
manufacturers have have gotten emissions under control by using
closed-system molds (like
Genmar's VEC technology, or
Sea Ray's RIMFIRE Technology ), or vacuum bagging
techniques. The
Triumph Boat Company's roto-molded ropelene hull is another
low-impact construction technique. Interestingly enough, vacuum bagging of
composites did not start out as an emissions control technique. Rather,
vacuum bagging was used to get a more thorough saturation of resin
in the hull material, resulting in a stronger hull. The emissions control
was just a side benefit. All of these construction techniques are the most
effective on smaller hulls, which makes them a good fit for the kinds of
boats OSJ readers use.
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