Im looking at a single and a twin and really wondering what to do. whats the difference in the two? fuel economy especially? what would you choose? 27 single or 29 twin? thanks

I know the 340-HP 454's inm y 34-ft Sea Ray were pretty thirsty. These with inboard, straight shaft and a heavier boat though. 30+ GPH was the norm when running. I am quite sure a better hull would do better though.

This is the primary reaosn for getting rid of it and going with a light boat with a modern drive-train.

In my formula 292 SR-1 (straight hull) with 330 454's I was getting about 1.25-1.3 mpg. I know with singles, up to a point, the bigger the engine the better the cruising economy. I'm putting in some 465 hp 454's this summer, well see if the theory holds.

A 454 running 3,500 rpms really doesn't care what hull it's sitting in. That Searay Redhook has and a 29 performacne hull will both burn about 30 GPH.......but the performance hull will have traveled significantly further therefore netting better MPG. A straight hull like endeavour listed will likely get the 1.25-1.3 he posted. My previous stepped hull 38 with 540's would also net that 1.25-1.3 MPG average as well.

I learned an impotant lesson about fuel economy last summer when I decided to purchase a cruiser.

One note you have to consider is GPH (gallons per hour) If you leave point A to get to point B how long will you run a boat that cruises at 30 mph vs one that cruises at 50 mph?

How hard is that boat working at cruise speed, underpowered boats really don't "cruise" they roll a wake at any speed....they are always going "uphill"

My single 27 ft BBC cruiser was using just about the same amount of fuel as my friends 388 hustler twin. He cruises unloaded at 60+ while I was going uphill to try to do 30 mph. And guess who was having more fun getting there?

For all my years of speed boats I now laugh at all the times I was asked at the gas dock by cruiser owners how I can afford to put gas in my BBC twins, now I know they spend equal or more to get to the same place!

Many years ago I took my 5.7l WS6 trans am to Virginia beach at 80 mph and averaged 26 mph running a 6 speed manual. My friend with the same car with a 3.4l v6 auto followed me and got 16-18mph. My overpowered car wasn't working as hard, just chugging away at 1900 rpms He was turning 3000 rpms to go the same speed

Where will you use the boat?

Ya wanna know why I bought a boat with twin big blocks? Cause I couldn't afford one with TRIPS!! If you are choosing a boat based on fuel economy, you're starting out wrong. Gas is one of the CHEAPEST expenses when owning a performance boat. I can choose to cruise along without hammering the throttle all the time. I can't however choose to NOT pay for the: insurance, maintenance(well not long), storage, taxes, etc.... If you are worried about "mileage", buy a Prius, not a big go fast.....

That USED to be true when gas was $2 a gallon. Now that gas is $4.50 per gallon (on the water) a 100 gallon fillup will cost $450. If you do that twice per month thats $900 per month. I would hardly call that the cheapest aspect of boating.

u r right.i always thought that old saying was bull.

yea i have to agree, it may be the cheapest expense to these big boy people racing motors and blowing drives.

but the the average perfomance boater, we put empellars in, and change the oil... its nto that bad, and fix the random pasrts that break, but with 500-700 buck fill out. its not cheap.. its as much if not more then the boat payment its self.

that being said. I just sold a single 25 foot baja with a 454mag, and now have a 34 baja with twin 496 mags. 50 bucks does not make a weekend any more. 100 will, 150 you have a little left over. BUT man what a difference in boat.