# Fuel costs for Catamaran



## TSOJOURNER

We are chartering in the BVI on a 44' cat with twin deisel (80 hp). Can anyone give me an idea of fuel costs they have incurred while on charter for a week in the BVI? I'm looking for an average to let others on the charter have a better iedea of overall cost.


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## Chuteman

*Humm*

S:
Is that 80 HP total = 2 x 40hp in each hull?
Does the Cat have a Genset?.........usually for A/C?
What time of year are You chartering? (more consistent winds after hurricane season) 
Do You plan on going to Anegada?
Does the gang like to sail even if it takes a while longer or do they just want to get there?


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## camaraderie

How many hours do you plan on motoring each day? 
Maybe 10-15 gallons of diesel if you do a lot...so tell everyone $100 bucks and they'll go home happy they didn't spend that much! (G)


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## TSOJOURNER

2 80 hp engines actually. A Lagoon 440. We will be going to Anegada, and I suspect we will motor short distances to get there "quicker", but will sail to Anegada if the wind is blowing. We will be traveling in mid June.


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## Rickm505

It's a vacation, be happy and have fun!! I wouldn't worry too much about what your fuel costs will be!!

If you must calculate.........All the 440's I've seen have twin 55 hp diesels. Figure a gallon an hour per engine at cruising speed.


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## sailvi767

*Fuel Use*

Your fuel use will depend on many factors and could be anywhere from 10 to 80 gallons depending on how you use the boat and manage it. I suspect the boat has a 9KW genset. Figure that each night you run it for AC you will use about 5 gallons. The 2 gallons per hour is about right for motoring. If the boat is properly set up with a good size battery bank and the genset wired through the inverter/charger to charge the batteries at night you will need almost no main engine run time for battery charging. If the battery banks must be charged from the engines or you have a mechanical refrigeration system then you will need several hours a day of main engine run time. I suspect a L440 will be set up properly. The Moorings 4700 requires a lot of engine run time for the fridge. The L440 should have a electric fridge. You might also check with your charter company and see who pays for fuel. Moorings charters they pick up the fuel bill. Most other companies you pay. My normal fuel use for a week on a cat with twin 40 HP engines and a 6wk genset is about 40 gallons. That is running the genset about 10 hours a night for AC.
George


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## sailusvi

We chartered a Lagoon 42 out of Tortola last year and the fuel cost for 3 weeks of sailing was nothing to speak of.


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## TSOJOURNER

spilla said:


> We are chartering in the BVI on a 44' cat with twin deisel (80 hp). Can anyone give me an idea of fuel costs they have incurred while on charter for a week in the BVI? I'm looking for an average to let others on the charter have a better iedea of overall cost.


i've been staring at this thread for weeks in total amazement, all i can say is... If you have to ask a question like that, maybe you shouldnt go. it's always been said "the only dumb question is the one you dont ask" but (sorry if i offend) this is one of the dumbest freakin questions ever asked due to all the variables. your gonna be on a friggen sailboat for christ sakes. and a fast one at that! how much fuel do you need? you could probably do it in under five gallons depending on your experience. i would be more worried about the cost of beer and liquor. just tell the others that just to be safe, fuel cost will be around $82k per gallon.
some of the other great questions i hear are:
what time does the noon brunch start, how much for two of the .50 cent draft beers or i put $5 dollars in the change machine and it only gave me 20 quarters back.
you wouldnt happen to be a high roller in a Vegas casino by chance would you?


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## sailhog

Spilla,
Sorry for USP's insensitive response. I think you can expect to spend between one-million-billion-trillion dollars and fifty-trillion-billion-million dollars.


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## sailingdog

I agree with USP...if fuel expenses are going to be such a big issue, are you sure you can really afford to go and charter the catamaran in the first place????


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## 42ndstreet

I took a Beneteau 463 out for 2 weeks and brought the boat back with the needle on full. Never got charged $1.


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## TSOJOURNER

42ndstreet said:


> I took a Beneteau 463 out for 2 weeks and brought the boat back with the needle on full. Never got charged $1.


you're not supposed to fill the tank with sea water!


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## Stupidpeasant

Sorry everyone can not be as intelligently gifted as yourself. Perhaps you should not be hanging out with the peasants!


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## Stupidpeasant

Then perhaps any question would also be considered a stupid peasant question? Like what time will we arrive? Well if your in that much of a hurry perhaps you don't have the time for a cruise either right?


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## outbound

SP this is usually a good, respectful, site please stick around.
Can’t speak to cats not having own one so fuel was always owners concern. But have spent a fair amount of time in the BVIs. There’s a wide variance in fuel cost. In general the commercial dock in Road Town on the Moorings side is reasonable. Sopers tends to be more expensive, Spanish town cheaper, North Sound variable. Found it worthwhile to check prices. For us with 200g it made a significant difference. 
When we had company would do the loop. If company had offered to share fuel costs (I never asked for this) would hit cheapest place on the last day of their visit. Guess people are different. Although we have AC at the time of year you’re going to be there never ran it. No reason unless you’re in a slip where’s there’s no wind. Then you’re plugged in. Rarely ran the engine either as company usually likes to sail. So engine only briefly on going in or out. BVI usually has good wind and things are so close together found fuel costs trivial. After awhile given its line of sight sailing other than depth ignored the electronics so battery draw from radar etc. was nonexistent. Our biggest draw was from the frig/freezer and solar/wind was sufficient. 
Although it’s a cat it’s still a excellent sailboat not a motorboat. Even if your using constant AC fuel shouldn’t be a concern as gensets sip fuel. 
So think engine draw isn’t the concern to calculate fuel cost. Think genset time is.


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## colemj

The guy went on his charter 12yrs ago. Probably figured out his fuel cost by now...

Mark


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## outbound

SP seemed to be interested one hour ago.


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## johnrayan

Need to calculate your spends of fuel per day


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## capta

June can be a windless month in the VIs, so count on using the engines quite a bit if you want to get around to most of the good places. And in many cases on the windward legs you will be running the lee engine even if you are sailing, especially if there is any current against you.
I don't know the cost of diesel in the BVI these days and have no desire to do a search (you may though) and you didn't bother to tell us how many are going, but us$100.00 each for six ought to cover it. But it will obviously depend on how many RPMs you run the engine at, the sea state and the current, so asking others who have not sailed in exactly the same conditions won't be able to do any more than I have; guesstimate.


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