We went over to Oyster Point on Saturday to top off the fuel tanks. Our old trawler is pretty thrifty on diesel, sipping only four gallons per hour at cruising speed. So far as power boats go, that's not too bad. However, compared to our sailboat that only burned 1/3 per gallon per hour on a 25-horse power engine, it's a greedy, guzzling hog! I love the comfort of the trawler and it's a great ride up on the flying bridge, but what fun is it if you can't afford to put fuel in the tanks?
Our accountant friend Jean encouraged us to amortize the cost of fuel when we first bought the boat. After our first trip to the fuel dock, we took her advice and ever since have put $10 in a jar for every hour we spent motoring. For example, if we go to Angel Island for the weekend, we put $40 in the jar, $20 for the two-hour trip up and another $20 for the trip back. Amortizing has helped and I have to say it's a good thing not to put all that money on credit cards, even if we do earn air miles.
We were planning to spend the night at anchor, but after finding that diesel at Oyster Point was $4.00 per gallon, the joy was taken out of the ride. Thank goodness that we only needed 75 gallons!
The weather was typical for spring, blowy and blustery, so anchoring close to home in any of our favorite unprotected spots wasn't a comfortable option. The tide was flooding, and we didn't want to buck the current (no way at $4 per gallon!) to head up to Clipper Cove so we tucked our tails between our legs and headed back to the slip.
With the cost of a barrel of oil at an all time record high of over $100 and the summer driving season still ahead of us, I'm afraid fuel prices have not yet reached their zenith. All of us need to consider ways to conserve fuel. Anchoring closer to home is one option, throttling back in another. Instead of cruising at 8 knots, we can save almost a gallon per hour by pulling the throttles back to a comfortable 6 knots. We will get to our destination later, but we can save a whopping 25% on fuel costs. We all need to make sure that our engine (or engines, as the case may be) are in tune and not wasting precious fuel.
Perhaps a visit from your favorite mechanic can be amortized over the season by the amount of money he will save you in fuel. When we were on the sailboat, we were able to purchase a fuel made from soy beans called SoyGold. After using it exclusively for about a year, we had to replace all of the rubber hoses and gaskets on the engine with Teflon fittings, but the engine ran clean and the exhaust smelled like French fries.
Biodiesel also evaporates quickly when it is in contact with air so that if there is a spill, it's not an eco hazard like petroleum-based fuels. Honestly, if it were still available, I would use it in the trawler. Unfortunately, there is no place to purchase biodiesel in the Bay Area these days.
