In a message dated 5/6/03 6:25:45 PM, gunsblazing@charter.net writes:
Lots of good ideas for refueling internal tank outboards. Just wondering - how many hours, miles, days of sailing do you Honda 4 stroke 2HP owners get?
Jesse
M 15 Carolyn J
Jesse, On a previous trip to British Columbia, we had almost no wind for three weeks. Suffice it to say that we did a lot of motoring. During one trip in particular--the 70 mile round-trip from Egmont to Princess Louisa--we motored for all but 1.5 hours. I used these 10-hour motoring days to study the performance/economy of our then-new motor. Using the aforementioned Tempo tank/bulb/shut-off refueling system (and yes, we did encounter some very rough water), we refueled about every 55-60 minutes. The tank on our 1997 Honda BF2A is 1 liter/.264 gallons. We were towing the inflatable, loaded to 'cruising trim' with stores/provisions, and bucked some rather stiff currents en route. In this mode, we would average about 4 knots (speed through water, not CMG) at 3/4 throttle. One liter or .264 gallons then yielded about 7.1km/hr or 3.83 nautical miles. Figure about 14.5 nautical miles/gallon (16.7 statute miles/gallon). Keep in mind that our Honda is the previous generation 2hp/4-stroke with the 'L' Head design. The subsequent (and current) Honda 2 is an overhead valve design, and a fuel efficiency increase of 10-15% is advertised. I ran a quick comparison to Doug's numbers: 75 minutes of motoring at an average of 3.9 knots (4.875 nautical miles/liter; 18.47 nautical miles/gallon). I am assuming the same size (1 liter/.264 gallon) tank. Doug, is your Honda one of the newer generation models? If so, I assume that the difference in results reflect some combination of a difference in loading/conditions and the increased efficiency of the newer models. Scott Grometer, M15 #478 'bebe'