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I made a mistake and went out with less fuel than I thought. Nonetheless, I ran the fuel gauge down to 0% as I reached the dock to trailer my boat. Based on filling up the boat, I had 3.5 gallons that remained in the tank at 0% on the gauge. Probably not that different from automobiles. Just wanted to pass along how much fuel our boats may have when hitting 0% on the gauge. As an FYI, the gauge went from 10% to 0% very quickly.
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Sheesh. Hard and fast rule for me: The boat never leaves the dock without a FULL tank of gas.
I consider it extra ballast.
-Charles -
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This is something I really wish could be remedied. The gauge on our 230 can vary 20%+ based on deck angle. The nearest fuel is a 15 min boat ride away and it's not practical to gas up every time we take the boat out so there's certainly some mental gymnastics involved. I try not to go less than 30% showing stopped in clam water.Comment
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Fuel gauges in boat have always been more of a suggestion than any accurate indication of fuel level. Issues such as environment (rolling, pitching, listing, etc) due to everything from weight distribution to the amount of chop on the water make it near impossible to have accurate readings. Add to that the tendency of the tanks to conform to the shape of the hull and you end up with a non linear container to try and calibrate any sort of system. But my car is very accurate you say and why can't it be like my car? Well, the tank in your car is typically rectangular and it's also typically a fairly stable platform so the fuel doesn't get tossed around as much or set on an angle.
If you were within 3 gallons on a 60+ gallon tank I would find that incredible and say you were very fortunate that it was on the plus side with fuel left over than the other way around. This tends to be one of the new boater first fails as they think that 1/2 tank is a 1/2 tank when it very possibly could be a quarter. This is why whenever possible I'm adding fuel at 1/2 tank even if that means carrying cans and I'll also fill the boat any time it's on the trailer even if it only needs 5 or so gallons.
The other things to consider about keeping the boat as close to full is the quality of gas. This is especially true if you're running an alcohol blend which can absorb water let alone all the garbage that will end up in the bottom of the tank. With some boats the fuel in the tank is also what helps cool the fuel pumps. On some MasterCrafts it was important to never let the tank go lower than 1/4 as the fuel pump would tend to burn out from over heating. I found out about this one first hand on one of the few times I ever let the boat get that low.Comment
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