Range of PWC with Added Weight

[musubi]

This is the trip that we usually make. Goggle maps indicates about 85 miles. Add 5-10 miles for zooming around and spinning ditties on Partridge Lake. By the time we get to Anchor Point Marina on our way back, the FX (SVHO) is beeping low fuel and doesn't read a percentage any more. There is still 3-5 gallons in the tank however.

We fill both runners up there and head back.

We would probably travel faster if both were HO engines. The SV sucks a lot more fuel at high speeds. There are speed runs, but we keep it under 45MPH for traveling distance.

At the end of the day the other week the VXHO used 18 gallons, and the FXSVHO used 21.5.

We are both big people with myself (riding the VX) being well north of 300 pounds.

The other reports here do not line up with my experience. 100 miles is the max on 18 gallons of fuel in my experience.

I get concerned about having the need to tow one PWC back for whatever reason, and not having enough fuel to do so. So I do not feel comfortable arranging things to be almost out of gas when arriving back to the dock.

Thanks for the feedback! Appreciate it. I'm also thinking 100 miles would be about the limit for range given good water conditions and moderate speed. Boattest.com puts the FX HO at 105 miles at 45 mph. It seems you might be able to gain a few miles by going slower, near 20 mph, but at that point it's less than half your speed. Based on your experience though, it doesn't seem like your range was affected much.

[anton74]

It seems you might be able to gain a few miles by going slower, near 20 mph, but at that point it's less than half your speed. Based on your experience though, it doesn't seem like your range was affected much.

30-35 is the minimum to get the boat up out of the water for efficiency.

Wind is a factor as well. up/down adds distance, and waves can slow you down to inefficient speeds.

There is a limit to how much weight you can put on these boats. My VX gets unpleasantly tippy with any passengers at low speeds. The FX hull is much better at carrying weight.

[K447]

The best cruise speed is found at 4000 rpm where the machine goes 25.5 mph, resulting in 7.8 mpg and endurance of 5.1 hours.

Jump the rpm just a thousand to 5000 and the speed increases 47% to 37.6 mph and mpg drops to 5.9 and endurance drops to 2.6 hours.

7.8mpg times 14 gallons means about 110 miles travel before the Low Fuel warning occurs.

Running at 5000 RPM the distance to Low Fuel warning would be about 83 miles (using the Yamaha provided consumption numbers, as reported by Boattest.com).

https://boattest.com/boats/yamaha/gp1800r-2019#performance

So 4000 (ish) RPM is best fuel economy and 5000 RPM cruise is about 25% more thirsty but almost 50% faster.

We tend to cruise distance on our own GP1800 SVHO in the 4500 to 5500 RPM range. 6000+ is also fun but we know it is not optimal for fuel economy. *


* Our GP1800 have lots of tweaks and aftermarket intake grate, extended and cut Worx ride plate, Solas impeller, extended steering nozzle, Stage 1 Plus Riva tunes.

[johnhoo08]

This is all pretty good fuel mileage. The Watercraft Journal sells a long haul fuel jug as well as many other solutions for carrying extra fuel.

I would also suggest a lighter passenger. They fit better on the back of the seat and their food consumption is a lot lighter too....

[tman701]

I went on a ride this past weekend and it was a mix of flat river conditions for most of the ride and choppy 2'-3' waves on the Okeechobee lake portion of our ride. We also had some spirited sprints up to full throttle a few times.
I began the trip with a full tank of gas, halfway thru as I was approaching the marina we had planned to stop at, I was on E, no buzzer, but on the last bar.

Due to some issues, I was only able to add another 11 gallons to the tank before our trip back to the ramp. I arrived at the ramp at the end of our trip with about 1/2 tank left according to the Fuel Gauge. Based on the trip meter, I used 22.7 Gal, and went 120 Miles. Average consumption was 5.3 MPG. The ride back was better conditions than the 1st half of the ride so that attributed to higher MPG im sure.

[HardRider]

With a single supercharged Yamaha 1.8-liter Super Vortex High Output (SVHO) engine turning the internal impeller jet drive, the test PWC reached a top speed of 68.0 mph (109.44 kph) at 7600 rpm.

Best Cruise.
The best cruise came in at 4000 rpm running at 25.5 mph (41.04 kph). At that speed, the 7.8 gph (12.3 lph) translates to 7.8 miles per gallon (3.33 kpl) and a range of 130 statute miles (210 kilometers) while still holding back a 10% reserve of the PWC’s 18.5-gallon (70.03 L) total fuel capacity.

[anton74]

On my wave runner there is a very noticeable change in how it behaves right at 4700RPM.

So for example, if I am on cruise higher than that, and then lower the RPM's to 4600 with the speed adjust button, the boat starts to sink into the water. That slows me down, and my wake gets larger. It is quite dramatic and obvious in the boats attitude towards the water.
In any case, it takes more energy to throw a bigger wake, and that energy comes from the gas tank.

It is interesting that the GP with the different hull and SVHO engine apparently hops up on plane at 4000RPMS.

Our SVHO does spin slower to make the same speed too, but I'm pretty sure the difference isn't that dramatic.

[K447]

On my wave runner ..

- Our SVHO does spin slower to make the same speed ...

What year/hull models are you comparing?

[anton74]

What year/hull models are you comparing?

They're both 2021's

VXHO
FXSVHO

[K447]

They're both 2021's

VXHO
FXSVHO

Which hull exhibits the behavior change just below 4700 RPM?

[anton74]

Which hull exhibits the behavior change just below 4700 RPM?

VX