[jergofish]

I now have 20 hours on my engine and have gathered some numbers on performance and fuel usage. (The boat is equipped with a Lowrance 337 GPS/Sonar and I added the EP-10 fuel meter, cheap at $49.00)

Engine - Suzuki 175 big block 4 stroke, 14.75x23 stainless prop

1800 RPM 6mph 1.0 gallons per hour
3500 RPM 24mph 4.9 gallons per hour
4000 RPM 29mph 6.9 gallons per hour
5900 RPM 45mph 14.0 gallons per hour

5900 RPM is Wide Open Throttle

I'm really pleased. I had my fingers crossed that I could stay under 5.0 GPH and it looks like I'm OK. My average fishing day usually consists of 1 1/2 hours cruising and maybe another hour at idle. The rest of the time I'm being pulled by the trolling motor. I should be able to stay under ten gallons per trip.

I found that the Minnkota 80AP trolling motor will pull me at 4 mph. I have no clue how long the batteries will last. I operated them for five hours one day and the battery meter still showed 75% charge!