John Ford remarked... I know that cruising out there in the open sea is quite a bit different then doing the ICW or even near shore.. But am I looking at similar decreased numbers when I take my boat further offshore? How are most of you measuring your fuel usage?? Daytanks, Floscan, something else? Unfortunately my boat didn't have a Floscan or a Daytank, so I could just look at the tanks in 50 gallon increments which doesn't help me define how much I was using off shore at any point in time. So I guess I'm looking at info on how much I will probably be changing in mileage, and what and how most of you all are using to determine what your burning. Dennis replies... The Nordhavn data I recently submitted (Salty Dawg, N55) was based on digital readouts from the John Deere instrument panel on fuel consumed and engine hours run, combined with gps readings for miles traveled. Admittedly, these are not as accurate as topping off tanks following a major passage. But, when I did a long passage with Peter Pisciotta a couple of years ago we noted no obvious differences in the digital readouts compared with actual fuel needed to refill, so I am fairly confidant in the instrument readings. Perhaps Peter can comment on this, as he has had far more experience, particularly with Nordhavns. Another nice feature of the digital readout is gallons per hour consumed at any given time. An interesting observation. Going out Long Island Sound the seas were very flat and the stabilizers were not needed. Toggling back and forth between stabilizers on and off resulted, consistently, in speed changes of 0.6 mph according to gps readings. This was done several times, over a couple of an hour and the numbers were consistently 6.9 with fins off and 6.3 with fins on. Over a few thousand miles this would be a very impressive figure in terms of fuel burn and total time evolved. Probably no better time than to say "Your mileage might vary". En route to Vermont from FL via automobile to splash Sadie B in northern Lake Champlain. Dennis Bruckel, Cruising Editor Waterway Guide M/V Sadie B, Albin 27 Cell 407 414 0531 Website: www.debruckel.com A man who is not afraid of the sea will be drowned, for he'll be going out on a day when he shouldn't. The Arron Islands, J. M. Synge