Atomic 4 fuel consumption?

A friend of mine has just become the new owner of a 1975 E-35 (Mk 1? Mk 11?)
His name is Tony. He has not joined here yet (not a big computer/internet guy) but I am trying to get him joined up here as it is a fantastic resource, especially for a new owner.
I went over to check the boat out yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. Although very basic (no bells/whistles) it was very clean and well cared for. It has a well maintained and recently serviced A4. It starts and runs like a watch. While my experience with small diesels in displacement hulls tells me that a well running diesel will consume a little more than 1/2 gal per hour per knot of boat speed in a comparable sailboat in light coastal conditions, is this a good estimate for a gas A4 in an E-35? I am thinking it sucks a good bit more? I havent had any experience with an A4 since my teens and I dont remember.

And we are finally getting some summer in San Diego!
John

The rule of thumb I have heard for years for gas engines is about double the thirst of a diesel.
So, maybe about a gallon per hour.
Loren

I agree with one gallon per hour. I confirmed this by running out of gas my first big trip with the boat after being told consumption was 2/3 gal/hr. Since then, my refill amounts and engine hour meter have confirmed the one gallon per hour figure.

Paul
E29 "Bear"

Don Moyer sez:

* An Atomic 4 in reasonably good condition can conservatively cruise at 5.5 knots, burning 1.0 gallons per hour.

* If you can cut your fuel consumption to 0.75 gallons per hour (quite easy to do with an adjustable main jet), you can motor for 1.33 hours for each gallon of fuel, which represents an increase in cruising range of 33%.

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=707

Above estimates match what I recall of our experiences with our old E32. A little less than a gallon an hour for cruising speed, and adding the adjustable main jet easily saved us 20%+ in fuel. Easy to install and adjust as well.

Now if only I could get an adjustable main jet for our diesel....

Thanks for the info on the jet Jeff. I'll look into it.

Paul
E29 "Bear"

On our E35-II (1976) I use the 1 gal/hr figure when motoring at 5.5-6k as my planning/fuel load estimator. In actuality we come in a bit lower on average. We have not noticed a significant difference between a 3 blade metal Indigo prop and the 2 blade plastic CDI prop.

Good luck Paul, I don't even have a A-4 but I had read other posts that talked about the jet adjustment where other's have had success with it. My little 8hp Yanmar burns a little over a quart and hour and I don't motor that much. So my problem is just keeping my fuel fresh. I have not topped off the tank all summer, trying to burn up the old stuff. I will say this about the A-4's, they are a lot quieter than my one lung diesel. It seems like http://www.moyermarine.com is the best place to get answers on A-4's.

A4 E27 Fuel consumption

Last summer my E27 with gas A4 in great shape when run at approx 1100rpm at about 3kts it consumed 0.45gph. 5kts was about .62gph. Avg over summer was approx 0.48gph. Rarely used engine except for anchoring or when the wind completely died at night. Still want to carry around a 5ga Jerry jug though because I don't have a fuel gauge on my tank.