Steve Norton (left) and Graham Brown are not about to give up their boats. Photo / Richard Robinson
Smarting from a 5c-a-litre fuel rise yesterday afternoon, Auckland boaties at Westhaven vowed to be more gentle on the throttle as they headed out for the Hauraki Gulf islands.
Steve Norton was refuelling his new 8.53-metre Mustang sports cruiser at Oram's Marine Village when he learned of the
latest price rise. It meant the cost of filling the boat's 300-litre petrol tank had gone up to $536.
"I'm certainly aware of the need for economy - I run Buckland's Truck Services and fuel price rises have affected my customers ... They put off having maintenance work for longer."
But Mr Norton said he had upgraded from a vessel with a smaller engine. He felt the pleasure of his new boat and the ability to stay onboard overnight was worth it compared with towing a smaller craft on a trailer and paying for accommodation.
"A tank full gives 10 hours' cruising at 20 knots [37km/h] - enough to get to Great Barrier Island and back."
As a fuel-efficiency measure, Mr Norton said he had installed a $250 fuel meter to the vessel's electronics instrument panel to measure fuel flows and adjust the craft's trim according to speed and conditions.
On the other side of the pier, Graham Brown was pumping diesel into his 13.1m Aquila-built launch.
Diesel is now 133.9c a litre and the tank holds 1000 litres to feed the twin 350hp (261kW) engines, which would burn 120 litres an hour if the craft was at full speed of 25 knots (46 km/h).
Mr Brown recalled diesel was only 50c a litre when he bought his vessel in 2000. He believed the only real fuel efficiency measures were "keep your engine well tuned and just go slower".
Boaties were already being offered more-fuel-efficient engines, such as the common rail diesel motors as used in cars.
At the boat ramp, more boaties frowned at the rising costs but none said they would sell up and buy a kayak. The cost of filling a 5.5m outboard craft with a 150-litre tank is now about $275.
