Introduction and ? on fuel economy of older Carver

A

Allegra25

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2010
RO Number
32097
Messages
4
Hello everyone - I've been lurking for some time reading all the great posts from everyone, and I'm looking for some info that maybe someone has and can share.

In reading several posts about general fuel economy of some older Carvers, but I'm having a hard time relating the info to my Carver, which is the somewhat rare beast: 1989 2587 Allegra. I say rare because I can find little information about it and they only made them for 2 years I believe. The Carver has the single 454 big block with a Bravo 1 drive

We recently moved the boat to our new marina on Lake Michigan. Previously we were on a system of small inland lakes and we never could take trips. Now that we are on the big lake we want to take weekend trips, and some basic info would be great so we can help determine a baseline of fuel economy. I have sent my request to Carver support, but haven't heard anything yet, so I thought I would try here. The posts that I've read show great info with various fuel data vs various engine RPMS.

Thanks in advance for the assistance!
 
Welcome to the forum. As to your question about economy on the 25 Allegra, I would say with a single big block, you will be in the 10 to 12 GPH range at cruise of 3200 to 3400 rpm. I had a 2557 Montego with the same hull with a 454 Volvo Duo Prop and achieved the above numbers. The Allegra is a tad lighter so you may do slightly better, but not much...plus you have a single prop drive instead of a twin prop drive.
 
Hi Roger, let my lend my voice to that of Kenny's welcoming you to the forum :)!!! And to put in a plug for my friend here - Kenny is a terrific expert on Carvers and is very generous with his time here on BoaterEd. I'm glad he was able to give you a quick response...

And good luck with that boat!!! The Allegra is indeed rare and only was made for a couple of years, but it has the Carver pedigree and besides, once it gets to 25 years old its a collectors item, right? Everybody has Sea Ray Sundancers, YOU have the most interesting boat on the dock, my friend ;)...

Thanks again for no longer being a lurker and joining the ranks of the participants!!!
 
First of all, welcome to the Carver Owners Forum. You will find a wealth of knowledge and experience available to you concerning your Carver.

With the age of your boat being what it is, performance information from Carver would probably not be very accurate. Over time boats go through so many changes and upgrades that effect performance that every boat is virtually unique to itself.

For a base line fuel number the best thing to do it fill it up, travel a known distance and then fill it up again and do the math. Then go from there and keep a fuel log to build your own data base.

Again, welcome and keep us posted as you learn your boat. Share what you learn with us.

Bob
 
Thanks to all for the info as well as welcoming me to the forum. I appreciate you taking the time to respond!

We took a trip this weekend of about 100 miles (roundtrip). For the trip up, we went around 3400 RPM (GPS speed ~9.5), and the trip back was much faster...averaged 4400 RPM (GPS speed ~24). The fuel spend was about the same for each leg, which is odd in itself....but in case you didn't see my return trip using 4400 RPM, I clearly have other odd things going on.

The manual lists some general performance info, using the specified prop, to have a WOT speed of around 44 MPH at around 4600-4700 RPM's, and I was actually a tad over 4900 RPM's at one time when my hand slipped. :) So, I think some investigation into the TAC being off would be good. I'll also need to check the prop to see what is currently installed. As this weekend suggests I'm propped incorrectly size wise.

I'm also planning on picking up a Garmin GFS 10 fuel sensor to interface with the chart plotter to get much better fuel data. The total fuel used for the trip was around 90-100 gallons, which isn't bad but I'd like to KNOW what I should be using on the water before I plan another trip. Gas prices are much cheaper this year, but a $350 experiment on fuel economy wasn't so much fun!!

So again, thanks to everyone for the info and welcoming me to the forum. I'm sure you will hear from me again and again!
 
BTW Pete - I loved the line about having the most interesting boat on the dock! I've actually heard that several times meeting the other folks in the slip this season. Although we have several Carvers in our row of docks, I'm being introduced something along the lines of "This is Roger he has that Carver...."

:)
 
9.5 is too fast for economy. best economy will probably be with the bow completely down.
 
Thanks for the input Bruce. I would agree that 9.5 seems high for absolute best (if not theoretically speaking) economy. In my original post, I was looking for suggested speeds/info to use on our 1st trip and Kenny suggested a RPM range for the same hull - and I was merely reporting back on what it gave me. Along the way I think I've discovered issues that don't quite add up.

That said, once I do get good data, then I can develop a baseline for my specific boat, and can plan future trips. I doubt I will want to spend a 100 mile run at hull speed when I can get there quicker while burning the minimum of fuel....if I'm going for max distance obviously that is a different topic all together.
 
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