Trade-A-Boat — February 2018

From rest we jumped out of the

hole and accelerated purposefully

to a fastest run of just over 43kts

(6000rpm) where the injectors were

sucking down the fuel mix at 91lt/h for

a theoretical range of 182nm from the

425lt tank.

Best economy was at 3500rpm

where fuel burn measured 32lt/h at

24.5kts and a range of almost 300nm.

I’m impressed.

A 7kt troll came up at 2100rpm and

13lt/h. Of course, with all of these

calculations you need to factor in

the oil, which mixes from a remote

reservoir at an average of about 1:8

ratio. (The computer adjusts oil use as

needed). So at a 3500rpm cruise, you

should travel approximately 25nm

and consume 32lt/h. At that speed, for

every 100nm expect to use 1.6lt of oil at

about $20 to $25 a litre.

THE PERFORMANCE
On the Caribbean 2300 test boat, the
single 300 performed faultlessly. From
first kick in the morning, right through
thespeedtrialsandsimulated

trolling runs, there wasn’t a whiff of

oil. At low speeds, engine noise was a

throaty induction growl, which rose

to a relatively noisy exhaust note at

anything above a slow cruise.

“But colour is only skin deep, so it

better pack a solid punch if it wants

to live up to its striking looks”

There is no question the 300 E-TEC

Gen 2 is a gutsy performer and is

matched well to the big Caribbean.

Low-down torque is hard to beat,

and fuel use is impressive against

some of its four-stroke opposition.

tradeboats.com.au 129

Sea Trials

Single 300hp Evinrude E-TEC G2.

RPM SPEED (KTS) FUEL BURN (LT/H) RANGE (NM)

500 1.7 1 650

1000 4.1 2.8 559

1500 5.8 6.3 351

2000 6.7 12 213

2500 9.3 20 177

3000 14.5 25 221

3500 24.5 32 292

4000 30 41.4 276

4500 33 47 268

5000 37 60 235

5500 41.7 76 209

6000 43.4 91 182

*Sea-trial data supplied by the author. Calculations derived using 10 per cent fuel

reserve.