RPM/Speed efficiences

[Petemait]

We are preparing for a boating trip on our 1983 Riviera 2807 this coming week. Single screw 454 Crusader.

Due to the issues weve had with the boat in the past, i havnt had much time to play around with speeds too much to figure out what is most efficient. This past weekend we cruised at about 8 knots at 2000 rpm.
I also cruised a bit at 2300 rpms- about 10 knots.

Can anyone offer any experience or knowledge with this? We are cruising from the boston area down to cape cod and will probably cover a couple hundred miles during the trip.

Thanks!

[km1125]

I doubt at either of those speeds you're on plane. The 8kt speed will result in much better economy than the 10kt, as you're pushing a lot of water at that speed. If you can step up on plane and back down to about 14kts and still be on plane it'd probably be your best economy. If it starts falling off plane you might need to go just a bit faster.

I usually got best cruising around 3000-3200RPMs, but all boats are a little different.

[Petemait]

Thank you KM. Also, my friend had the same advice about the distributor advance etc. Took the boat out after fixing it, got it on plane and it ran great. Feeling much more comfortable now going a little faster on the boat. Will try getting the boat on plane then backing it down as much as i can with it still on plane.