Viking Star Refueling Kit

It is that time of year again, time to fill up the tanks!  Carrying 500 gallons of fuel gives us a lot of flexibility in when to fuel and typically we look for a dip in prices throughout the year.  This year though we had to miss the biggest dip as I wanted the tanks drawn down during the Haul Out.   So we pushed it off a bit, and in the end were able to get for perhaps $0.40 off of the summer peak price.  Even so, when taking on almost 400 gallons of fuel - some preparation and supplies are needed.

Spud wrench to pull the fuel caps, oil absorb pads to contain the spittle while fueling.  Kristi monitors the fuel tank guages, we typically fill up to 90% of capacity (though this year we topped them off in preparation for the winter heating season).  A good Scotch, and appropriate glass for after, Log Book to record it all, and then The Bill...

We took on 386.566 gallons this time (really, they measure this stuff to the 1,000th of a gallon now?).  An amount that surely will impact our Cost to Cruise.  However, this will cover us for the winter and into Spring.  In a future post I will do a breakdown of fuel usage Motoring, Electricity, Heating and update our comparison to the national average for Energy Consumption.  As well as recalculate the GPH burn rate for the main motor (The last figure of 0.88GPH seems great, but is to be honest a bit unbelievable)

And finally adding nearly 4,000lbs of weight to the boat always help her settle in and give a better ride during less than 'glossy' water.  Something Kristi, Felix and even I always enjoy and just in time for this weekend's storm fronts that will FINALLY make it into the area.  Goodbye Summer.