Kicker Mileage

[Catigale]

Not a pure Mac question, but related to tenders...

I have a British Seagull nominal 2 HP 1973 Featherweight 2002FF3 kicker motor which I gave a test drive on my daughters Island 17 foot sailboat on Sunday. I had one gallon of mixed gas and filled the tank about halfway. I made a two mile trip down river and almost made it back before the tank was empty, so at least three miles by GPS Assuming I used a quart of gasoline, I make that to be 12 statute miles per US gallon. This seems very high - could this be correct ?? Im new to the world of 2 stroke small kickers so need calibration.

Other details Boat weighs 700 pounds, Abigail plus Dad weigh 250 pounds more. We made 4 mph against tide, and 6.2 with it at full throttle.

[Chip Hindes]

A tender is something made from chicken-like substance which you eat at McDonald's.

If you mean dinghy, smaller motors typically get pretty good mileage. I've never made a long enough trip with my 4HP four stroke on the inflatable to be able to actually measure, but I know mine will run forever on the three gallon dinghy tank, so I would say yours is probably at least typical if not at the lower end of the scale.

Since dinghy motors will probably run most of the time at or near WOT, the poor mileage at part throttle typical of two-strokes won't be as much of a factor as it is with the bigger motors.

Hope you keep your oars handy in case your bottom end repair job decides to let go.

But on the original subject, my old dictionary's definition one for tender is "a ship employed to attend other ships". Though I found other definitions which use the terms dinghy, dink and tender to describe each other, a tender can be hundreds of feet long, but a dinghy is most definitely a small boat.

So, I suppose all boats used to ferry from a larger boat to shore could be called tenders, but many tenders are way too big to be dinghies. Since dinghy or dink more accurately describes the boats we use in tender service, these words are therefore way more correct.

Besides, dinghy and dink are much more fun words to use, and you wouldn't want to confuse people who think you're talkng about those chicken-like substances...

[Catigale]

Thanks for your tender correction of my nautical terms, you have given me more to dink about....

[Pouw Geuzebroek]

Well Catigale, you probably have more European blood then you may think. Tender is the word we use for a dinghy but only if you tow it.

[kmclemore]

Well Catigale, you probably have more European blood then you may think. Tender is the word we use for a dinghy but only if you tow it.

Indeed... that's the way I've heard it referred to as well, Pouw, and we do indeed use that term here in the States, though it is probably not used as often as 'dingy' (also sometimes spelled 'dinghy'). In my own experience I've seen 'tender' used more often by folks who have been in the Navy than from others, so that in some measure explains Chip's understanding of the word 'tender' as being in reference to larger vessels.

However, my understanding of the word 'tender' is not in relation to the size of the vessel, but in relation to it's specific use or purpose - that is to say that a 'tender' is not really a pleasure craft, but instead more of a 'working boat'. So, IMHO if you've got a small boat that's used for fun and for the kids to run-about in, then I'd probably call it a 'dingy'... but if its primary use is for work tasks like repairing the larger vessel or for transporting supplies, groceries or as a taxi, then I'd call it a 'tender'.

We don't really use the word 'dink' around here - perhaps that's a more of regional thing.

Webster Dictionary defines 'tender' as:

Pronunciation: 'ten-d&r
Function: noun
: one that tends : as a (1) : a ship employed to attend other ships (as to supply provisions) (2) : a boat for communication between shore and a larger ship (3) : a warship that provides logistic support b : a car attached to a steam locomotive for carrying a supply of fuel and water

Curiously, Webster doesn't even have a definition for 'dinghy' or 'dingy' as a noun! There are few clear definitions, but here's one that somewhat supports my argument for the 'purpose vs size' argument:

From: http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Dinghy

A dinghy is either a small utility boat used to tend a larger boat, or it is a boat developed from these tenders but now used in its own right as a form of leisure sailing and/or rowing. ( See Dinghy sailing.)

Other definitions found here:

http://powerboat.about.com/library/glos ... tender.htm

http://www.answers.com/topic/dinghy

[Catigale]

Pouw - very few can tell, but Im actually British by birth...came over as a boy in the 60s courtesy of the space race. My father was structural dynamics engineer on Concorde, and the US pulled him over for cold war stuff....so Im part Brit indeed....dont know about european though..



I do live in one of the most Dutch parts of the US...Fort Orange!!!!