Suzuki/Garmin national promotion

One of the most popular questions at boat shows when talking about engines is "how many litres per hour will it use?"  It is the hardest question to answer accurately because there are so many variables, for example, what type of hull, mono or catamaran? What length? What weight? Planing or displacement? Fibreglass, Aluminium or Poly? Variable deadrise or deep vee? How were you driving during that hour? What were the sea conditions like? As such, Suzuki staff will always direct you to a web site or some printed tests so you can see how the engines performed on similar vessels… but just as a guide only.

The 2011 boat shows saw an extremely popular promotion run by Suzuki Marine rewarding the purchase of a Suzuki outboard at the show with an upgrade from a standard rigging kit to Garmin interfaced electronics. The interfaced electronics communicate directly with the engine and report in real time on fuel usage and other crucial engine data.

Not wanting to restrict a good idea this promotion has now gone national for Australia and New Zealand and is available at any Suzuki Marine dealership during the month of September. The beauty of the Garmin electronics is that they answer the ‘litres per hour’ question with total accuracy.  They also answer the really important question of ‘nautical miles per hour’ by combining fuel usage with GPS speed. This shows your boats efficiency at covering distance rather than time. Therefore, as time goes on, the database gets bigger and personal experience of the fuel consumption is more wide spread.

One of the water-based emergency services in Queensland has been running Suzuki/Garmin and have been amazed at the accuracy. It is necessary for these services to know the exact running costs and range of their vessels at any point in time so they accurately monitor fuel usage outside of the claims of the electronics. 

As well as the benefits of knowing how little fuel you are using there are important safety benefits from having an accurate fuel reading. Many boaties suffer the inaccurate gauges and base decisions on guesstimates based on the litres per hour question, their experience with the engine and how many litres they put in at the servo that morning. Not too much of a drama if you are skiing on a dam in circles but probably more of a concern if you are heading offshore for the day. The Suzuki can deliver your range based on how you are driving, your average litres per hour and much more including water temperature, depth and position (with relevant sensors). All from a full colour display. The Garmin upgrade is one step further toward creating a better boating experience.

For full details of the promotion or to find out more on the Suzuki range go to www.thehainesgroup.com