Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Sabre fuel consumption
Hi guys. I have a 15 Sabre with a 175 ProXS. Specs detail that I have a 33 gallon fuel tank. During a tourny Sat night, I ran a total of probably 10 miles. I added 11 gallons before fishing that took my tank from 1/2 to a smidget below full. I ran out an actual half a tank during Tourny. I never took my RPMs above 5400 as Im still breaking the motor in. I dont like to let my fuel get below 1/4 tank. Is the lower end of the fuel cell where the bulk of the fuel is located? Any Sabre owner have the same issue? If if anyone needs more info please feel free to ask. Any help would be great
Gas gauges are notoriously inaccurate. Have you checked the sight window under the seat? A 175 should burn approx. 17.5 gals wide open in an hour, but it is fairly easy to get about 4 1/2 mpg around 4,500 rpm or so. You probably only used about 3 or so gal during the tourney.
I hope your right. This has been an issue since I purchased her 4 months ago. I didnt realize that there was a sight glass under the seat, or I dont remember seeing one.
Sabreski, I do not have a sight window under either seat or my center step
I would think that the fuel efficiency will improve after the break in period is over. I wouldnt be overly concerned until then. If you want to get a more accurate idea of your consumption, just fill the tank all the way, then try to make a good note of all of your moves throughout the day, then refuel on your way home. Some lakes can really fool you because youre traveling a lot farther than it seems. I almost learned that lesson the hard way in a tournament a couple years ago. Probably ran a total of 50-60 miles in 10-12 stops and I didnt fill up before the tournament. At the time, I wouldve guessed less than 30 miles total.
The sight window is actually not under the seat but is betwen your legs about 6 inches off the floor.
Newer EPA Tanks are not sight friendly due to black interior non permeable coatings. Usually you get 30 gallons in the tank and it is possible that the pickup is not reaching into the sump. The tank manufacturer staff has been known on occasion to reduce length from spec. and we do not check that part. We think you have a short pickup tube. There also are some Attwood Opacity Valves that are too long and restrict the amount of fuel you can add. Check the gallons to top when filling please. This could even be both a wrong pickup and a wrong Opacity valve which is going to limit top and bottom fuel levels. This does sound like your issue. NexSysLink and SmartCraft gauges should be extremely accurate as they are digital operating.
Digital gauges may be very accurate , but if youre converting an analog signal to digital , the accuracy of the gauge can only be as good as the analog part of the system . — I suspect the float arm is incorrectly manufactured , if they still use an analog sender . — My 99 Classic would read empty when I still had 6 gallons in the tank , and full when I added 12 more , which is actually just more than half full at 18 gallons . ( 33 gallon tank ) — I removed the sending unit to adjust the float level , but the float arm is too short to obtain an accurate representation of the fuel level throughout the travel of the sending unit . — Ive got it as close as it can be , but it still isnt ” accurate ” — My recommendation is to fill it up and figure your fuel use at 18 G.P.H. ( 3.6 M.P.G. @ 65 M.P.H. ) — Actual usage should be less , as you probably dont run wide open all of the time , but this will give you a buffer to work within . — Hoss
The WEMA sender is a donut with a coil inside a tube sensing magnetic readings, not a coil wand style sender. The accuracy is not where it was on original WEMA senders, it is still reasonably accurate and most are spot on. You can replace the Rochester style arm sending units with floats, with the newer style WEMA sender. The WEMA sender was a purchased part, once bought from the original design manufacturer. Today they are a manufactured part by WEMA with some limited changes, which is why they are not as accurate as they were. Last edited by Bass Cat Boats on July 14th, 2016, 11:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
My Sabre seems to take forever from full to 3/4, then 3/4 to 1/4 takes no time. Not really sure about below 1/4 but when it starts getting to where it will hit that 1/4 mark Ill fill her back up again. I dont want to risk sucking something up in the fuel lines. At 1/4 I can usually put around 20-24 gallons in it, so Im assuming on my gauge I still have 5-10 gallons or so remaining but I dont push it. And I dont trust gas gauges on boats especially. No offense BCB…left stranded one too many times hoping a troller gets me in.One thing I do like is with the SmartCraft Gauges it shows gallons used. I dont know how accurate it really is as I havent put it to the test yet with topping it off completely and refilling to see how close it is but it will show the amount of fuel used and I reset it when adding fuel as well.Purchased new 5/4/15Bass Cat Sabre Vision EliteMercury Pro XS 150MotorGuide 75lb Tour EditionHumminbird – Stock (will be changing soon I hope)
© 2026 Bass Cat Boats

