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BoatCruiser / SailCruiser / NavCruiser Pro have many tools to aid the planning phase of a trip. Among the more advanced planning features offered is the Fuel Calculator. When properly configured, the program can give you an estimate of the fuel required to complete a given route. These estimates are made from sample data entered by the captain and shoud be considered as quidelines only.
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In
order to configure the program to display fuel information on a planned route,
fuel consumption information is required for a given vessel. This information
is likely available for popular classes of motors and is best gained from personal
experience and a captain's knowledge of the vessel. Once the information is
compiled, it can be entered into the program's Fuel Calculator and used to plan
excursions.
To enter the information into BoatCruiser / SailCruiser / NavCruiser Pro, locate the My Boat icon on the Chart View . Right click on the boat to and click "Boat Properties" from the Context Menu. The Boat Properties dialog will appear, displaying a host of information about the boat. Scrolling to the bottom of this page will display the Fuel Calculator. The calculator is initially displayed as a blank chart containing no data. The default units for the graph are knots for the x-axis and Gallons per hour for the y-axis. Right-clicking on these scales allows for the changing of these units.
In
order to enter information into this chart, mouse over the white area of the
chart. A tooltip 
will appear to show the current position (knots, Gallons per hour) of the cursor
in the units displayed on the x- and y- axes. Bring the mouse to a known point
of fuel consumption, right-click, and click "Insert". This enters
a point at the desired location. As more points are entered, BoatCruiser interpolates
between the points to get a more accurate picture of fuel consumption for the
vessel. Similar to inserting points, data can be deleted using the "Delete"
entry in the context menu.
As an alternative to method of graphical entry, a spreadsheet-like view of the data can be used. To access this view, right-click on the graphical fuel display and select Switch View. This displays the data in a tabular format. To enter another set of values, click on an * in the table and type the value into the cell. Existing values can also be modified in this fashion.
The Fuel Consumption context menu also provides for the copying and printing of the fuel data. These options allow the captain to export fuel consumption information for use in other programs.
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Once Fuel Consumption information has been entered for a vessel, the fuel usage information for all routes is displayed in the routes properties. Double clicking on a route or right-clicking on a route and selecting "Properties" from the Route Context Menu will display information for the selected route. This data is also available for a selected route through the "User Objects" tab of the Properties layout control. The image below shows the available information for a sample route. The fuel consumption is listed here along with various other details.
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