3/5 Michael H. 5 years ago on Google • 15 reviews
Our
recent
1
week
charter
experience
with
the
Greenline33
motoryacht
“Tawny”
of
FeelDouro
was
somewhat
bipolar:
On
the
one
hand:
the
boat
was
well
equipped
and
comfortable,
the
journey
on
the
Douro
up
to
Foz
do
Sabor
and
back
was
marvelous,
the
suggested
itinerary
worked
well
and
the
FeelDouro
personnel
was
overall
very
friendly.
On
the
other
hand:
- When
one
morning
we
had
a
technical
emergency
(the
engine
didn’t
start)
none
of
the
emergency
numbers
given
responded.
We
solved
the
issue
in
the
end
by
calling
fellow
travelers
that
we
had
exchanged
numbers
with,
who
handed
their
phone
over
to
a
FeelDouro
skipper
that
was
nearby
- When
we
returned
the
“Tawny”
on
the
last
Friday
evening,
FeelDouro
staff
filled
up
the
tank
of
the
boat
with
a
total
of
224l
and
declared
this
to
be
our
total
consumption
for
the
rental.
I
directly
expressed
my
astonishment
at
such
a
high
consumption
for
the
33
machine
hours
we
had
had
(way
higher
than
the
4l/hr.
that
we
had
expected
based
on
FeelDouro’s
information
material),
but
trusted
their
word
that
this
was
-
albeit
unusually
high
-
possible
and
paid
the
fuel
bill
of
348€
to
the
Marina.
When
I
returned
to
the
boat,
however,
the
issue
kept
nagging
at
me
and
I
started
to
investigate
it
thoroughly,
coming
quickly
to
the
conclusion
that
a
consumption
of
approx.
7l
for
the
33
machine
hrs.
and
roughly
350
river
km
on
our
trip
was
impossible,
basically
for
2
reasons:
1)
When
we
were
handed
over
the
boat,
the
fuel
meter
showed
roughly
3/4.
We
were
told
that
this
was
normal
and
that
the
meter
never
showed
full
despite
the
tank
being
fully
replenished.
When
I
switched
the
engine
on
after
having
paid
the
fuel
bill,
however,
the
fuel
gauge
showed
almost
full
–
so
the
tank
could
not
have
really
been
full
when
we
were
handed
over
the
boat
2)
Following
FeelDouro’s
briefing
advice
regarding
the
most
efficient
speed
for
the
engine,
we
always
kept
a
cruising
speed
of
between
2.000
and
2.500
rpm,
gaining
max.
speeds
of
around
7
knts
@
2.500
and
never
going
at
higher
speeds
that
would
justify
a
significantly
higher
consumption
than
the
4l
per
machine
hr.
that
FeelDouro
states
in
their
information
material
(and
that
are
fully
ratified
by
the
manufacturer,
who
proudly
attributes
this
efficient
consumption
to
the
special
hull
design).
Times
and
distances
of
our
schedule
indicate
an
average
speed
that
corroborates
that.
When
we
complained,
FeelDouro
basically
played
deaf
to
our
arguments
and
insisted
that
the
published
4ltrs/hr
were
only
achievable
under
unrealistic
optimal
conditions.
In
the
end,
after
some
unpleasant
back
and
forth,
they
gave
us
a
refund
of
70€,
leaving
us
with
a
final
fuel
bill
of
278€
for
the
week
–
still
78€
higher
than
what
we
had
to
expect.
So,
clear
advice
to
potential
customers:
make
sure
the
tank
is
really
full
when
you
take
over
the
boat
and
take
a
picture
of
both
the
fuel
gauge
and
of
the
machine
hours
counter!
