The past few years have seen more sailors trade their winch handles for a flybridge, giving up the climbing, lifting, and winching of a sailboat for an easier, faster ride. Could there be a powerboat in your future? Do you see yourself piloting a salty trawler someday? Something easier to handle than your sailboat, but with nice lines and seaworthiness that won't embarrass you? Perhaps a faster, larger twin screw boat that can turn 360 degrees in its own length? Or maybe you're ready to chuck the whole wind blown thing for the thrill of a ski boat? Get out your crystal ball and share your power thoughts here. And don't forget to vote in the Quick Quiz at the bottom of the home page.
- Status
The thought has occurred to me!
The thought has occurred to me more times than one. It usually happens when I am on deck trying to get the main down and secure in a blow or when the sun is sinking on the horizon, the tank is low and the calm is endless. As soon as the wind picks up and we're in the cockpit doing 7 knots it becomes only a fading memory. Jon McClain
The thought has occurred to me more times than one. It usually happens when I am on deck trying to get the main down and secure in a blow or when the sun is sinking on the horizon, the tank is low and the calm is endless. As soon as the wind picks up and we're in the cockpit doing 7 knots it becomes only a fading memory. Jon McClain
Yes . . .
I sold my sailboat this past Fall and am in the process of buying a motorboat. The biggest driver is the ability to go places in a much shorter amount of time. My desires have changed, but I will probably get another sailboat at some point. Regards, Ted
I sold my sailboat this past Fall and am in the process of buying a motorboat. The biggest driver is the ability to go places in a much shorter amount of time. My desires have changed, but I will probably get another sailboat at some point. Regards, Ted
Not a snowball's chance in hell...
Even though the arthritis in my knees is excruciating at times, there is absolutely no way. Instead, I bought a Nonsuch 30 Classic. Cat rig, nice and beamy, a snap to single-hand, and fast to boot! The previous (original) owner sailed it well into his eighties. I plan to exceed that. Cheers, Bob Linkage below to my "under construction" website.
Even though the arthritis in my knees is excruciating at times, there is absolutely no way. Instead, I bought a Nonsuch 30 Classic. Cat rig, nice and beamy, a snap to single-hand, and fast to boot! The previous (original) owner sailed it well into his eighties. I plan to exceed that. Cheers, Bob Linkage below to my "under construction" website.
Is this a trick question?
Do I want my life to speed up on the water? Do I want to add more expense in this part of my life? Sailing as everyone knows is sort of an old fashioned sport, its been around a long time. Its slow, it relies on the wind, a chancy thing at best. You have to constantly watch the wind and adjust sails. If your destination is to windward it could take all day to get there or you may just choose wait another day when the wind is in your favor or to motor sail to windward, a little faster but not much. Hay just think we could all just turn a key like we do in our cars and zip here and there and then zip back. Other than getting caught in traffic and having to smell each others exhaust not to mention the noise, just minor things to have to put up with when you think about it for the chance to get there faster and not have to put up with the getting there. I mean what’s a few hours of bucking over the waves and listening to the engine noise instead of the listening to the waves and sitting in the cockpit talking in a normal voice to our companions or listing to music as we sail. Great idea, in stead of a friendly race with another sailboat like a coupe of turtles seeing which one is less turtlish. We could do some real racing, I’ll bet my cigar boat could peel the paint off yours when I went by--- I mean in a friendly way of course.
Do I want my life to speed up on the water? Do I want to add more expense in this part of my life? Sailing as everyone knows is sort of an old fashioned sport, its been around a long time. Its slow, it relies on the wind, a chancy thing at best. You have to constantly watch the wind and adjust sails. If your destination is to windward it could take all day to get there or you may just choose wait another day when the wind is in your favor or to motor sail to windward, a little faster but not much. Hay just think we could all just turn a key like we do in our cars and zip here and there and then zip back. Other than getting caught in traffic and having to smell each others exhaust not to mention the noise, just minor things to have to put up with when you think about it for the chance to get there faster and not have to put up with the getting there. I mean what’s a few hours of bucking over the waves and listening to the engine noise instead of the listening to the waves and sitting in the cockpit talking in a normal voice to our companions or listing to music as we sail. Great idea, in stead of a friendly race with another sailboat like a coupe of turtles seeing which one is less turtlish. We could do some real racing, I’ll bet my cigar boat could peel the paint off yours when I went by--- I mean in a friendly way of course.
Well Yeah
As soon as I'm too old to get myself up the mast I'll get a trawler and learn new nautical terms: Filler Up!
As soon as I'm too old to get myself up the mast I'll get a trawler and learn new nautical terms: Filler Up!
We broke down (not literally)
This past summer we purchased a side-of-the-road special. For $2,000 we got a nice speed boat (90 HP) with trailer. Reason: Our 6-year-old daughter and her 5 cousins (all girls) wanted to go tubing and skiing. Couldn't do this very well behind the 30-foot sailboat. Turns out we took that little boat out EVERY weekend (whereas the sailboat only left the dock on windy days) and had a blast. We'll never be rid of sailboats but that little ski boat has been a ton of fun. Diesel for the sailbaot over the PAST FOUR YEARS = $85, gas for the powerboat in two weekends = $100.
This past summer we purchased a side-of-the-road special. For $2,000 we got a nice speed boat (90 HP) with trailer. Reason: Our 6-year-old daughter and her 5 cousins (all girls) wanted to go tubing and skiing. Couldn't do this very well behind the 30-foot sailboat. Turns out we took that little boat out EVERY weekend (whereas the sailboat only left the dock on windy days) and had a blast. We'll never be rid of sailboats but that little ski boat has been a ton of fun. Diesel for the sailbaot over the PAST FOUR YEARS = $85, gas for the powerboat in two weekends = $100.
I'm too cheap
I had a sailboat and believed it took too long to get anywhere, so I purchased a small(28'6") express cruiser. It would cruise at around 27 knots with a top speed of 36. Fuel consumption at wot was 37 gallons per hour!!!!!!!! It was ONLY *yks 25 gallons per hour at cruise speed. At 1000 RPM it got a whopping 3 MPG. At 23 knots the boat would fall off plane and speed would drop to about 7 knots. What I am saying here is: It was impossible to maintain a speed between 7 knots and 23 knots. Your choices were 3 MPG at near idle speeds, running in displacement mode, or less than 1.5 MPG at planing speeds of 23 knots or more. At 23 knots, 3 foot seas would jar your teeth out and I had great concern about breaking the hull with all of the pounding. So, when you had the conditions that made you want to run for shelter, you felt compelled to operate at displacement speeds so as to not destroy the boat or bruise the passengers. I boat for pleasure. This doesn't qualify. The biggest benefit of power boat ownership was the new respect I got from the guys at the fuel dock. Fillups were $200 a pop instead of the $20 or $30 that ususlly went into the sailboat. The water pump went out once. AutoZone sold their Big Block Chevy pump for around $40. The marine unit I had to buy cost $230. I sold that boat for about 60 cents on the dollar and was glad to see it go. Am I a power boater? Only, if the 9.8 Tohatsu on my dinghy qualifies me.
I had a sailboat and believed it took too long to get anywhere, so I purchased a small(28'6") express cruiser. It would cruise at around 27 knots with a top speed of 36. Fuel consumption at wot was 37 gallons per hour!!!!!!!! It was ONLY *yks 25 gallons per hour at cruise speed. At 1000 RPM it got a whopping 3 MPG. At 23 knots the boat would fall off plane and speed would drop to about 7 knots. What I am saying here is: It was impossible to maintain a speed between 7 knots and 23 knots. Your choices were 3 MPG at near idle speeds, running in displacement mode, or less than 1.5 MPG at planing speeds of 23 knots or more. At 23 knots, 3 foot seas would jar your teeth out and I had great concern about breaking the hull with all of the pounding. So, when you had the conditions that made you want to run for shelter, you felt compelled to operate at displacement speeds so as to not destroy the boat or bruise the passengers. I boat for pleasure. This doesn't qualify. The biggest benefit of power boat ownership was the new respect I got from the guys at the fuel dock. Fillups were $200 a pop instead of the $20 or $30 that ususlly went into the sailboat. The water pump went out once. AutoZone sold their Big Block Chevy pump for around $40. The marine unit I had to buy cost $230. I sold that boat for about 60 cents on the dollar and was glad to see it go. Am I a power boater? Only, if the 9.8 Tohatsu on my dinghy qualifies me.
Power boating - a past time
I had power boats for about 12 years. Now I am "normal" and have a 30 foot Hunter. A big V8 that I used to have was always a thirsty SOB and if it only burned $200/weekend , I got away cheap. And the noise.... well besides the noise, I could only hear my own thoughts, and definitely, nobodys voices. Now the thinghs are "normal" , I can talk with my guests, listen to the waves and the wind playing a sweet tune on the lines... I toped up the fuel at the end of the season and it was... $8 !!!
I had power boats for about 12 years. Now I am "normal" and have a 30 foot Hunter. A big V8 that I used to have was always a thirsty SOB and if it only burned $200/weekend , I got away cheap. And the noise.... well besides the noise, I could only hear my own thoughts, and definitely, nobodys voices. Now the thinghs are "normal" , I can talk with my guests, listen to the waves and the wind playing a sweet tune on the lines... I toped up the fuel at the end of the season and it was... $8 !!!
Could be
I scratched the racing itch as a young man and for the past 13 years the Admiral and I have focused on coastal cruising. We have our favorite anchorages and like exploring new ones. The journey getting there is still as rewarding as the anchorage itself. The brilliant sunsets from the cockpit and a hot cup of coffee early morning when the dolphins and fish are jumping are the special moments that make sailing our passion. If for some health reasons to me or the Admiral that prohibits us from the physical effort of sailing, given the choice of watching all this from a park bench by water’s edge or having a trawler to take us there, then trawler it is. That’s a no brainer...
I scratched the racing itch as a young man and for the past 13 years the Admiral and I have focused on coastal cruising. We have our favorite anchorages and like exploring new ones. The journey getting there is still as rewarding as the anchorage itself. The brilliant sunsets from the cockpit and a hot cup of coffee early morning when the dolphins and fish are jumping are the special moments that make sailing our passion. If for some health reasons to me or the Admiral that prohibits us from the physical effort of sailing, given the choice of watching all this from a park bench by water’s edge or having a trawler to take us there, then trawler it is. That’s a no brainer...
Why not?
My brother in law has a powerboat (24' cuddy cruiser), and my kids love it. While the high speed ride itself loses appeal for me after a few minutes, I do like being able to reach my destination in a few minutes. It's also just as much fun to hang out in an anchored or docked powerboat. Waterskiing and tubing are also great. If money were no object, I could definitely see having one on the side. However, I can't see changing from a "sailor" to a "boater" for good. I love to sail, and you can't do that on a powerboat.
My brother in law has a powerboat (24' cuddy cruiser), and my kids love it. While the high speed ride itself loses appeal for me after a few minutes, I do like being able to reach my destination in a few minutes. It's also just as much fun to hang out in an anchored or docked powerboat. Waterskiing and tubing are also great. If money were no object, I could definitely see having one on the side. However, I can't see changing from a "sailor" to a "boater" for good. I love to sail, and you can't do that on a powerboat.
Speedy is as speedy does
Warm afternoon, boat is close hauled with about 8 degrees heel, sliding along at 5 knts, lunch in the cockpit, Stevie Nicks strums. Would I trade this for a 30 minute pounding at 30 knts? No. My power boat buds hurry to their destination, blow a lot of $$$ on gas, then sit at the dock and do what I do while I'm under way. I'll sail till I'm too infirm to do otherwise then I'll sell the old tub and look for a dirt suit.
Warm afternoon, boat is close hauled with about 8 degrees heel, sliding along at 5 knts, lunch in the cockpit, Stevie Nicks strums. Would I trade this for a 30 minute pounding at 30 knts? No. My power boat buds hurry to their destination, blow a lot of $$$ on gas, then sit at the dock and do what I do while I'm under way. I'll sail till I'm too infirm to do otherwise then I'll sell the old tub and look for a dirt suit.
Boaters life cycle
Life cycle of boaters Mono Hull (leaner) Catamaran Trawler RV DEAD! just kidding some parts of the life cycle can be skipped. I think I will go straight from Catamran to dead in 50-60 years
Life cycle of boaters Mono Hull (leaner) Catamaran Trawler RV DEAD! just kidding some parts of the life cycle can be skipped. I think I will go straight from Catamran to dead in 50-60 years
How could I?
Sailing - actually trimming the sails, and steering the course is the primary joy of being on the water for us. The destinations are fun but secondary. Any boat is an expensive proposition. So absent the joy of sailing, we would just book ferry rides to watery destinaitons. Actually, though we would spend more time at a vacation island in the Thousand Islands of the St' Lawrence River. We intend to spend the money to have a sailboat that fits our capabilities until we just can't crawl aboard any more! Finally, I don't like power boats. The represent loud, jarring passages with minimum ability to observe the world around us while expending unbelievable amounts of fuel. All IMHO. David Lady Lillie
Sailing - actually trimming the sails, and steering the course is the primary joy of being on the water for us. The destinations are fun but secondary. Any boat is an expensive proposition. So absent the joy of sailing, we would just book ferry rides to watery destinaitons. Actually, though we would spend more time at a vacation island in the Thousand Islands of the St' Lawrence River. We intend to spend the money to have a sailboat that fits our capabilities until we just can't crawl aboard any more! Finally, I don't like power boats. The represent loud, jarring passages with minimum ability to observe the world around us while expending unbelievable amounts of fuel. All IMHO. David Lady Lillie
That's how my boat got it's name
My power boat friends at the marina used to tease me about how long it would take me to get someplace in my h366. I would always tell them it's not in the destination, it's in the journey. Hence the name "The Journey". I sold the boat last fall and have a h44 on order, due to arrive late March. It's name is already picked out "The Journey Continues..." Brian
My power boat friends at the marina used to tease me about how long it would take me to get someplace in my h366. I would always tell them it's not in the destination, it's in the journey. Hence the name "The Journey". I sold the boat last fall and have a h44 on order, due to arrive late March. It's name is already picked out "The Journey Continues..." Brian
- Status