The Dark Side

sailingdog · May 5, 2009

Well... gas prices have been rising... and Memorial Day isn't yet here... so, they wll probably go up quite a bit more by then.

Ross · May 5, 2009

In our marina several powerboaters have simply quit. They had their boats hauled and docked on the hard and have not paid their summer slip fees. None of the sail boaters have followed that route.

Cpt. Jon · May 5, 2009

I have boat a powerboat (center console fishing boat) and sailboat. They both serve their purposes in my opinion, so I don't really get the whole "stinkpot" stigma thing. I have a neighbor with a cigarette boat that costs a fortune to run, he's maybe 30 and maybe the whole miami vice thing is cool, but I don't know how he does it to be honest, it must cost around $80/hr when he's running. I was sailing the other day and a sailboat under motor power wouldn't yield to my right of way, I figured afterwards since he was motoring and had all kinds of 'honky tonk' flying from his standing rigging that he was probably a converted motorboater and hasn't learned to sail. As he passed so close to us I could have probably high fived the guy he said something I still to this day don't get... he said, "you had me in two feet of water"... we were in the middle of the river and channel, the 79 yr old PO of our new boat and I just couldn't figure it out. He (in a sailboat) was just as bad as any motorboat I have ever come across.

petersea · May 6, 2009

I think that even if someone would be thinking of going to the "DARK SIDE " they would have to sell the rag bag boat before going stink pot but there is no boat market right now for any type of boat. I have to think there were never that many "converts" when fuel got expensive (very small percentage) because more they likely they were not able to sell there power boat. So any one who did most likely has two boats or had unlimited funds and is now boat poor. Just my thoughts......

Mike B · May 6, 2009

He may not have been familiar with the area and thought he was in shallow water and therefore restricted in his draft. What seems like a lot of water to one person may not to another.

Steve Kamp · May 6, 2009

Do you REALLY think the price of liquid fuels is going to be stable or relatively low?
Consider the actions and inactions being taken by Congress and the administration regarding Cap and Trade, offshore drilling, biofuels, coal fired electrical plants, etc., and then factor in what is going to happen to taxes, inflation , and personal income.

RECESS · May 6, 2009

I think it has an effect on the 'boatless' population. A friend was trying to talk his wife into buying a powerboat a few years ago. He then went to trying to talk her into a sailboat when gas prices went up. He is back to power boat dreaming again.

Ron20324 · May 6, 2009

RECESS;623870 A friend was trying to talk his wife into buying a powerboat a few years ago. He then went to trying to talk her into a sailboat when gas prices went up. He is back to power boat dreaming again.[/quote said:
In Annapolsi we call those who switch to the Dark Side, or between types of boats, "Transvesselites". Them Estport Oyster Boys.

MoonSailer · May 6, 2009

Some sail boat drivers are on the dark side. Many days with good winds and nice weather I have observed power boaters driving sail boats!!!! IMHO it is not a sailboat if the sails are down and the motor is running. It is just a powerboat with a useless stick. Sail more motor less!!!!

Ross · May 6, 2009

Fuel costs like all other commodities will always be market driven. When the price gets too high people stop buying. it is a fundamental law of supply and demand.

Scup · May 6, 2009

"Benchmark crude for June delivery rose 4.6 percent, or $2.50, to settle at $56.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the highest close since mid-November." Posted today at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-prices-jump-to-new-high-apf-15149868.html?.v=10

My guess: >$3.00/gal by Memorial Day.

I can only hope, since my S2 7.3 is for sale (in the classifieds).

SoSound · May 7, 2009

trawler fuel consumption

My neighbor has a Grand Banks 42 with twin diesels, we were talking last night, and he uses about 4.5 gph with a capacity of about 600 gallons. It may cost a small fortune to fill it up, but that's about the same consumption rate as my Duramax diesel pickup on the interstate - and his trawler is a whole lot more comfortable to spend the night on!

Dave

druid · May 8, 2009

When I had my Catalina 36, I considered going to a powerboat. Not a speedboat (uses WAY too much fuel!), but a nice diesel trawler.... then I realized I already have one! So I put in a bigger engine...

I rarely motor when there's wind, but any realist will tell you sailors on the BC Coast are motoring at least 70% of the time. And with the right motor, sailboats DO make excellent trawlers!

druid

Chuckbear · May 8, 2009

Bad Obsession said:
Hrm....I guess that I will just say Wow to that comment. I would hate to have to motor 70% of the time. That just seems like too much to deal with. The Chesapeake Bay gets stale from time to time but I try to get where I am not in a big bloody hurry. I try to only motor when I have to but I do hate drifting backward with the current. I figure that if I have all day and I am doing 2-3 knots, then I will eventually make a 30 mile day by the time it gets dark! LOL

Being out for a day sail is one thing but doing some serious cruising is quite another. On a one year cruise we traveled from Florida through the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos, Hispaniola, the south coast of Cuba and back to the Florida Keys. In that time we actually sailed the boat a total of five days. We could have sat at an anchorage and waited for weeks for the right wind or rolled in the swells for days and days or we could fire up the engine and get to our next cruising spot. That is just a fact of cruising and not all that unusual. BTW, We recently sold the sailboat and bought a trawler. Chuck