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Mark Borgerson

In article ,
says...

On Fri, 11 Mar 2011 11:28:09 -0800, Mark Borgerson
wrote:

In article , jessicab47
says...

On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 22:39:40 -0800, Mark Borgerson
wrote:
SNIP

Well... an Endeavour 42 IS a bit more upmarket then a ferrocement
boat, usually :-)

Those things are so S-L-O-W! (and ugly)

S-L-O-W and ugly are relative. Are you in such a big hurry that the
difference between 4Kt and 6Kt makea a big difference?

Mark Borgerson

I just did a simple calculation... say you wanted to go 1000 miles,
1000m/6mph = 7 days vs. 1000m/4mph = 10 days. This seems like a big
difference to me, but what do I know.

I guess I agree that ugly is relative.

That's a valid point for open ocean cruising. The faster voyage will
also reduce the supplies you have to carry. Of course, you can take
the speed thing a bit too far and end up with a boat that will be
dangerous in moderately heavy weather---particularly if operated
with a small crew.

I was think more of coastal cruising, particularly in trawler
yachts. In those boats, I often cruise at about 3 to 5 knots
as opposed to the 8 to 9 that the boat will do at full cruise.
The result is that I spend 5 hours a day between anchorages
instead of 2.5 and use less than half the fuel I would if traveling
the same distance at the faster speed. The scenery looks just
as nice and the boat is a lot quieter. I get twice the time to
react to floating logs and other hazards.

Of course, the cruising I do here in the Pacific Northwest
is a bit different than that in Florida and the Caribbean.
The basic principles here a

1. If the weather is nice there won't be enough wind
to sail (80% of the sailboats I see have their engine
running.)

2. When the weather is rainy enough to have some wind,
the wind will be coming down the fjord when you are
going up, and vice-versa.

3. The current is always against you--and generally
over 2 knots.

4. If you insist on sailing, you will not make it
through Dodd Narrow on this afternoon's slack.

5. Ferry boat skippers will generally not run
over sailboats waiting for wind. But they will
surely be unhappy.

6. Gill nets are REALLY hard to see at 5 knots in
good weather. If there's enough wind to sail at
7 knots, there is a good probability that you will
really **** off some fisherman because you won't
see the net until you are too close. I saw some
really exciting jibes and tacks North of Campbell
river last summer.

If your goal is to go long distances, or to spend as much
time as possible at anchor, by all means, get the fastet
boat you can afford! ;-)

Mark Borgerson

Even off shore very few cruising yachts can average 5 k for an entire
trip (we are assuming a boat that the average man can afford :-). That
would be 144 mile days and something to brag about at the pub. The
usual average is more in the 100 mile per day region, or sometimes
less :-)

Here in the Northwest an 80-mile day in a trawler yacht is doing
pretty good. That usually means 10 hours at 8 knots. Over
a 10-hour period, you can occasionally get the current to
be with you for at least part of the time. Still, averaging
8 knots SOG is pretty good--even if a bit costly on fuel.

Most cruisers here are relucant to sail in the dark, and
almost all charter companies forbid it. The hazards from
floating debris and deadheads (semi-submerged floating logs)
make fast passages at night pretty risky. If you're going
to try to roll up some miles at night, it helps a lot
to have good electronic nav systems, radar, and night vision
gear, and the skills to use them effectively.

Getting out of an anchorage through a 30-yard wide passage
with steep rock walls on each side in the dark brings
on an elevated pucker factor! And when I say dark, I
mean DARK. Cloudy, no moon, and no lights at all on
shore for reference. Sometimes you have to make those
trips to avoid getting weathered in for 3 or 4 days---but
necessity doesn't really make it fun.

On a trip from Ketchikan AK to Bellingham WA last summer
we cruised 1179 miles with 179 engine hours for an average
of 6.6 knots (over a 20-day trip). That's faster than I would normally
cruise, but we wanted a side trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands and
had to make a scheduled stop for a crew addition in Port
Hardy. We never stayed in the same place twice and the
schedule was pretty hectic, but we had long hours of
daylight, so it wasn't too bad. The average speed would
have been higher had it not been for about 12 hours
of minimum-speed time for fishing.

Mark Borgerson