Sailors Under Power So Much?
 

After reading hundreds of cruising logs, in-, near- and offshore, on
the net over the past several months, I have been struck by how often
and for how long cruising sailors report they are under engine power.
From what I have read, it would appear that sailors are under engine
power for something in the 80-90% range.

Why, then, have a sailboat? For the little time under sail and quiet?
Or is it a need to prove hardiness to oneself and to others?

wrote in message
oups.com...
After reading hundreds of cruising logs, in-, near- and offshore, on
the net over the past several months, I have been struck by how often
and for how long cruising sailors report they are under engine power.
From what I have read, it would appear that sailors are under engine
power for something in the 80-90% range.

Why, then, have a sailboat? For the little time under sail and quiet?
Or is it a need to prove hardiness to oneself and to others?

They can't be real sailors. We used the diesel as little as possible. One
fillup lasted the season. The motor was used coming into and leaving a
tight slip and when we were caught without wind...usually after 1800 hrs.

Most cruising boats just don't sail well in the often light winds that cover
waters a lot of the time. They start out heavy and then get loaded down with
more gear. Many people spend a lot of effort on dealing with how they will
handle heavy storm conditions, but little attention on dealing with light
air - hence the motoring. Here's a boat web site where they went from San
Francisco to Hawaii, through the SP and onto to New Zealand and used
something like 44 gals of diesel for the entire trip. It was on comfortable,
modern, performance design.. http://www.ditzen.com/

Paul
wrote in message
oups.com...
After reading hundreds of cruising logs, in-, near- and offshore, on
the net over the past several months, I have been struck by how often
and for how long cruising sailors report they are under engine power.
From what I have read, it would appear that sailors are under engine
power for something in the 80-90% range.

Why, then, have a sailboat? For the little time under sail and quiet?
Or is it a need to prove hardiness to oneself and to others?

Depends upon where one sails. You have to understand how to sail
to understand why motoring is sometimes necessary.

Doug
s/v CAllista

wrote in message
oups.com...
After reading hundreds of cruising logs, in-, near- and offshore, on
the net over the past several months, I have been struck by how often
and for how long cruising sailors report they are under engine power.
From what I have read, it would appear that sailors are under engine
power for something in the 80-90% range.

Why, then, have a sailboat? For the little time under sail and quiet?
Or is it a need to prove hardiness to oneself and to others?

I "sailed" my boat, when I first got her, from LA Harbor to San Diego solo.
I was determined to use sail only the whole way, but when I realized that
sail was powering me at 2-3 mph and my motor was powering me at 5-6 mph, my
mind quickly changed. I just didn't have the time to sit there for nearly a
week to try to get the boat down here.

I think that sailors use power as little as they can, but as little as they
can turns out to, unfortunately, be quite a bit of the time.



wrote in message
oups.com...
After reading hundreds of cruising logs, in-, near- and offshore, on
the net over the past several months, I have been struck by how often
and for how long cruising sailors report they are under engine power.
From what I have read, it would appear that sailors are under engine
power for something in the 80-90% range.

Why, then, have a sailboat? For the little time under sail and quiet?
Or is it a need to prove hardiness to oneself and to others?

On 22 Feb 2005 14:30:08 -0800, wrote:
After reading hundreds of cruising logs, in-, near- and offshore, on
the net over the past several months, I have been struck by how often
and for how long cruising sailors report they are under engine power.
From what I have read, it would appear that sailors are under engine
power for something in the 80-90% range.

Why, then, have a sailboat? For the little time under sail and quiet?
Or is it a need to prove hardiness to oneself and to others?

=================================================

Precisely right. I live in an area of south Florida which is
constantly crossed by cruising sailors of every type and description.
Even on the Gulf of Mexico it is unusual to see one that is not
motoring or motor sailing under reduced sail plan.

As some one else pointed out in this thread, most cruising sailboats
are too loaded down (and have bottoms to rough/dirty), to sail well.
Based on the number of boats underway with greatly reduced sail plans,
I'd guess there's an aversion to being heeled over as well.

This is one of the reasons for the popularity of trawlers. You get
real engines, with real tank capacity so that at least you can motor
well, unlike most cruising sailboats that don't sail or motor very
well. In addition you get over twice the living area for the same
length of boat.

On 22 Feb 2005 14:30:08 -0800, wrote:

After reading hundreds of cruising logs, in-, near- and offshore, on
the net over the past several months, I have been struck by how often
and for how long cruising sailors report they are under engine power.
From what I have read, it would appear that sailors are under engine
power for something in the 80-90% range.

Why, then, have a sailboat? For the little time under sail and quiet?
Or is it a need to prove hardiness to oneself and to others?

Maybe, but to me it's a mark of the inability to deal with one's
choices.

Sailing is about the most expensive and least time-efficient modes of
travel you can devise. Short of taking a hot-air balloon across the
Atlantic, maybe.

If you have to be somewhere, don't sail.

If you have to meet someone who isn't also a sailboater, don't sail.

If you would rather drive at 100 km/hr then drift at two knots, don't
sail.

People ask me why I persist with my Atomic 4 gas engine. I reply that
I use about six gallons a season, because I fire it up essentially to
get in and out of the basin, which is ten minutes from dock to
head-to-wind and sail hoist. A diesel would HATE that, and as I charge
off shore power, I don't really rely on the alternator.

If I don't have time to screw the pooch (an inelegant but apt phrase),
I don't sail. Naturally, I make time to sail as much as possible,
because sailing is better than almost anything outside of what happens
in a V-berth when you are in an excellent mood because you've spent a
lovely day sailing.

So let the pleasure of sailing dictate your life, if your life
includes sailing. If not, enjoy the damp, expensive, noisy bar.

R.

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 00:20:33 GMT, "Falky foo"
wrote:

I think that sailors use power as little as they can, but as little as they
can turns out to, unfortunately, be quite a bit of the time.

Exactly. You either have that time, or you don't.

Or you make that time because it is a better way of living.

Damn it, I'm channeling Moitessier again.

R.

Time taken to get to the next achorage before dark with a cruising boat
determines the method of propulsion. On a passsage when time is
irrelevant then sailing at 2Kn, as long as the ride is OK, is somewhat
calming. A 7 day passage will only require a time constraint when a
harbour or final destination is approached.
When we bought our first keel boat then 5Kn was the required speed.
Used any means to attain that. Now a bigger boat and no working
deadlines comfort if the paramount decision maker. Sloppy seas and
little wind gives rise to the noise of the motor, better being noisy
than uncomfortable.
A few observations from an offshore cruiser.
Lyn & Tony
S/V Ambrosia