Steve wrote:

Here are some observations and lessons learned.

Eng. Hrs. = 165 hrs. (from log, engine meter was unreliable.)
Motor/Sail % = 95%

I don't know if you found this statistic surprising. I did not.

Typically along-shore coastal cruising where some kind of schedule is
involved results in heavy engine usage. Long ago in the days when we took
the usual 2 week vacation cruise along the New England coast, we could
pretty much rest assured that we would be using the diesel quit a bit.

One example that stands out was a long-ago cruise in southern New England
during which we experienced almost ideal conditions for the entire 2 weeks.
We sailed at every opportunity and made 2 overnight passages largely under
sail. Still at the end of the cruise and during the following winter when I
looked at the statistics, I found that the engine was on nearly 80% of the
time we were underway.

What seems to happen to many folks is that they somehow forget to include
the hours used for picking up the anchor, coming alongside, fetching fuel,
moving around the anchorage, making that final long entry into and out of
the harbor, etc. When the _real_ numbers are examined, the hours add up
to surprisingly large totals. BTW, I am talking specifically about along
shore passages rather than an offshore leg of several days duration.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 12:09:43 -0400, "Armond Perretta"
wrote:

What seems to happen to many folks is that they somehow forget to include
the hours used for picking up the anchor, coming alongside, fetching fuel,
moving around the anchorage, making that final long entry into and out of
the harbor, etc. When the _real_ numbers are examined, the hours add up
to surprisingly large totals. BTW, I am talking specifically about along
shore passages rather than an offshore leg of several days duration.

The question also becomes one of what are you trying to measure? The
percentage that matters to me is how much of the time am I motoring
when I would rather be sailing? The answer is still too big a number,
of course.

Also, a lot of the incidental engine hours are low load, low fuel
consumption and low noise, so they don't add as much wear and tear on
the engine, the budget or the crew.

I've put on about 1500 miles this summer, with a good chunk more
needed to get the boat home. I think the mix of power to sail has been
similar on both longer passages and short days. We encountered
entirely too much flat water out in the middle of the Lakes and are
eager enough to hoist sail at just about every opportunity.

Ryk

Ryk wrote:
"Armond Perretta" wrote:

What seems to happen to many folks is that they somehow forget to
include the hours used for picking up the anchor, coming alongside,
fetching fuel, moving around the anchorage, making that final long
entry into and out of the harbor, etc. When the _real_ numbers are
examined, the hours add up to surprisingly large totals. BTW, I am
talking specifically about along shore passages rather than an
offshore leg of several days duration.

The question also becomes one of what are you trying to measure? The
percentage that matters to me is how much of the time am I motoring
when I would rather be sailing? The answer is still too big a number,
of course.

Quite. However sailors tend to think that they should, in general, _always_
be sailing. This is apparently some kind of romantic and impractical notion
that still lingers, and that has little relevance to sailing as it is
practiced by most people. Most people have to get back to work on Monday
and they need a diesel to do it in the vast majority of cases.

Also, a lot of the incidental engine hours are low load, low fuel
consumption and low noise, so they don't add as much wear and tear on
the engine, the budget or the crew.

They still count as engine house no matter the load, and it is the ratio of
engine hours to hours underway (in the strict sense) that surprises those
people who have never kept detailed records.

I've put on about 1500 miles this summer, with a good chunk more
needed to get the boat home. I think the mix of power to sail has been
similar on both longer passages and short days. We encountered
entirely too much flat water out in the middle of the Lakes and are
eager enough to hoist sail at just about every opportunity.

My reference to coastal versus offshore was made in my own context. Here on
the East Coast the offshore destination most people like to do is Bermuda,
and most sailboats simply cannot motor to Bermuda (although they invariably
motor a part of the way).

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare