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