wrote in message
k.net...

"ed" wrote:
Think about range. calculate 2000 miles distance by a 5 mpg and
you need how many gallons of fuel on board? How much space does
400 gallons of fuel require? How and where will you store it?
Safely. What will the added weight (about a ton) do to stability?
To mileage and handling? If you use bladders, will chafing cause
a catastrophic leak?

editor
http://www.marineenginedigest.com

I forgot to say that the MacGregor is a sailboat :-)

It may not perform well crossing an ocean and may take twice
as long as a good sailboat but since it cannot sink or capsize
you won't have to worry about getting eaten by sharks.

A sailboat boat definition only. Have a look a the lines of the thing and
tell me what it would be like trying to pound that fat entry into an
oncoming sea in a storm.
http://www.macgregorsailboats.com/sa...fications.html
It is a perfect boat for noob lake-sailors who want the comfort of being
able to power home faster than they can sail. I prefer a boat that sails
faster than it powers.

The weight of a Honda 50 is 200+ lbs. (
http://www.honda-marine.com/pdfs/50hp.pdf )
Would you really like some fat guy hanging off your transom and slowing you
down everytime you set sail. Cos thats what youve got! And thats just the
Honda. Put a Merc on the back you have nearly 250lbs. Not very appealing eh?

Cant sink? Great! http://www.macgregorsailboats.com/safety.html take a good
look at that first photo. Its in nice weather against a Marina. Now imagine
20ft breaking waves- not at all unusal at sea. That boat would not under any
circumstances be inhabitable or controllable in those conditions while
flooded,. The boat would be rolled over and over again. The mast and boom
would be snapped off and would become missiles. The crew would be washed
from the boat or drowned/concussed/speared as they became victims of the
waves/rig/hull. Yeah, I know thats all a bit negative, but its the truth.

As most yachts rely on the engine to top up the batteries you will have to
take enough petrol to last you two hours motoring per day at sea minimum. I
wouldnt like having to take all that petrol with me to supply power. Deisel
is prefered on yachts cos it is more economical and it doesnt go Kaboom.

Oddly enough, the length of the boat would not be an issue. Many yachts
smaller than that have done trasats as well as circum-navs. The difference
being the other yachts were/are designed as blue water boats.

Thats my 2 cents.

DP