On Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:10:02 -0600, Geoff Schultz
wrote:

"Roger Long" wrote in
:

Justin C wrote:

Willy, your logic is flawed. It is exactly because Roger sails that
he needs to polish/clean/filter his fuel. If he motored everywhere
there'd be less need because the diesel wouldn't be in his tanks
long enough
to grow those organisms.

It's actually quite a bit more complex than that. First, Neal's
affectation that "real sailors" use their engine as little as possible
is silly. If that's the way he wants to play the game (at least in
his fantasy life), fine. One of the most respected saiors in Maine
cruised and won races for years in a boat that didn't even have an
engine installed. Making a value judgement about others who cruise
differently, however, is just another personality and perspective
defect. I sail as much in my real cruising as Neal does in his fantasy
cruising but, because I have a real and reliable engine, I ADD to that
long periods of powerboat operation.

For sake of argument, sure, I'm not a sailor. I'm a mariner. I have
a sailboat because I prefer sailing to motoring when the conditions
are right and like the freedom, range, and economy of next to no cost
power. When conditions are not right for sailing though, which is a
lot of the time in this part of the world, I prefer motoring to
sitting still or going very slowly with the kind of concentration it
takes to keep a boat moving in light air. Strider is nearly as good a
powerboat as sailboat and I'm just as content to listen to her
excellent diesel run as the coast of Maine slides by as I am sailing.
During sailing season in Maine, we typically have wind for only half
the day so I burn a lot of fuel.

I burn enough fuel and supplies are clean enough here that I don't
need the large capacity and polishing system at all. I'm getting the
boat ready for long cruises to areas with few fuel supply points.
I'll have to do a lot more light air sailing and sitting at anchor to
conserve fuel but that's fine because I won't have the time pressure
of fitting the cruise in between fixed shore commitments as I have had
to do for the past few years. I want the flexibility though of being
able to operate as a powerboat for reasonable periods. Since I
consider power equally as much a part of my cruising as sailing, I
want the engine to be as reliable as the rig. Clean fuel, especially
in remote areas, is the foundation of that.

I'll point out again that this group is rec.boats.CRUISING. It's not a
sailing group and it shouldn't discriminate between sail and power boats.
If you want to be a sailing purist, go have conversations in a purely
sailing newgroup.

If you're a cruiser, many times you'll find that either the wind isn't
blowing or is blowing out of the wrong direction. As I often say, "The
windex points the way" meaning that's the way that you want to go. And
many times you can't sit around waiting for the perfect weather window,
and as a result you have to motor.

There's also a big difference between someone who goes out on the weekend
with the boys, bashing along with the toe rail in the water and a cruiser
who has their household stored below. I hate pulling in and finding the
contents of the cabinets shuffled all around and things in the cabin
tossed around.

Let's not forget that all important marital/relationship bliss factor.
It's very important, especially on a small boat where there's little
personal space, to keep the admiral happy. I know very few women who
like having the toe rail in the water for any extended period of time.
I'd much rather cruise with a wonderful, happy woman who keeps me warm at
night as opposed to cruising solo or with a bunch of smelly guys!

So to emphasize Roger's statement, engines aren't something that most
sailing cruisers want to use on a regular basis, but they're important,
as without them most cruisers wouldn't go very far.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org

Both Geoff and Roger make excellent points which jibe with my
experience. Of course one of the reasons Wilbur is so fervid about
not using power is because he is/was using something like a 10 horse
outboard for an aux. No offense intended to others using outboards,
but nothing could be more unsuited for aux power on a cruising boat.
Small outboards typically have minimal or no alternator for battery
charging, burn over twice as much fuel as a comparable diesel,
introduce the risks of gasoline storage, have props that are
inefficient for slow speed/heavy load operation, and tend to be
unreliable in long term service under those conditions. In my opinion
outboards are suitable only for day sailors or weekend cruising.