"Frogwatch" wrote in message
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On Apr 21, 9:49 am, Brian Welcott wrote:
"nom=de=plume" wrote
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"Frogwatch" wrote in message
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Even the best sailboat cannot sail much closer than 45 degrees to the
wind so this means at least 1/4 of the time you cannot sail directly
toward your destination (2*45 =90 which is 1/4 of 360). On a loaded
cruising boat, you will be lucky to get to within 55 degrees of the
wind so this eliminates 110 out of 360 degrees or 30%.
Where I live, NO wind at least 1/2 the time leaving only 35% of the
time you can sail toward your destination. About half the time while
trying to cruise, you get short of time so you end up motoring
directly toward your destination getting you down to 17.5% of the
time you can sail directly toward your destination. Around here,
roughly 30% of the time the widn is blowing, it is a thunderstorm or
tropical storm getting you down to somewhere between 10 -13% of the
time you can sail toward your destination. This is why cruising
sailboats need adequate engines.

Interesting numbers. Of course, out here the wind is pretty high I
think. By adequate... what do you mean? It needs to power the boat in
most conditions, but if you're offshore and there's wind, you're
likely sailing right? I can see needing something adequate in the bay
or on the coast. The link I found said the boat had a 50hp, which
seems pretty good for a 42' boat. Perhaps fuel capacity is also an
important issue...

Much of this has to do with your "sailing" personality.
Despite what the OP has said, there are plenty of cruising sailors who
seldom use an engine.
Even a knot of wind will move a boat, and zephyrs of 2-5 knots are often
at work even on flat seas.
Dead calm conditions are not common for cruisers.
The impatient will turn on the engine, others will wait for the wind to
return.
Against the wind tacking is part of sailing, so all these points of
compass wind direction percentages are pretty meaningless.
Unless you are a stinkpotter at heart.
Note how this fellow has managed to work it out that in essence you can
sail only 10-13% of the time.
Yet I know sailors who commonly sail off anchor in almost calm
conditions, and only rarely motor off.
With them, it is motoring that might comprise 10% of their movement.
Sails are not meant to get you from one place to another quickly.
If your goal is to move from port to port expeditiously, you will usually
find yourself motoring.
If you are a "sail" sailor at heart, you will nearly always sail, and the
wind will set your schedule. Impatience is not an option, nor desired.
This is not to say an engine isn't useful, or that one should not use an
engine, or even that mostly motoring a sailboat isn't a valid option.
And an engine greatly enhances safety in many circumstances.
What I am suggesting is that you should well know your inclinations
before selecting your boat.
You may be a stinkpotter at heart, and find a trawler more suitable.
There are also motor-sailors available if you want to hedge your bet.

Regards, Brian

I am not a "sailor at heart" but am simply cheap. If there was cold
fusion power that would get me from here to there for nearly nothing
I'd use it. Sails are nothing more than a means of propulsion and I
find nothing romantic or even aesthetically pleasing about using
sails. Consequently, I find myself motoring a lot and using sails as
basically a back-up propulsion system. I actually have a life and do
not want to spend it waiting for an occasional zephyr to move me along
at 1.5 kts in the wrong direction.

Hmm... well, to each his own, but I would prefer fewer instances of using a
noisy, polluting engine vs. waiting for wind if at all possible.

I would like a motor sailor but my current boat works well especially
with the larger engine. I get a good motor sailor for nearly nothing
and a boat that sails well when I need it.
MY long experience with cruising the Florida west coast has convinced
me that the best boat for me would be a Troller/sailor like the
"Diesel Duck" line of boats except they have too deep a draft. They
would be ideal for California. I have been tempted to contact the
designer to ask him to design a shoal draft version I could build.


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Nom=de=Plume