Confessions of a slow boater
 

Here's a link to an op-ed piece about the philosophy of slow-boating.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...5618b7fc9c9df7

Around 7/5/2005 11:16 PM, wrote:

Here's a link to an op-ed piece about the philosophy of slow-boating.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...5618b7fc9c9df7

I bet my dad would love to go cruising with you sometime. Though our
Commando can and has been up on what some would call "the edge of
planing" once or twice in her life, she greatly prefers a nice stately
9-10 knots.

When we installed and was breaking in her new Crusader 220, we were able
to keep up with one of the Mukilteo ferries during a full throttle run,
but as my dad said, "It was like watching an old lady trying to hitch up
her skirts and sprint." Scary, and at the same time somewhat pitiful. :)


--
~/Garth - 1966 Glastron V-142 Skiflite: "Blue-Boat"
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats."
-Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

After a year of puttering around in our GB49 at 8 to 10 kts we are
beginning to adapt to a slower schedule but it has taken some
adjustment. One fact that has become apparent is that slow and steady
wins the race. Another observation is that when the wind and waves
kick up, we are running as fast as anyone else and doing it a lot more
comfortably. Last but not least, we are still running on fuel that we
bought in May, 700 miles ago in North Carolina at $1.67 a gallon.

On balance, our trip north from SWFL was not all that slow either.
Thanks to the help of two old sailing buddys who joined us for the
trip, we were able to make several offshore runs which saved a lot of
time and distance.

We left Cape Coral on May 21 heading east on the Okeechobee Waterway,
spent Saturday night docked in the wilds of central Florida, and then
made a 2 1/2 day non-stop run to Charleston, SC by way of Port St Lucie
and Fort Pierce inlet. We pulled into Charleston at the crack of dawn
on May 24, already 450 nautical miles from where we started. A day
later, and another overnight run, we were 200 miles north in Beaufort,
NC on the south side of the Outer Banks. From an over night stop in
Oriental, NC it took another 2 days on the Intercoastal Waterway to
reach Norfolk, VA averaging about 80 miles each day. Leaving Norfolk
at the crack of dawn the following day, we were able to reach Ocean
City, MD by late afternoon requiring full cruising speed of 10 1/2 kts.
Ocean City to Cape May, NJ was a leisurely 40 mile run at 8 kts, and
from there it was another 120 miles to NY Harbor, about 1200 natutical
miles total in 11 days, most of which was done at speeds of 9 kts or
less.

Excellent post.

wrote:
After a year of puttering around in our GB49 at 8 to 10 kts we are
beginning to adapt to a slower schedule but it has taken some
adjustment.

It is different... depends on which direction you're moving. Coming from
sail, I'm delighted with our average speed most of the time. I prefer
heeling to rolling though.



We left Cape Coral on May 21 heading east on the Okeechobee Waterway,
spent Saturday night docked in the wilds of central Florida, and then
made a 2 1/2 day non-stop run to Charleston, SC by way of Port St Lucie
and Fort Pierce inlet. We pulled into Charleston at the crack of dawn
on May 24, already 450 nautical miles from where we started. A day
later, and another overnight run, we were 200 miles north in Beaufort,
NC on the south side of the Outer Banks.

Wow, now that's moving! You did have a pretty good crew.

From an over night stop in
Oriental, NC it took another 2 days on the Intercoastal Waterway to
reach Norfolk, VA averaging about 80 miles each day. Leaving Norfolk
at the crack of dawn the following day, we were able to reach Ocean
City, MD by late afternoon requiring full cruising speed of 10 1/2 kts.
Ocean City to Cape May, NJ was a leisurely 40 mile run at 8 kts, and
from there it was another 120 miles to NY Harbor, about 1200 natutical
miles total in 11 days, most of which was done at speeds of 9 kts or
less.


Sounds like a great trip... you missed a lot of scenery in between. But
smart to skip going around Cape Hattaras outside. You picked a good time
to get out of Florida, Dennis is still deciding which way to go and
there's E,F, & G waiting out there in the on-deck circle.

Fair Skies
Doug King

Very nice Chuck. :-)

wrote in message
oups.com...
Here's a link to an op-ed piece about the philosophy of slow-boating.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...5618b7fc9c9df7

On 6 Jul 2005 05:02:51 -0700, "
wrote:

After a year of puttering around in our GB49 at 8 to 10 kts we are
beginning to adapt to a slower schedule but it has taken some
adjustment. One fact that has become apparent is that slow and steady
wins the race. Another observation is that when the wind and waves
kick up, we are running as fast as anyone else and doing it a lot more
comfortably. Last but not least, we are still running on fuel that we
bought in May, 700 miles ago in North Carolina at $1.67 a gallon.

On balance, our trip north from SWFL was not all that slow either.
Thanks to the help of two old sailing buddys who joined us for the
trip, we were able to make several offshore runs which saved a lot of
time and distance.

We left Cape Coral on May 21 heading east on the Okeechobee Waterway,
spent Saturday night docked in the wilds of central Florida, and then
made a 2 1/2 day non-stop run to Charleston, SC by way of Port St Lucie
and Fort Pierce inlet. We pulled into Charleston at the crack of dawn
on May 24, already 450 nautical miles from where we started. A day
later, and another overnight run, we were 200 miles north in Beaufort,
NC on the south side of the Outer Banks. From an over night stop in
Oriental, NC it took another 2 days on the Intercoastal Waterway to
reach Norfolk, VA averaging about 80 miles each day. Leaving Norfolk
at the crack of dawn the following day, we were able to reach Ocean
City, MD by late afternoon requiring full cruising speed of 10 1/2 kts.
Ocean City to Cape May, NJ was a leisurely 40 mile run at 8 kts, and
from there it was another 120 miles to NY Harbor, about 1200 natutical
miles total in 11 days, most of which was done at speeds of 9 kts or
less.

Glad you had a safe trip - I was wondering if you made it or not.

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 08:14:19 -0400, DSK wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

Sounds like a great trip... you missed a lot of scenery in between. But
smart to skip going around Cape Hattaras outside. You picked a good time
to get out of Florida, Dennis is still deciding which way to go and
there's E,F, & G waiting out there in the on-deck circle.

Speaking of slow boats, you seem to be the sail guy around these here
parts - what's a good, no frills, sail boat that isn't hard to sail
for somebody with some movement and strength problems - large enough
to carry, say four/five people in relative comfort for just day
sailing?

On 5 Jul 2005 23:16:56 -0700, "
wrote:

Here's a link to an op-ed piece about the philosophy of slow-boating.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...5618b7fc9c9df7

The best line:

"If speed were free, would we want as much as we could get?"

Damn straight!!!! What the hell kind of question is that? :)

Here's my philosophy on speed - I have three boats what will turn a
fairly good clip - two in excess of 50 mph and one 14 footer that will
turn 35 mph. I have enough power to turn on the afterburners with
significant results if necessary.

The real question is how often is that necessary?

It's very rare for me.

wrote in message

Here's a link to an op-ed piece about the philosophy of slow-boating.

Nice wordsmithing, Chuck.....

I run the Queen the same way. Although her brace of 318s will plane her
nicely and top out at about 27kt when asked (2-3 times per summer, for
medicinal purposes only), she spends the great preponderance of her waking
hours at about 8kt or so. These engines are happy as a clam running all day
at about 1800 rpm, and that's exactly what they do.

JG

I too like the leisurly pace of "slow boating".

Im lucky enough to have a few different boats...including one for just raw
speed...so when I am just "recreational" boating, you will mostly find me at
dead slow (idle).

I enjoy chatting, looking at senery, waterfront homes, beaches, exploring
canals and bays, ect. Many folks (mostly younger ones) say Im "wasting" the
400 horses underneth, but I dont care. The only real voice is the
dog...sometime he demands some speed, and he usually gets his way. :)


--
-Netsock

"It's just about going fast...that's all..."
http://home.columbus.rr.com/ckg/

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 09:24:33 -0400, HarryKrause
wrote:

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 08:14:19 -0400, DSK wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

Sounds like a great trip... you missed a lot of scenery in between. But
smart to skip going around Cape Hattaras outside. You picked a good time
to get out of Florida, Dennis is still deciding which way to go and
there's E,F, & G waiting out there in the on-deck circle.

Speaking of slow boats, you seem to be the sail guy around these here
parts - what's a good, no frills, sail boat that isn't hard to sail
for somebody with some movement and strength problems - large enough
to carry, say four/five people in relative comfort for just day
sailing?

Gaff-rigged, Cape Cod catboat. Single sail, large cockpit, no need to go
forward or jump around the decks, typically a centerboarder, and for
your crowd, you probably want a 18-20 footer. There should be some small
shop builders in your area. Easy to put a small outboard on the stern,
in case you run out of air.

I actually had one of those once when I was a kid - I sold my Townie
to a guy at the Boston Yacht Club and bought the catboat that the next
door neighbor had for sale. Took some repair, but I sailed that boat
for a summer before I went into the service.

That's a good thought - I might look around for one.

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 13:58:21 GMT, Red Cloud©
wrote:

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 13:10:45 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 08:14:19 -0400, DSK wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

Sounds like a great trip... you missed a lot of scenery in between. But
smart to skip going around Cape Hattaras outside. You picked a good time
to get out of Florida, Dennis is still deciding which way to go and
there's E,F, & G waiting out there in the on-deck circle.

Speaking of slow boats, you seem to be the sail guy around these here
parts - what's a good, no frills, sail boat that isn't hard to sail
for somebody with some movement and strength problems - large enough
to carry, say four/five people in relative comfort for just day
sailing?

Trailerable, or kept in the water?

Either.

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 09:56:33 -0400, HarryKrause
wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

They're really easy to handle.
There's a guy where you boat, if he's still alive, that makes a small one:

http://www.stur-deeboat.com/sturdeecat.htm

The old guy who owns the place was one of my father's suppliers. I
talked to him a couple years ago, and he remembered my dad. In those
days, though, Stur-dee only offered wood dories. They were nicely made.

I've seen those boats somewhere. As I remember, they were nicely made.

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
Speaking of slow boats, you seem to be the sail guy around these here
parts - what's a good, no frills, sail boat that isn't hard to sail
for somebody with some movement and strength problems - large enough
to carry, say four/five people in relative comfort for just day
sailing?

The catboat is a good call... there are a lot of them out there, my pick
would be either a new ComPac (easily trailerable)
http://www.com-pacyachts.com/com-pacsuncat.php

.... or a Sanderling (not so trailerable, but you can bring it home at
the end of the season). BTW the cabin looks bigger than it really is,
the cockpit is huge.
http://www.smallcraftadvisor.com/boa...anderling.html

Another trailerable choice would be a Flying Scot.
http://www.flyingscot.com/

A little bigger and not trailerable:
Sea Sprite 22
http://www.affordableyachting.com/archives/E443.HTM

Ensign
http://www.ensignclass.com/graphics/...ifications.gif

The last two might be the best choice for a person with movement &
strength problems, they will be much steadier on the water and easier to
work... especially if some attention has been paid to the running
rigging. It will still presnt some challenges.

If you really want the first-class option, easiest to sail with least
likely pain & difficulty, good performance, and don't mind spending the
money, put one of these under the Christmas tree
http://www.wdschock.com/harbor20/

I haven't sailed one myself, but have sailed in company with them.
They're very easy to handle, intelligently rigged, stable, and capable
of fun sailing in a wide range of conditions... more so than any boat
listed yet. There is a one-design fleet of these racing down near
Wilmington, I watch them when I'm J-24 racing.

Hope this helps... it would be interesting to hear what you decide and
how it works out.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

wrote in message
oups.com...
Here's a link to an op-ed piece about the philosophy of slow-boating.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...5618b7fc9c9df7


It's a trend. There's a slow eating organization that originated in Italy,
of all places.

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 13:03:05 -0400, DSK wrote:

Hope this helps... it would be interesting to hear what you decide and
how it works out.

Thanks man - I'll check them out.

Appreciate it.

It was a good trip, weather was good to excelent the entire way, and we
had no major boat issues.

We were very impressed with the scenery in North Carolina above
Beaufort, almost made me reconsider our retirement plan in SWFL but
that is just about written in stone at this point. Oriental is a
wonderful little town that we are glad we stopped at, likewise
Charleston, SC. We had a fantastic, albeit expensive dinner at the
Charleston Grill right in the downtown area that was the equal of
anything I've had elsewhere. The Charleston City Marina is also a
first class operation which I would recommend to anyone.

Thanks. We made it just fine, even had a chance to get reacquainted
with ham radio along the way via Winlink/Airmail/APRS, etc. APRS was a
real crowd pleaser with the friends and relatives back home who could
track our progress and position along the way. Meanwhile I've worked
about half a dozen countries from the boat in the last couple of weeks
on 20M SSB.

Winlink, Airmail and APRS are all fantastic systems and a real credit
to the guys who put it together and made it work.

If I am going to be slow boating, I prefer sailing. It is the most
economical and the quietest.


wrote in message
oups.com...
Here's a link to an op-ed piece about the philosophy of slow-boating.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...5618b7fc9c9df7

On 6 Jul 2005 13:38:10 -0700, "
wrote:

Thanks. We made it just fine, even had a chance to get reacquainted
with ham radio along the way via Winlink/Airmail/APRS, etc. APRS was a
real crowd pleaser with the friends and relatives back home who could
track our progress and position along the way. Meanwhile I've worked
about half a dozen countries from the boat in the last couple of weeks
on 20M SSB.

Winlink, Airmail and APRS are all fantastic systems and a real credit
to the guys who put it together and made it work.

They did a hell of a job didn't they?

wrote in
message oups.com...
It was a good trip, weather was good to excelent the entire way, and we
had no major boat issues.

We were very impressed with the scenery in North Carolina above
Beaufort, almost made me reconsider our retirement plan in SWFL but
that is just about written in stone at this point. Oriental is a
wonderful little town that we are glad we stopped at, likewise
Charleston, SC. We had a fantastic, albeit expensive dinner at the
Charleston Grill right in the downtown area that was the equal of
anything I've had elsewhere. The Charleston City Marina is also a
first class operation which I would recommend to anyone.


Welcome back to the land of fog, mist, and 55 degree water.
Sounds like you had a great trip. Congrats.

Eisboch

If I am going to be slow boating, I prefer sailing. It is the most
economical and the quietest.

I would agree that quiet is nice but going dead to windward (or with no
wind) at 9 kts has its attractions also, as does the comfort factor.
It would take a sailboat of at least 80 to 90 feet to equal the
interior space of our GB49 and it still would not have the visibility
from the flybridge or the stability of gyro roll stabilizers.

Economy is open to question. Sails for large boats cost $10 to $20K
each and require constant repair and replacement. I used to spend over
$5K a year on sail repair and replacement on my old 34 footer when I
was racing it seriously. That will still buy a lot of fuel even in
these inflationary times.

One of the things that I've noticed about cruising sailboats is that
about 95% of them are under power, rising to more like 99% if they are
really trying to get some where, or are in constricted waterways. If
you are going to be under power most of the time anyway, why not get a
boat designed for it?

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On 6 Jul 2005 13:38:10 -0700, "
wrote:

Thanks. We made it just fine, even had a chance to get reacquainted
with ham radio along the way via Winlink/Airmail/APRS, etc. APRS was a
real crowd pleaser with the friends and relatives back home who could
track our progress and position along the way. Meanwhile I've worked
about half a dozen countries from the boat in the last couple of weeks
on 20M SSB.

Winlink, Airmail and APRS are all fantastic systems and a real credit
to the guys who put it together and made it work.

They did a hell of a job didn't they?

They sure did. It's good to see ham radio leveraging up to date
technology in creative and useful ways. Pactor III in particular looks
like it is right on the cutting edge of what is do able.

If I am going to be slow boating, I prefer sailing.

Agreed.

... It is the most
economical and the quietest.


That very much depends... you would not believe how noisy a sailboat can
be under the right/wrong conditions. It's also every bit as expensive as
any other form of boating.

wrote:
I would agree that quiet is nice but going dead to windward (or with no
wind) at 9 kts has its attractions also, as does the comfort factor.
It would take a sailboat of at least 80 to 90 feet to equal the
interior space of our GB49 and it still would not have the visibility
from the flybridge or the stability of gyro roll stabilizers.

What about a 50' catamaran? And sailboat stability is a whole 'nother
thing... I prefer heeling to rolling, even with stabilizers.


Economy is open to question. Sails for large boats cost $10 to $20K
each and require constant repair and replacement. I used to spend over
$5K a year on sail repair and replacement on my old 34 footer when I
was racing it seriously. That will still buy a lot of fuel even in
these inflationary times.


Darn right.

One of the things that I've noticed about cruising sailboats is that
about 95% of them are under power, rising to more like 99% if they are
really trying to get some where, or are in constricted waterways. If
you are going to be under power most of the time anyway, why not get a
boat designed for it?


Darn right, again. I have my own theories about why so many sailboat
cruisers motor all the time, including the fact that so many of them
choose boats with poor/awful sailing performance in the first place and
then load it down. Another is the refusal to accept the constraints of
nature in making a schedule.

However, a big plus in cruising under sail is that it is a demanding &
esoteric endeavor that provides it's own rewards... tremendous ones.
There's nothing else like it. A motorboater will have some difficulty
finding the appeal in this, and even more difficulty understanding
racing under sail (which is even better).

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 20:33:13 -0400, DSK wrote:

racing under sail (which is even better).

That I agree with.

On 5 Jul 2005 23:16:56 -0700, " wrote:

Here's a link to an op-ed piece about the philosophy of slow-boating.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...5618b7fc9c9df7

Nice, Chuck!

--
John H.
On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD