On Jul 6, 5:14?pm, wrote:
giving some thought to either a trawler or cruiser for galveston
bay/gulf of mexico. purpose would be just to tool around while not
paying huge bux for gas.

trawler seems to have an advantage with a smaller, generally diesel
engine. one trawler i have an eye on is a 27' boat with 165 hp engine.
does 7 kts at 2 gph (according to the literature)

cruiser would be nice in that you'd have power if you wanted it...but
you pay for those twin 350's! if you're not gonna use 'em alot, why
buy 'em. but it's possible to cut down on gas use by loafing along at
7 kts in a cruiser, too.

any thoughts?

That trawler almost has to be a displacement hull. 7 kt seems real
slow for 165 HP in a 27-footer. I run 135-HP in my 36-footer and do
8-9 knots without pressing anything very hard. It's true that you have
less waterline, but that isn't as much of a factor with a semi-
displacement configuration so I wonder if the trawler you're eyeing is
a full displacement variety (like a Willard, for example).

Two gallons an hour could be very realistic, by the way.

Don't count on running real slow on a couple of big block gas engines
to save fuel. Most engines like to be run at a reasonable load.

I've been a slow boater for the longest time. What's the hurry?

As far as "can't run the inlet", etc, comments further down the
thread...pooh, pooh. One of the oldest maritime traditions is working
*with* the winds and currents to get around. Most of the time it isn't
all that inconvenient to time a passage at something other than
maximum flood or maximum ebb. If you're in all that much of a darn
hurry get in your car and drive. :-)

Part of the consideration, and probably an important part, has to do
with where you boat. In my neck of the country, I can draw a "two hour
circle" (16 nm diameter) anywhere on the chart and include a dozen
interesting places to visit, take photos, just kick back and sight
see, or
fish if so inclined. Contrast that with a lot of boaters in So
California who
spend every boating weekend running out to Catalina Island, and hope
to get there early enough to claim a prime moorage spot.....they have
a good reason, I guess, to go lickety split.

If you like spray, noise, vibration, and general ruckus underway you
will want to get a boat that goes as fast as possible. :-)