Quote: Originally Posted by Nomad Willy View Post
Eye,
7 to 20 knots?
I'd call it closer to 10 to 14.
If you're going 7 or 20 knots you've got the wrong boat.
Just because a boat can do something dos'nt mean you should do it. Especially over long periods of time.
Many of us have the wrong boat but it's expensive to change.
Wrong is maybe in the eye of some beholders.
Just cause a boat can only do one thing doesn't mean it'd be right for everyone.
We can run comfortably from 6-24 Kts. We usually translate that to about 8 kts or about 19-20 kts. Depends on our mood, destination, time available, sea states, etc... so probably about half and half...
It's a right boat for us.
-Chris
I primarily agree with Chris...
On another vane - I like to call it
"Captain's Speed" / Rather than "cruise speed".
IMO - Any speed the Captain is having the boat travel for elongated duration [an hour or more] at any point in time IS a cruise speed. The speed of travel [i.e. cruise speed], depending on a myriad of items such as hull design, gross weight, sea conditions, power options... and on and on... is as the Captain believes is correct at the time.
Simple Rule of Thumb [for most any boat]: Faster Captain cruises the boat, faster the Captain empties her fuel tanks.
With all that's been said so far in this thread and having to do with what I said above. In basic similarity Chris's likes [i.e. Captain's desire for type of boat] I'll state what I like in a boat regarding the type cruising I currently am into.
Planing hull is what I require. Because... I can go relatively quickly at 17 knots on full plane and get about 1 knot per gallon. That means I can cover about 85 miles in roughly 5 hours... not too bad at today's fuel costs which means I will have spent some $255 in fuel... but we get there quickly and have more time to enjoy the destination. I can also put the engines [another item I like to have is twins] up onto higher rpm for a while and travel in the low 20 Knot range if I need to for any reason. Fuel burn at that speed is of course more per knot traveled. On the other hand - I can slow down to below hull speed and travel at 6.5 to 7 knots [7.58 is calced hull speed for our boat] getting 2 + nmpg. If we really want to take our time... I shut one engine off, reduce speed to about 5 knots and get around 3 nmpg.
Soooo - The
"Captain 's Speed" is what ever speed the Captain wants the boat to travel at [i.e. cruise speed]. Each boat and its Captain match has different requirements/opportunities. Very important thing is for the Captain to "know" the boat... then while cruising the boat will get to know the Captain!
BTW: In the long-range scale of costs for owning a boat, unless you are putting umpteen hours annually on the engines, fuel cost is basically a blip on the radar regarding the so many "boat-cost" variables.
Happy Boat-Choice Daze! - Art