RT Firefly
Enigma
Greetings,
Mr. S. G. That's a good one A (Canadian).
Mr. S. G. That's a good one A (Canadian).
It's a real vessel, not a photoshop. https://marineindustrynews.co.uk/watch-40ft-violin-shaped-boat-launches-in-venice/
If we want to discuss something serious.............to me this is a real game changer. If what they say is true than this is going to change the 'tender world' for super and mega yachts, but also for the normal day cruiser.
I have not tried one of these, so have to rely on what they claim. If anyone has better information I am all ears.
This is an interesting boat and inexpensive. One error in the listing is that the boat is built of wood, which is described in the detailed text of the listing, but the summary lists it as fiberglass.
https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1972-jensen-marine-trawler-8377886/
That is Strumpet, Ernest Gann’s boat. I’d walk around it and stare every time we stopped at Ft. Monroe. Great, salty looking boat.
Art, if you like the 'Fisher' style boat, you might like this one. It's a 2011 Legacy Trawler. I've heard of them before, don't know much about them or how many were built. It certainly looks salty and sturdy. Though with 36 hp Yanmar and a 5.5 kt cruise speed, and 6.5 kt max WOT speed, makes for leisurely trips:
https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2011-legacy-32-mkiii-7178942/
Cute Boat! However:
Week or so ago... We traveled 80 miles with a 3.5 knot current. Having our Tolly rpm set at 7 knots for a slack tide we were GPS averaging 10.5 KOL. If we'd been going against that current we'd have been doing 3.5 KOL. However... seeing as we could easily step up rpm set to do 17 knots at a slack tide... we could still be going 13.5 KOL against the current.
Whereas - in the boat mentioned above - our max speed going against the current would me 3 KOL. And, if staying in cruise speed of 5.5 KOL = 2 KOL. That is nuts!!
One BIG reason I like twin screw planing hull boats!
Alloy cruiser with twin Gardners, twin hydraulic thrusters and flopper stoppers.
Circa make the FPBs in Whangerei
]
I don't see this as an option for me, although I must say that I am in the market for an electrical outboard engine. I have 2 reasons for that. First I get rid of gasoline onboard, but second, we will visit islands where there is no fuel station near the port or near the bay where we will be. An electrical outboard that I can charge on my solar panels will be great.Not bad... but not quite "IT" yet - IMO.
Wonder the initial cost and cost for a top of the line battery change in approx every 10 yrs?. Of course, in 10 yrs batt tech will be on improved level - we hope!
Noticed the fellow said "3 to 5 hours operation at 20 mph" That a very wide span of hours to state. Makes me think the lower 3-hours may be reality. Also said "6 hours to fully recharge". If you want to use [cruise] the boat for the day, and you start in the early morning... by mid day at latest - you're stuck for 6 hr recharge!
Like I mentioned above: Not bad... but not quite "IT" yet - IMO.
Art, if you like the 'Fisher' style boat, you might like this one. It's a 2011 Legacy Trawler. I've heard of them before, don't know much about them or how many were built. It certainly looks salty and sturdy. Though with 36 hp Yanmar and a 5.5 kt cruise speed, and 6.5 kt max WOT speed, makes for leisurely trips:
https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2011-legacy-32-mkiii-7178942/
That blocking freaks me out a lot
Bloody Jenga
Exactly Art. It doesn't matter how efficient you can cruise at 5 knots because if you are fighting a 5 knot current, your efficiency is now zero.
Cute Boat! However:
Week or so ago... We traveled 80 miles with a 3.5 knot current. Having our Tolly rpm set at 7 knots for a slack tide we were GPS averaging 10.5 KOL. If we'd been going against that current we'd have been doing 3.5 KOL. However... seeing as we could easily step up rpm set to do 17 knots at a slack tide... we could still be going 13.5 KOL against the current.
Whereas - in the boat mentioned above - our max speed going against the current would me 3 KOL. And, if staying in cruise speed of 5.5 KOL = 2 KOL. That is nuts!!
One BIG reason I like twin screw planing hull boats!
But think of the fuel efficiency! With a 36 hp Yanmar, that Legacy probably burns around a quart of diesel per hour! Like an old Albin 25. It might be a slow way to go places, but in terms of $/hour just to be on the water, a package like this can't be beat. With diesel above $6/gal and likely to stay that way for a while, that sounds pretty good just for being able to be out on the water. You'd have to go to a sailboat to have a lower hourly running cost.
Besides, most of the world's explorations in historical times were done in old-school sailing ships that might not have averaged much more than the Legacy can manage. Columbus crossed the Atlantic (and back) at comparable or slower speeds.
Kidding aside, I get it and feel the same way. The feasibility of cruising at low-middle single-digit speeds depends on the currents one is encountering, and the time one has available. At this point in my life with limited time remaining, and in our local waters with 3-4 knot adverse currents possible in Buzzard's Bay or the Cape Cod Canal, a 6-7 knot boat would mean being either almost stationary some of the time, or having to do like the Old World sailors and wait for the tides.
I think of the ratio between cruise speed and the adverse currents likely to be encountered. When the ratio approaches 2:1 or less, and it can cut your effective SOT in half, it can be futile to fight against it.
The biggest factor for me is my Admiral. For me it's the journey. She's very much a 'destination' kind of person, with 'when are we going to get there?' being the most common question when underway. When I've tried going 7-8 knots in our previous boats, within 15 minutes she'd exclaim 'speed up I can't take it anymore!'.
Which is exactly the appeal to me of 'semi-displacement' designs, discussed in another thread. Fast enough to make reasonable progress even against adverse currents, but with better seakeeping abilities in nasty conditions and the option for better fuel economy than full planing.
But at >$6/gal, it all hurts. At least for the size of my wallet.
I still like to mimic the: "... having to do like the Old World sailors and wait for the tides." I always plot for currents to best as possible be running in my favor. On the 80 mile cruise we took a couple weeks ago, from SF Delta into SF Bay, I picked a day the current was running up to 3.5 knots in our direction. Having set our boat's rpm at 7 knot cruise level the GPS was reading up to 10.5 knots SOG while traveling. That = huge fuel savings and time reduction.
If I'm out on my own I do the same. I'm all about the journey and just spending time out on the water.
But traveling with the Admiral is different. Her point (that I can't disagree with) is that our remaining time is limited. At our age, the number of years we realistically have left for boating is probably high single to (very) low double digits. Very best case might just hit the low teens number of years. There just isn't enough time left to go to anywhere even remotely close to the number of places I'd hoped to reach by water.
Her question is, of the limited remaining time we have left, would I rather double, or cut in half, the number of destinations and harbors reached?
$6/gal fuel is VERY painful to the size of our wallets. But, the Admiral's other point is, we can't take it with us. Might as well spend some of it going places by boat.