Protected running gear is a very hand feature.
Absolutely!! 5 or so years ago my wife and I on vaca were making a short ocean passage (15 miles) from one island to another. It was an overcast, big rolling swell day, with not much wind. If there was wind, we would have waited a day, but we decided to make the quick run. Well we came up over a big rolling swell at 20 knots and just over the top on the other side of it was a 40' long 2' round floating tree trunk! This was a year after the superstorm "Sandy", it was likely a tree which came down the hudson river and floated out to sea. Anyway, we came down right on top of it and killed the port running gear. I limped to port on 1 and it took 4 weeks to get repaired/replaced... We were really lucky we didn't take on any water. I love protected running gear!
“but my wife doesn't quite like the idea of taking 9 hours to get to a place that used to take us 2 or 3 hours tops. She is also a Nervous Nelly and likes to have the ability to avoid weather, get to a Dr... in a hurry. “
Listen to yourself! Unless you are retired &/or willing to wait days/weeks for good weather windows, you already know the answer. ��
I am semi-retired. My wife has her own biz, but mainly works from home office and only when she wants. She is also looking to wind it down in next few years. Partly why the boat search is on!
BUT, she will always be "Nelly"! Nothing I can do about that!
Hi Bird,
Do you really want to go more than 40-60nm in a typical cruising day? We switched 18 years ago from 16-18 knots during our first 12 years to a much more relaxed 6.5 knots, and now 7-8. Got us where we wanted to go (primarily on the Inside Passsage), and we liked it much better for all the reasons cited by Pete M.
In our Nordic Tug we usually do 30-60nm. We can do 100nm or more in a day if necessary, but rarely wish to. Slower is so much more pleasant. And we have to bother with a fuel dock only after 600-800nm.
Well, for me to go anywhere (other than the local beaches/day trips), from my home port is really 60nm minimum. After that, shorter jaunts can be planned and made, but to get out of the the south shore of LI, it's a good trip in any direction. HOWEVER, we are also contemplating docking the boat elsewhere (east end of LI for example), which would solve some of that issue.
I think the 2-6 month cruise doesn't favor speed as much as local cruising. If that's what you're optimizing for I'd suggest that speed shouldn't be a priority.
A lot of urgency disappears on a trip up the Hudson. Or it should anyway. Go slow, fill up your fuel tanks before crossing the Canadian border. Plan on 50 mile days and allow yourself time to stop and explore at whim. There is no requirement and very few advantages for speed.
From a practical point of view, dropping the speed constraint opens up a big group of boats.
Very true, that last part is what got me here and got me thinking looking for an Express style might be the wrong direction.
Lobster pots too, now that I think of it... have we talked you into a single yet?
A single is NOT going to happen. "Nelly" has the twins safety net locked in! But I also like having the maneuverability of twins. Yea yea yea, I know, "I can dock anywhere with my single...". Sure you can!! Until the wind is blowing, and your trying to back in to a slip on a dock canal that is less wide than the length of your boat and is chock full of over sized Sportfish yachts sticking out the slips.... oh, and the tide is also ripping... I love the engine room space on singles (Backcove's for example), but that's just not in our dna.
You are coming to a trawler forum and asking about speed, the majority answer will be no surprise. Go to a sailing forum and ask about power versus sail, you can guess the answer.
Understood. But the question is more about how was the transition going from speed to a crawl? Was it difficult? Do many people regret it and switch back? OR do most people like it more than anticipated....?
Above some one said that speed is well suited for local waters and I agree with that more because of the cost of fuel. When some one asks me what kind of boat my response is, what kind of cruising are you going to be doing 95 % of the time. Mostly long distances - trawler or sail. More local waters, you just want to be there and have more fun when you get there, then something faster.
Here in Vancouver, and I suspect in Washington coastal waters and other coastal areas, sailboaters have in mind that really big trip with their sailboat. About 95 % of them never make that trip, its almost all local waters, no surprise here really. I was talking to a woman who spent some of her youth on her fathers sailboat. She said his really big trip was from Vancouver to Victoria and back, the one and only big trip. The rest of his cruising was to the Gulf Islands and a few times up to Desolation.
That same trip in a Back Cove or Cutwater from Vancouver to Victoria probably could be done in 5 hours rather than the two days it probably took sailing. I am writing an article for a local mag about express cruisers. I have modified an old saying to this - "if you get on a power boat, you are going somewhere. If you get on a sailboat, you are already there. If you get on an express cruiser, you were there yesterday." So what are your priorities, try to think of what you will be doing the most with the boat you have and is it well suited for that task.
The "95% of the time" question can't be answered for several reasons:
1. You don't know until you know. So until you get the boat, you never know how you will really end up using it. The dream always changes, and the use case (how well the boat works in situations...) always ends up adjusting the dream! However, I am a pretty good/detailed planner thinking ahead and do lots of research and thinking. My last boat ended up used exactly how I envisioned it, and it was perfect for what we did with it. I'm trying to nail this one the same way!
2. Part of my dilemma is I will not do any one thing for anywhere close to "95% of t he time". We will do some long range crusing, we will do lots of 1, 2 and 3 week cruising. We will do lots of local day picnic type trips, and lots of overnight/weekend trips. I'm sure there will be the oddball fishing trip here or there to! You can take the fishing boat away from the fisherman, but you can't take the fisherman out of the man!
So my percentages will likely be 30%, 30% and 30%. That's my guess anyway!
Send me your article when done!
Here is the absolute definitive answer:
Rent a trawler for a week and go cruising. At the end of the week you should have your answer. And yes, there are places that rent trawlers. There's one here in SW FL.
Ted
You know, that's a really good suggestion!
We went from an express cruiser to a trawler. Believe it or not, the express was significantly better in rough weather. We used to go when many boats sit at the dock. Now we are MUCH more cautious. 4 - 6 following seas we wouldn't think twice about. Now 4 foot following seas gives us pause and we find reasons to not go on that day.
My wife didn't think it would be an issue. We even ran at 8 kts in the express a few times to see how we'd like it. She seemed to think it was fine. Fast forward 5 years with an 8 kt trawler and she would readily go back to a planing boat.
I don't find that hard to believe at all! That is just fact, much to the dismay of probably everyone on this forum I'm guessing. And I don't necessarily mean seaworthiness, more about ride comfort. Going slow and rolling around in bigger seas is definitely an issue most trawler folk don't like talking about. This is a big factor I was looking for a Express in the first place, "Nelly" is susceptible to sea-sickness at times and I worry this will end up bothering her. Much of it with her is mental.
I'm sorry, but 'out run weather' and 'get to a medical attention' are not really reasonable justifications. That is like checking the closet for boogey men.
Everyone always mistakenly makes this statement, "you can't outrun weather....". First, most of the time when we say "outrunnig" we are referring to leaving at 7am and getting to destination before noon, when some expected weather is arriving at 5pm or something. So outrunning just means getting out and in before it arrives. Or leaving the day before... Secondly, I can tell you I have outrun storms offshore many times while fishing. 100 miles out tuna fishing, T-storms in the summer pop up 60 miles away heading your way as seen on radar and WX satellite service. These storms are often only 2 to 5 miles wide, moving 20 or 30 mph or so. Heading perpendicular to the direction of the storm one way or the other easily avoids them most of the time. Last summer on one of my buddy's boats, we did that for most of the day as little storms were popping up all over the place. Still caught a few small Bluefin despite having to move all day long.
I'm not saying you should plan on doing this, but it does happen and it can be done.
So I really think I like the idea of a dual purpose boat, 8 knot economical cruise, with a 15-20 knot blast option! Lets hear some suggested makes/models! Twins, diesel, island bed, dry head/separate shower, cockpit space, 2005 and up! Bring em on!
