JD Ray
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2020
- Messages
- 188
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- GOML
- Vessel Make
- 1978 Fiberform Bermuda 2400
I mentioned in my intro post that I am dreaming of owning a slow boat. Except that I used a lot of words to say that. My wife and I have spent a lot of time boat shopping, but that only tells us that we can't afford the boats we're most attracted to (thanks mostly to the YouTube channel AQUAHOLIC). We think we can afford a lower-priced, older boat, but realize that there's a deep well of knowledge we don't have. As such, I have a lot of questions. If anyone here is willing to provide answers, it would be greatly appreciated. So...
I've run out of steam, but I have a lot more questions, mostly for the technical forums. I'll place them appropriately. Thanks for whatever you can tell me.
Cheers.
J.D.
- Hull material: steel or fiberglass? Steel seems more sturdy, and you can find a welder anywhere. Fiberglass seems lighter.
- One engine or two? You apparently get far more fuel efficiency out of a single engine than you do a twin. I've seen boats with a "get home engine" that's essentially a shelf spare in case the main goes toes up. What other considerations are there?
- How many hours of maintenance are spent on the drivetrain of a boat per hour of runtime? For instance, if you have to spend three hours changing the oil every two hundred hours of runtime... well, I can do math. What are the other maintenance items for a drivetrain?
- How many hours of maintenance are spent on non-drivetrain things in a given year, presuming regular cruising or liveaboard? Watermakers, house batteries, gensets, rudders, bottom maintenance, zincs... If you're doing it all yourself, how much time does that take?
- If you hire all the above out, and there are no catastrophic problems, how much does everything cost? I'm just talking regular, scheduled maintenance here.
- How often do catastrophes happen? I get it, you can't really predict those. But many of you have been doing this for YEARS. How often does a major issue come up? Once in two years? Once in five?
- V-berth, mid-cabin, or aft-cabin? One of the clear requirements my wife and I have about a boat is that it have a large master berth that is accessible from both sides ("island" style). To be frank, we both get up a lot in the night (direct head access is something we're keen on), and crawling over one another is not something we want to deal with. We heard somewhere that sleeping in a V-berth isn't preferred in a head sea because of the crashing of the sea against the bow. Thoughts? What about the other locations?
- What's up with the flybridge? I've never been out on a boat that has a flybridge. I get that it provides extra lounge space, but is there some other function, like having a better view for navigating, that's more technical in nature?
- Speed versus consumption: How much do you save by going slow? I keep hearing that "this boat consumes about X gallons of fuel per hour at Y knots, so with a fuel capacity of Z, you have a range of N. But clearly going slower gets you MUCH more range." How much more? Yes, yes, each boat is different, hull shape, load, etc. But can someone give me a few examples of consumption at say 10, 8, and 5 knots? Better yet, is there somewhere I can look up this information about a particular boat?
- How far do you normally go in one passage? At seven knots, a boat makes 168 nm in twenty-four hours. That's a lot of time at the helm, even for a couple taking turns on watch. Is the fuel capacity (and therefore range) really only for occasional passages, and most people spend all their time taking short trips, or do people commonly make multi-day runs without pulling over?
I've run out of steam, but I have a lot more questions, mostly for the technical forums. I'll place them appropriately. Thanks for whatever you can tell me.
Cheers.
J.D.