Cruising under power (Phillipines)

[cat man do]

Latest update from these guys, they have left Sabah (Malaysia) and are now over in the Phillipines.

Great Pics and looks so warm

Must get back into building the boat and get up there

Cruising Log Palawan part1

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Cruising Under Power Southeast Asia in a Converted Fishing Boat

Dave

[exfishnz]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Latest update from these guys, they have left Sabah (Malaysia) and are now over in the Phillipines.

Nice crayboat conversion. Came across their site a while ago. I wonder what the diesel cost is up there nowadays?

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by exfishnz

Nice crayboat conversion. Came across their site a while ago. I wonder what the diesel cost is up there nowadays?

Sue and Phillip just sent me back an email.

Diesel here in the Philippines is more expensive than Malaysia at about
$AU 1-30/litre (43 pesos to the dollar) but has gone up about 25% in a
couple of months.

In Malaysia if you buy diesel in jerry cans from the garage it is
heavily subsidised (about AU50c/litre) when we were there. In peninsular
Malaysia in some places you have to get a permit but they don't worry
about it most places - certainly not Sabah (unless things have changed
since we were there.) In the past in peninsular Malaysia we have bought
fuel from the fish co-op at Lumut very cheaply (about 55c) but I believe
they are tightening up.

We bought some in Malaysia - at bunker price - in March just before we
left from the dock at Kudat near the tip of Borneo for almost
$AU1/litre). We have never bought fuel in jerries except for about 200
litres in Indonesia "to be sure, to be sure".

Brunei is always a bit of a mystery. We bought 2000 litres there last
year for 27c but no-one had tried recently because the word was that
they wouldn't supply. Another powerboat bought some in August last year
but we have since heard that they have tightened up again - but mainly
because they don't want Malaysians hopping over the border - not because
they want to stop yachts. In summary: Always worth a try - but don't
arrive with empty tanks.

Dave

[exfishnz]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Sue and Phillip just sent me back an email.

Thanks for the data mate.

I notice how their 49' converted crayboat gets 1.1ltr p/nm @ 7kts on their Gardner 6LX. That's pretty good for a fixed pitched unit.

I see you started a thread a while back about the merits of power vs sail in the trades. I certainly agree its all relative & I think power is a good option where there's little wind, & if I was gonna stick to the trades then a boat like your cat would be the way to go.

A while back I was reading about a large yacht in Margarita Island (Venezuela) that filled up with 20k ltrs (5.3k USG) over a two day period from a local family boat that sold locally sourced fuel & used large drums & a hand pump. Although there's some govt's cracking down on selling fuel to non-locals, I have a feeling that some local seller's (like this family boat) would still be able to supply

[imagine2frolic]

WOW,

That makes me eager to return to the Phils. I have spent several months travelling around by Jeepny, Bancas, Trikes, buses, and planes. Should be about 5 years to get there. I thought I would be retired in 2 more years, but the economy has that on hold for now.