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Old 16-02-2015, 18:55   #1
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Dilemma here.....

New guy to the forum and I know it's probably been beaten to death but I am going to look for some guidance anyway to the eternal question: sail or power. Now, before you go shaking your heads I have been around boats all my life to know to load this up with my mission: North Carolina the Bahamas to Curaçao and to Colombia with islands in between. Been all over in motor yachts but now it is ME that's going to foot the bill. Other than a sunfish and a catamaran that I sailed for most of my youth off the coast of cape cod, my experience has been mostly power. However, the love of sail has never left me............and neither has the love if diving and fishing. See my dilemma? Having not won the recent powerball I have narrowed my selections to a couple of 38-41 foot sailboats, Morgans, and 2 power boats, diesel power hatteras and Trojan. Maintenance isn't an issue as I have to tools and facilities to do almost all my own work. Obviously, the distances I am traveling would require a lot of time living on the boat. So, with all that said, I welcome any and all perspectives in helping me make a decision. Thanks!
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Old 17-02-2015, 12:09   #2
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Re: Dilemma here.....

I am new to this forum as well. Similar to your situation all my boat time was primarily motor ... I grew up and spent most of my life in Alaska ... and I fish !!! All of my sailing time has been as a tourist on crewed sailboats. I've retired and started looking for "the right boat". Spent months doing research. My considerations involved my age (63) and my experience with either sail or motor. Plus I've never had a comfortable live aboard. In my decision making process I spent a lot of time at different marinas. I burned YouTube up ... !! Learned to much about the waters I would be playing in... !! And then a knowledgeable son in law arrived. We all now co-own a 1967 Chris Craft Cavalier 33' with twin 350's (520 HP). She is expensive. Our mechanic calls her a Dean Martin boat !! We can travel the entire Gulf Coast ... and there are some nice places to visit. You'll know when the right boat comes up. Do your homework and bring cash.
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Old 17-02-2015, 12:31   #3
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Re: Dilemma here.....

Quote:
Originally Posted by BJames777 View Post
New guy to the forum and I know it's probably been beaten to death but I am going to look for some guidance anyway to the eternal question: sail or power. Now, before you go shaking your heads I have been around boats all my life to know to load this up with my mission: North Carolina the Bahamas to Curaçao and to Colombia with islands in between. Been all over in motor yachts but now it is ME that's going to foot the bill. Other than a sunfish and a catamaran that I sailed for most of my youth off the coast of cape cod, my experience has been mostly power. However, the love of sail has never left me............and neither has the love if diving and fishing. See my dilemma? Having not won the recent powerball I have narrowed my selections to a couple of 38-41 foot sailboats, Morgans, and 2 power boats, diesel power hatteras and Trojan. Maintenance isn't an issue as I have to tools and facilities to do almost all my own work. Obviously, the distances I am traveling would require a lot of time living on the boat. So, with all that said, I welcome any and all perspectives in helping me make a decision. Thanks!
Howdy!

If your dilemma is whether to buy a sailboat or a power boat, then I think your answer is in bold up above.

You can fish and dive from a sailboat, but you cannot sail a power boat.

Of course that statement is broad and general. There are "motor-sailors" that look like a sailboat and yet have more powerful engines (100hp or so). Most would see them as Sailboats.

And there are some trawlers that have some limited sails on them (for steadying the boat), some for "get home" sailing if needed.
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Old 17-02-2015, 13:30   #4
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Re: Dilemma here.....

Three thoughts:

Acquaintances of mine took a 43' trawler type around the world and dropped $59k for fuel. If I took a 50' sailboat around I could replace all the wire rigging, replace all the sails and pay for all the fuel for the same trip with $30-40K.

Even motoring a sailboat gets about 4 times the gas mileage of a similar length power boat. If you compared boats of comparable living volume the advantage would drop, but not enough to get anywhere close to parity.

If I got caught in heavy weather at sea I would rather be in a 30' sailboat than a 40' powerboat.
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Old 17-02-2015, 14:46   #5
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Re: Dilemma here.....

$59k to go around the world actually sounds cheap.

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Old 18-02-2015, 08:15   #6
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Re: Dilemma here.....

you have a really good plan there. I've heard that Colombia has really nice shores....
This is a travel that you'll likely remember for the rest of your life and if you wanna make it really memorable, you must do it in a passionate way, and what is more passionate than experiencing love... as you said it yourself, "the love of sail has never left me.."..
To me it's clearly obvious the answer
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Old 18-02-2015, 08:59   #7
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Re: Dilemma here.....

Sailing is a sport, I would not want living in my home to be a sport also.
It is quite easy to get a sailboat to have fun with, and not have to live in it also.

There is a certain 'manly' desire to sail (control) a big boat. Just like a 5hp go-cart when you can race a 'real' car with 500hp, but in fact, racing a 5hp go-cart is just as much fun if not more so, and 1/100 the cost.





Now doesn't this look pretty darn boring in comparison, yet now you must live in it with the relatively limited space.
As a practical matter, sailing is not cheaper than a motorboat, just seems that way when the sails are paid for upfront and a powerboat you pay-as-you-go.
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Old 18-02-2015, 09:06   #8
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Re: Dilemma here.....

I've never been an either or when it comes to sail and power (in fact right now, I own one sailboat and two powerboats).

For me, I've owned power cruisers and sailboats and I've enjoyed both. I do admit that price of fuel is a huge issue with power boats and has impacted my use of the ones I have owned before and own now.

When you own a large powerboat, that you use a lot, fuel costs seem to supersede every other cost.
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Old 18-02-2015, 16:34   #9
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Re: Dilemma here.....

Boring? Not really. I spend most of my days pushing the limits, albeit calculated, so going 6-8 knots across the ocean is relaxing. Space is always an issue especially with a 15 year old girl but she's just as happy on the water as I am. I just make sure to give her and the wife all the space they need when on the ocean. Me and the dog like it outside better anyway.😜



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