Going from Sail to Power

[kimden5]

I've had a few power boats over the years (mostly lake boats) than transitioned to sailboats several years ago. Now too old for sailboats ( I'm 70 +) I've gone back to powerboats. I'm now in SW FL. so I'm in bays, rivers and the Gulf. I have a 24' sedan cruiser that weighs in at 5000# and when the bays or gulf are 2' to 3' and even a moderate chop, it beats me to death. My last sailboat was 9000# and even in rough seas, was never a problem. I know with planeing hulls you're on top of the water instead of going through it, like a displacement hull. Would a lighter boat handle it any better, say 2-3000#. I always thought a little heavier would be better. Is it something I'm just going to have to get used to. My boat planes at about 23 mph and I generally like to cruise at about 25-26 mph ( 3000 rpm on my boat). Thanx for any help.

[Kokanee]

kimden, - Going lighter won't help matters any with a fairly flat planing hull.

The way I see it, you have two choices if you want to cruise comfortably in 3 foot chop. Either cruise slowly with a heavy full displacement trawler style boat, or go for a deep vee downeaster style planing hull if you want the speed.

Depends how fast you want to get to your destination, and how much fuel you are willing to buy.

[kimden5]

This boat is a good deep V style hull with a 20 degree deadrise at the transom and is rated supposedly as an off-shore boat. I picked 25 mph (3000 rpm) as a good speed for fuel economy. Some people have told me that if I go faster it will smooth out the ride (but burn a LOT more fuel) Top speed on this particular boat is 45 MPH.

[Kokanee]

Generally speaking a good offshore power boat has about a 24 degree deadrise at the stern and around 60 degrees at the bow.
Boats over about 30 feet tend to be a lot more smoother riding. I don't know if that is a weight or length issue.

[Canibul]

It's all about hull shape and speed with power boats.

[Scout 30]

Ralph Stanley turned over in his grave when you used deep vee & downeaster in the same sentence.

[Stumble]

Take a look at the TwinVee 26' and other cats. We routinely run the gulf and Carribean Sea in a 26' and never have a pounding issue. Even at 30kn and ocean swells it's a very smooth ride. Lower top speed than a high powered twin monohull, but a lot better fuel economy, and it is by far the best riding boat of its size I have ever been on.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by kimden5

I've had a few power boats over the years (mostly lake boats) than transitioned to sailboats several years ago. Now too old for sailboats ( I'm 70 +) I've gone back to powerboats. I'm now in SW FL. so I'm in bays, rivers and the Gulf. I have a 24' sedan cruiser that weighs in at 5000# and when the bays or gulf are 2' to 3' and even a moderate chop, it beats me to death. My last sailboat was 9000# and even in rough seas, was never a problem. I know with planeing hulls you're on top of the water instead of going through it, like a displacement hull. Would a lighter boat handle it any better, say 2-3000#. I always thought a little heavier would be better. Is it something I'm just going to have to get used to. My boat planes at about 23 mph and I generally like to cruise at about 25-26 mph ( 3000 rpm on my boat). Thanx for any help.

Ive spoken to a couple of people here in SF bay, who had to switch from sail to power, for the same reason as you, who sail those Ranger tugs. If they handle the SF bay chop well, they might work for you.

[kimden5]

I love the look of the pocket trawlers and mini-tugs. My main problem was the budget. Pretty small. That pretty much limits me to 24' and single hull and engine. I have a neighbor with a cat boat and like it, but again out of my budget. Plus I live on a canal with an 8500# max. lift capacity and one 9' bridge clearance to get out to the river and Gulf.

[dohenyboy]

If you have stabilizers it helps.
A crew I know crossed to Bimini without waiting for a good window.They got pretty beat up. 154' motoryacht.


Why can't things remain where i carelessly left them?

[Grampstrs]

I am 70 and needed a roomy easy to cruise trawler. We looked at many mono hull trawlers but to find one with enough room we would have to go over 50 ft. You might want to consider a power cat, that is what we did.

We chose Endeavour Catamaran, as they built over 300 sailing cats before building their power trawler cats. Many Endeavour sail owners have switched to Endeavour Power Cats as they grew older! There customer loyalty is amazing and the customer support is exceptional!

We have owned two Endeavour Trawler Cats, a 40 and now a new Endeavour 48 "Grampstr's Pride". Endeavour's are made in America in Clearwater Florida. They also make a 38 and 44. You won't find a better ride and efficient hull design! Since taking delivery of Grampstr's Pride" we have circled Florida 3 times including the keys, the dry turguas, the Okeechobee locks several times!

Because ot the Endeavour Trawler Cats, two hulls they are much easier to maneuver. They handle great in rough seas. What is really nice is the beam is either 16 or 18 ft depending on model, makes it easy to find slips and docking facilities. We run our 48 at 7 knots and burn less than 4 gallons an hour. We can run at fast speed of 19 knots! As I understand it from other Endeavour owners of 38 and 44 models they have even better fuel burn, but similar cruise speeds!

As you can tell we love our Endeavour Trawler Cat, my wife calls it our retirement home on the water!

You can follow us at GECCharters.com

Joe

[daysgoneby]

Really hard achieve in small boats but there are a few I know about that are pretty good and can be found on the used market.

Best Offshore Fishing Boats : The Rambling Fisherman

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Nice boats which tend to hold there value.
Monaro Marine Ltd.

Can't beat it in this size of boat for ride and comfort, it has a bed! but can be a budget buster. Not all cats are equal, for the best ride the semi or full displacement is the way to go.
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