Sailboats vs. Powerboats which is better?

[rocdoc22]

Originally Posted by Lihuedooley77

A happy wife is a happy life....

Some things to think about as to a motor vessel.

1. Leave early to what ever destination , and on your return , when the seas are calm, and the wind waves have not built up on top of the swells.

2. Be prepared to hammer the credit card for substantial fuel charges.

3. The large motor vessel owners may have more money to spend, so they pay for a slip, and not have the effort to dink in and back to their boat. Aye, and a shorter elapsed time to the bar and restaurant.

4. Sailing, and again I mean sailing to Catalina, took about five or six hours from our home port at Newport Beach. Power boat, is about two beer miles and at 12 kts cruising, 26 miles, you are there mucho quicker than sailing into the wind on a sailing vessel. More time on island .

5. Sailing the BVI, we used a total of 7 gals of fuel in two weeks. The condomaximals motor, and spend nearly $ 1000.oo or more . Same for power boats. This is what I have seen posted, but have not personally paid for that much fuel.

6. Lots of comfortable space on board a motor vessel, with plenty of room to move about, party, kick back, and sleep and play. Ease if docking with twin engine power boat.

We have talked this over, should we ever think about a power boat.

What kind

1. Trawler....kind of like motoring a sailing vessels, but more comfortable, no reefing, no sail handling, and plenty of room to live aboard. Speed is just a bit above a sailing vessel but you can go direct and not have to tack.

2. Go fast, sleek, hauling okole , sea ray, or similar . If we want a power boat , we might want one that is FAST, FAST, FAST. Yep, looks like it is going 50 kts sitting still.

3. Large motor vessel, ( only two of us ) high 30's or 40's. Lots of comfort, twin engines, bow thruster, and all the amenities of the Ritz Carlton. Good cruise speed of maybe 15 kts , and one of those cocktail flags that says, come over, the party light is lit. We have the NFL game on, and the ice maker is automatically tossing cubes into the rum glasses.

Regardless, power or sail, depending on the sea conditions and your course, it can be rolly especially with a quartering sea way. So, the wife may still be out of the comfort zone .

That is why we suggest early departures when the seas are calm.

Also, with all of the luxury whiz bang add ons , that absolutely take away any work or even thinking , except for pushing a button or two, and all of the electric everything, stoves, a/c, navigation, radio, auto pilot electronics, generators, TV;s, trash compactors, jacuzzi, bath tub, head systems, etc. , etc, those dandies can fail and need repair and replacement.

So, more cash out, along with the fuel costs. And, slip fees, bottom jobs, transmission problems, and servicing two engines. Might not be a consideration and just the price of boating and enjoying good times on the water .

Plus, good stuff, with motor vessels, more time spent at your destination, and not out at sea tacking to your play time harbor for several hours.

Hmmmmm, we really like the looks of the sea rays, and sun dancers. Yep, if we were going to get a power boat, it would be a go fast. YAHOOOO !

but , then again, a really nice sea kindly, 40 foot motor vessel, with all the goodies and comfortable wide space would work as well.

Decisions , Decisions...

I can see that I have been a great help, you're most welcome, but you asked, and these are the ideas that we have mulled over for a few years.

How did we handle it..... well, we stopped sailing locally, and sold off the boat, and stopped renting from local sailing clubs. Instead, we love the two of us going on bare boat charter trips for two week sailing vacations world wide.

We replaced local sailing with hiking, and going to the beach, and hanging at our local beach bars and finding the best happy hours and friendly people. Someone has to volunteer and recon along our coastal beach towns. That be us'ns .

We also take land bound driving trips to the mountains and desserts , and also vacations back to Kauai Island, and other international eco adventures like Cost Rica.

Oh, and motor vessel bare boating, up the River Shannon in Ireland, that might be an idea to get the wife accustom to power boating . A couple of weeks on the River, and toss in a few days reconing Dublin.

No boat payments, no slip fees, no boat maintenance , insurance, up keep, we use OPB's, and for us, it keeps the fun light illuminated .

As to all that working and being right for some one else, it just comes down to what ever it is that you want for you and your partner. But, we feel that has to be a mutual agreement and makes both of us happy.

Erica and I are a team ....been so for 35 years .

Also, just thought, the Mooring and Sunsail have power cats for bare boating the BVI.... Another possibility to get some power boat fun time in paradise experience for a couple of weeks and see if a motor vessel will work for her and you.

Have fun, just some suggestions before you sell out and lay down all those dabloons for a power boat that maybe does not work out for the two of you.

That was a fantastic post - thank you. And yes, it is still a confusing and difficult decision, but you had many great points. I didn't even think about a BVI power charter as a test. Good idea.

BTW: I asked my wife and she said " Get One of Each"...........

[Training Wheels]

Originally Posted by rocdoc22

That was a fantastic post - thank you. And yes, it is still a confusing and difficult decision, but you had many great points. I didn't even think about a BVI power charter as a test. Good idea.



BTW: I asked my wife and she said " Get One of Each"...........

You are a lucky man!

[jzk]

I am a sailor, but 18 months ago I bought a 44ft Sea Ray aft cabin powerboat to have a place to stay in Florida and cruise to the Bahamas etc. We have been to the Bahamas 5 times, and did the trip across the middle of the Florida. The powerboat, for the money, has fantastic amenities. A full size kitchen type refrigerator, another refrigerator on the aft deck, ice maker, 3 full size air conditioners, 2 Caterpillar diesels, a westerbeke, 2 huge cabins, a couch and a dinette area that converts to a bed, 2 very spacious heads, bathtub and a great fly bridge. For the money, there is no way we could have found a sailboat.

I really like this boat, but I would certainly rather have a sailboat. At some point, we will upgrade. But here is something that I learned about powerboats of this kind that I don't think has been mentioned. They are hot. The two Cat 3208T engines generate a lot of heat. This makes the inside of the boat very hot. So, we have to run the generator and the air conditioning. And the generator makes even more heat. So we need more air conditioning. If we were on the sailboat in the same conditions, we would be most likely sailing. No heat. And even if we fired up the engine, the heat is minor compared to these two monster engines. When we get back to the dock, I run the blowers for at least four hours to help cool the engine compartment. Otherwise, the heat bleeds off into the cabin, and the air conditioners are working even that much harder.

[Capt Phil]

We also moved from sail to power mainly because I frightened myself coming back from the Sea of Cortez in our sailboat one year off Cedros Island
by waiting too long to reef the main.
We made the same trip several times in our DeFever 54 which we lived aboard and it was a treat to cruise in... stabilized and handled a sea beautifully.
As we age, and lose some of our strength and balance, it really,makes sense to be a little easier on our selves
Phil

[mvweebles]

Re: Sailing is about the journey, Power is about the destination. As an FYI, there is a small but meaningful group of power boaters who do serious cruising with their full-displacement long range trawlers. A sistership to my Willard 36 trawler went from California to Hawaii in about 14-days --- and burned just 335 gallons of diesel (500 gal tankage). Last year, I motored from San Francisco to Ensenada MX non-stop (500 nms) in 75-hours and burned about 100 gals. Several years ago, my wife and I spent 3-weeks going from from San Francisco to the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara and back and covered 850 nms. Once we finish a refit in Ensenada, will start an open-ended cruise first to the PNW, then to Florida via Panama Canal. I can tell you that people who own and cruise powerboats capable of offshore/coastal passages like this are serious cruisers who just happen to prefer standing watch in slippers instead of foulies. That said, I certainly identify more with sailors too - the active cruising communities in powerboats tend to aggregate around a brand of boat (e.g. Nordhavn) and do not disseminate information well outside of their clique. Cruising is cruising - I prefer a more austere approach as I find condo-boats distract from nature for me.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

the active cruising communities in powerboats tend to aggregate around a brand of boat (e.g. Nordhavn) and do not disseminate information well outside of their clique.

Trawlerforum.com (sister site) attempts to address that...

-Chris

[Sailor 99]

Originally Posted by ShipOfFools

Okay lets say hypothetically...here are the use case requirements....
fishing - slight amount, casual fishing
live aboard - yes part-time
lets say live aboard on a part-time basis for the weekend or lets say i take my boat down to Florida winter it there - sailing im assuming would be more economical than having a truck move it, for months, then sail it back to nyc, live aboard part-time but not full-time
racing- no
day trips - no, weekend minimum
cruising - slight interest
in keeping with my CL slumming it price, gas cost and maintenance would need to be kept at a minimum and so would the mooring or docking cost

Sailing from NY to Florida is a multi week/month motoring proposal unless your going off shore. Going down the ICW is slow and winding. This puts a fair bit of wear on the engine so it needs to be in good shape.


If you going offshore the boat needs to be in reasonable shape with good sails.


While sailing offshore is not inherently dangerous, the boat and crew needs to be ready for it. While you could get a decent smaller 30 ft sail boat that could do it for less than 10K, it is likely going to need some sales. They cost serious money although you can buy used.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Trawlerforum.com (sister site) attempts to address that...

Thanks Chris. I monitor TF. I note your use of word "attempts" in your description, which is accurate. That site, and to slightly lessor extent this site, deal more with maintenance and modification issues versus cruising issues. These are both great resources to pose a question (example: someone recently posted a question about cruising guides for PNW/MX/Central America and received several excellent answers). But 90% of the chatter is geared to boats tied to a dock. Nothing wrong with that, and unavoidable as people who are out cruising are not monitoring sites like these. I moderate the Willard Owners Group (Yahoo!) and the most accomplished cruisers regrettably rarely post. These include a couple on a W40 trawler who have been through the Panama Canal a few times; and a guy on a Crealock-designed W30 8-ton cutter (similar to Westsail) who occasionally posts from South America. I guess Willard's a 'bi-lingual" (Sail and Power).

[Wayfarer1008]

I've enjoyed his link Power Vs. Sail to live on in that I am approaching retirement and I am looking for a boat to live on and do some cruising. Thanks to a link to POP Yacht I am getting daily a half dozen or so advertisements of boats for sail both power and sail and have had a chance to see all styles of boats out there and there is a boat for every dream most at an affordable price.


Being a life long sailor I lean naturally towards sail but one of the trips on my bucket list is to do the great loop and its for the most part a power boat trip. This has me leaning towards a power boat "Or should I say looking at them" and its really tempting to have a floating Condo to cruise around with.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by jzk

. But here is something that I learned about powerboats of this kind that I don't think has been mentioned. They are hot. The two Cat 3208T engines generate a lot of heat. This makes the inside of the boat very hot. So, we have to run the generator and the air conditioning. And the generator makes even more heat. So we need more air conditioning. If we were on the sailboat in the same conditions, we would be most likely sailing. No heat. And even if we fired up the engine, the heat is minor compared to these two monster engines. When we get back to the dock, I run the blowers for at least four hours to help cool the engine compartment. Otherwise, the heat bleeds off into the cabin, and the air conditioners are working even that much harder.

That's the type of boat you chose and not applicable to all.
Our single 855 Cummins in its well ventilated walk around standing headroom ER does not get that hot.
The ER ceiling is well insulated keeping the living space directly above cool
All windows are opening and shaded allowing plenty of airflow.
We have no a/c and in 4 years of cruising full time have not felt the need.

[grecko]

If you want to have an adventure while connecting to the water and weather, then get a sailboat.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by grecko

If you want to have an adventure while connecting to the water and weather, then get a sailboat.

From someone who has had both I say pffft.

[Group9]

When we sold our sailboat and bought our powerboat, I wished we would have been able to afford to keep both of them. But, we couldn't.

[Shrew]

It's unfortunate this thread was re-dredged up after a 13 month hiatus. The OP is long gone. There is a lot of good advise and an astounding amount of assumptions and generalizations and outright incorrect and misleading information.

Some of these anti-power boat replies are laughable.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Shrew

It's unfortunate this thread was re-dredged up after a 13 month hiatus. The OP is long gone. There is a lot of good advise and an astounding amount of assumptions and generalizations and outright incorrect and misleading information.

Some of these anti-power boat replies are laughable.

A lot of these comments sound like the jabs my friends with sailboats and I throw at each other all of the time. No malice intended, ( I don’t think.)