Turning a Sailboat Into a Motor Cruiser

[Oogie]

fuel economy

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

...keep at least one eye on future resale. Of course not a consideration when buying the "forever" boat...

Even if it is your "forever" boat, your heirs will still have to sell it after you die. Do you really want to burden them with some hybrid monstrosity that they will have to pay to get rid of? I wouldn't want to do that to my children.

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Even if it is your "forever" boat, your heirs will still have to sell it after you die. Do you really want to burden them with some hybrid monstrosity that they will have to pay to get rid of? I wouldn't want to do that to my children.

That's rather dramatized. My picture is of a very cheap (read dilapidated) boat, of which there are many more sail boats than trawlers, being cheaply restored to a viable outboard powered coastal cruiser. For me our would be a matter of pulling the engine and giving away the hull, not resale.

If we're talking something worthy of resale, then we're not talking strawlers.

[Oogie]

really denver? for real?

hey guys because of all the constructive post, and suggestions, i was in the tampa area this weekend and made and offer on 2 honest to goodness sailboats, one was a 41 morgan for 112000, i really loved it

[Oogie]

oh the other was a 33 morgan it is just to small for me, and NO i really do not want a trawler

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by Oogie

hey guys because of all the constructive post, and suggestions, i was in the tampa area this weekend and made and offer on 2 honest to goodness sailboats, one was a 41 morgan for 112000, i really loved it

Wow I have to confess...if you're spending $112k...I really Sooooooo think you're nuts to not buy a proper motor cruiser.

If cost really isn't the primary motivator....Hmmmmmm guess I'm confused

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I have to disagree with this.

Sailboat hulls are mostly the most efficient underwater shapes you can find, at least, fin keel ones. It is so much more important for sailing than it is to a 1000 horsepower trawler that the design priorities are all different.

So think it is credible to think that a sailboat hull will be much more efficient for slow, displacement motoring. It will also have much less freeboard and windage, plus with a ballasted keel should be much more seaworthy, vastly more seaworthy, incomparably. Steve Dashew took a lot of sailboat hull form ideas with him to his new series of motor yachts. The cost is very cramped accommodation compared to a similar length trawler.

Plus you can buy a sailboat with decent bones but knackered rig for nothing, probably for free.

I think it is a fairly decent idea -- a dismasted sailboat will make a, in many ways, really superior slow and low interior volume power boat, and for peanuts. Just one problem -- sailing is so cool, if you had a boat that had everything needed to sail except a rig, why in the world wouldn't you add one?? Sailing is magical, silent, free power, unlimited range. Wow, why would you give that up? That's the only problem with powerboats, which I would love to death only if I had never been sailing.

++++++1
You pretty much printed my reply for me.

[Astral Blue]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Sailing is magical, silent, free power, unlimited range. Wow, why would you give that up? That's the only problem with powerboats, which I would love to death only if I had never been sailing.

While I agree with much of what you stated, I can't accept the notion that it is free power. Being a powerboat owner, I might stand out as the black sheep when I say this. Sailing is the most expensive way to get from point A to point B for free!

Setting the magical dimension and the romance aside, replacing a sail inventory is often more costly than repowering a powerboat in the same class. Maintaining rigging, replacing winches, etc more than make up for the savings on fuel cost.

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by Astral Blue

While I agree with much of what you stated, I can't accept the notion that it is free power. Being a powerboat owner, I might stand out as the black sheep when I say this. Sailing is the most expensive way to get from point A to point B for free!

Setting the magical dimension and the romance aside, replacing a sail inventory is often more costly than repowering a powerboat in the same class. Maintaining rigging, replacing winches, etc more than make up for the savings on fuel cost.

That's one of those "sorta true" things. There are a lot of different ideas on sailboat costs and maintenance. I am at the WAY low end of cheap, and you couldn't buy or operate a jetski over a 5 year period for what I spend/have spent!

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by ElGatoGordo

That's one of those "sorta true" things. There are a lot of different ideas on sailboat costs and maintenance. I am at the WAY low end of cheap, and you couldn't buy or operate a jetski over a 5 year period for what I spend/have spent!

Cheap!? No one's cheaper than a blow boater. Why, I'm so cheap I make my own fishing jigs out of my own lead ballast!

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

Cheap!? No one's cheaper than a blow boater. Why, I'm so cheap I make my own fishing jigs out of my own lead ballast!

You know, if you keep using up that lead, it'll bite you I'm the butt eventually!

[FL Dan]

Here's a link to a fellow who's done it, cruised it, lived aboard it, etc. His conversion was beautifully executed. He'd be a great guy to contact for real world experience.

Winnie the Pooh, sailboat to trawler conversion - Trawlers & Trawlering

[Stu Jackson]

Replacing sails: even if it is like repowering, it only needs to be done once a decade or more, so, if planning ahead, one would spread out those costs to be able to fund the replacement, like a reserve analysis.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Astral Blue

While I agree with much of what you stated, I can't accept the notion that it is free power. Being a powerboat owner, I might stand out as the black sheep when I say this. Sailing is the most expensive way to get from point A to point B for free!

Setting the magical dimension and the romance aside, replacing a sail inventory is often more costly than repowering a powerboat in the same class. Maintaining rigging, replacing winches, etc more than make up for the savings on fuel cost.

A good point and generally true. I stand corrected. Consider the word "free" removed.

[delmarrey]

Lets put it this way.
A pair of off shore sails (main and genoa) would cost around $9K for a 40' boat. One could probably sail from San Francisco to Hawaii round trip 3 to 5 times depending on the weather and the crew.

Now take a economical 40' trawler and motor to and from the same destinations averaging 7 kt at about 1.5 per hour. The distance is 2345 mils as the crow flys. converted to nm = 2038 nm. So 2038nm ÷ 7kt = 291 hr. And 291 hr x 1.5 gl = 435 gl of fuel x todays prices of fuel at $3.50 gl = $1015 one way x 3 round trips (6 x $1015 = $6090).

5 trips (10 x $1015 = $10,150). So it comes out about the same not including the cost of the boat and maintenance. The chances are that the sail boat will have more maintenance or that it can travel even farther on those same sails. With sailboats it's quite variable, with power boats it's fairly constant.

So in reality it all comes down to a persons needs and wants and it's hard to compare the both w/o knowing a constant. It's when one picks up speed that the fuel costs start to climb.