Power Cat vs Sailing Cat

[Canibul]

That little PDQ 34 power cat always seemed like a nice boat to me. But then I appreciate the looks of the Lagoon 43, too, even though I've read the negative reviews. That master layout with the walk around king just slays me. Ah cain't hep it, Ah jus' lahk boats.

[roqdoc]

We have a Lagoon 44 powercat and have taken it from Maine to the Bahamas over 3 summers, including the Hudson and a hundred miles up the Erie Canal. We shipped it through the Panama Canal and now have it in San Francisco Bay. We lived aboard for months at a time, and had a great time with it in the ICW. It's radar 'tower' is about 20 feet high, so we could get under the vast majority of the ICW bridges, although we had to wait for a few to open if they were really low. The Lagoon 43 might have a little lower 'tower' but you should check it out. As I recall, there is a fixed bridge or two between Albany and Lake Champlain that has a low clearance, and that could be a problem. But the rest of the way is great in a power cat.

We moved to the powercat from sailboats (and more recently a monohull Ocean Alexander), in part because we could not imagine slowing down enough to enjoy sailing for long distances. Fuel is a problem, but at sailboat speeds we get about 3 miles to the gallon, and at our cruising speed (15 knots) we get just about a mile per gallon. There's loads of room on board, and we really enjoy the king-sized bed in the wall to wall aft stateroom.

It's worth a good look at the available powercats!

[Training Wheels]

Just spent $17,000 on a new main and jib, so don't think those miles spent sailing are free!


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[Sand crab]

Wheels, what boat do you have? I think I read it somewhere but advanced CRS is setting in. You could put it in your details or signature so I won't have to ask again.

[Training Wheels]

I just have one of those slow tri's. But at least I don't have to worry about pitchpoling!


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[Jim Cate]

The question one has to ask is in reality how much am I going to sail? The reality for most is nil or less.

Wow! Less than nil sailing is pretty slim, even for Florida boats! I wonder how they do that?

Jim

[Canibul]

you have to do it while reading global warming predictions.

[tomfl]

Interesting question about the reality of sailing. I always thought folks sailed to get away from reality.

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[boatman61]

From my viewpoint you should stick to the Powercat..
Your preference/priority appears to be transport and accomodation efficiency and speed.. ie; simply getting there and back in a given time..
Going down the ICW is a speed restricted trip so it can be done rotating one one engine at a time comfortably.. and nearly as cheap for the whole trip.. no sailing for the coupla hundred odd miles you may do once down there.
Sailing boats often refuse to co-operate for one reason or another... bridge waiting times being just the start..

[Sailingveterinarian]

There is the trip up and down the Hudson and worse the trip through the Champlain Barge Canal. It is exciting the first time. I've done it twice this year with a cat. Had been thinking of doing it yearly. Clearance on barge canal is 17 feet. There is the expense and work of dropping and stepping the mast, sails, radar, wiring....etc.
currently inhe Bahamas and loving it.

[Sailingveterinarian]

By the way, for now, sailing still winds! 18-24 knot winds all day today...long, beautiful sail.

[Thenaz007]

So if it is $17K for new sails every (indulge me) 7 years and (again indulge me) $3/gallon for gas, your break even is 800 gallons of gas per year. If your rationale is you want to be there not get there you will maybe get around 2 mpg. So if you would SAIL less than 1600 miles a year you are losing money. This is eight 200 mile passages. Again you could argue different numbers and criteria but the rule of thumb looks to be if you are actually actively cruising (going somewhere else once a month) you should at least break even. To me that means its a personal choice, and everyone has one.

[duefocena]

I've heard some quotes of motoring @ 2 mpg and buying fuel for $3 per gallon while replacing sails every 7 years @ $17,000. IMHO, this is a bit skewed. My experience with motoring in a typical power boat along the Pacific coast and Mexico has been closer to 1 mpg with fuel costs @ $4+ per gallon. I replaced my mainsail and jib this month from H2O sails for $7,000 after 12 years of service on my Doyle sails. I am selling the Doyle main and jib used for $1,500. My neighbor has a power cat of the same size as mine and has spent thousands more than me on his engines maintenance and repair.
With that said he runs out to check on whales at 10 kts and I trail behind at 7-8kts. Delivering a Nordhaven last summer I remembered how much more a power boat roles in a seaway compared to a sailing cat. Kiting drogues on the Nordie to buffet the roll could be the reason for the loss of fuel economy. Then there is the noise of droning diesel engines and the smell.

[2Hulls]

If you reduce it to a strictly financial decision, I think you miss the point. If you are a sailor no amount of fuel consumption vs sails cost comparison is relevant. If you are not a sailor, no fuel expenditure is too much.

Who are you? Pick yer poison.

Dave

[Training Wheels]

^^^ Couldn't agree more!


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