Who Has Gone From Sailboat to Motor Yacht?

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Bill,

1. They don't behave the same at anchor. A lot more rolling. No keel and mast to dampen the rolls. Depends on the type of MY. Trawlercat or hard chine design will roll less. Even a round chine will be about the same as a sailboat unless the anchorage is horribly exposed anchorage where you are rolling so badly that the weight of the mast limits rolling but we avoid those types of anchorages as much as possible.

2. Look around: MB leave at dawn to go somewhere else when the seas/water is FLAT. Sailboats don't mind chop so much. Depends on whether you like to sleep in or not! Yep, the MY leaves at dawn in calm conditions while the sailor trying to conserve fuel wishes they could take off then gets stuck when the winds pickup quickly making for nasty conditions. For a similar size boat of seaworthy design, a chop isn't a big deal.

3. Surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet: on a sailboat "It's the journey." on a MB you use it to get from place to place - less enjoyment in the going...I enjoy it a lot more when I'm not worried if we can make the next anchorage before dark. Hence we often drop the sails and crank up the motor if tacking back and forth at 3kts won't get us to the next stop in a reasonable period of time. If we want to enjoy sailing, we go out for a day sail where getting from point A to point B is irrelevant.

YMMV.

[svHyLyte]

A number of our friends have switched to Power Yachts in the last few years as advancing age and accumulated infirmities by one or the other of the couples has made sailing problematic. Of these, at least two couples carry a small sailing dinghy aboard their boats as well as an outboard powered inflatable for shore runs and several more have plans to do the same. It seems like a good compromise to me. I'd consider switching to power but I don't know diddle about handling a motor boat and we still feel safer aboard our sail boat (and have used less than 40 gallons of diesel a year while our friends use that much, or more, on a weekend outing!).

[Amapola]

We sold our Tayana 37 in 2005 and bought a trawler. We love it. The trawler offers more room and goes about the same speed as the Tayana. For a live-aboard, it was a great trade off.

[wesevans]

I still love to sail but the practical option was a power boat because of wife and area that we cruse in. If not making passages the power boat works out better.

[phalo]

Or look at putting a small to moderate rag and stick onto a power cat, which I have been toying with for the past year after experiencing the same amount of motoring time on my 15 yo Seawind 1000.
I have been looking for a light displacement 10 to 11m powercat up to 4.5m beam (to maybe achieve monohul wet status $ rate if I have to use marinas) that cruises at 7 k but can do 12 to 15k when required.
I have not been able to contact anyone who has added sails successfully to a powercat as I don't want to experiment on it if someone has done it.. The only ones I have heard of are:
1. a 40 ft (or about) Nustar built in Australia 25 years ago as a power cat, almost houseboat and has over 12000Kg displacement). The owner had a web or face page about them sailing the Australian NE coast but no mention of how well she sailed and can't imagine moves very quickly with that weight.
2. An American guy on this forum somewhere with 2 x100HP outboard powercat with sails who hasn't responded to my enquiry on its sailing ability.
3. A Compucraft 31 powercat (Australian designed by Col Clifford) which was converted to sail by an owner on Russell Is in Moreton Bay but not found to date.
4. indikon k4 & p4 - Indikon Boat Works | Indikon Boat Works which unfortunately is still a paper dream
5. Catamarans Sailing Powered Electrics who seem to be not afloat anymore

Then there are the Lightwave and Brady Used Brady 52 Catamaran for Sale | Boats For Sale | Yachthub once you go above 12m.

If anyone knows of a successful powercat to sail conversion please tell . When I say successful I mean does it sail at up to or over motor cruising speed on a run or shy reach

[jmschmidt]

I too may sell my race winning Newport 41 and go over to the dark side. I'm looking at the 47 Power Cat with the two very efficient Cummings 150hp engines. Besides, I can race every week with my friends if I want. Only down side is mooring, she's too beamy for my club. I can put in a mooring in the bay and dinghy our but that's a pain. Or, I can spent $3-4 million for a waterfront home with a dock. Maybe the lottery tickets will come in soon.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by phalo

Or look at putting a small to moderate rag and stick onto a power cat, which I have been toying with for the past year after experiencing the same amount of motoring time on my 15 yo Seawind 1000.
I have been looking for a light displacement 10 to 11m powercat up to 4.5m beam (to maybe achieve monohul wet status $ rate if I have to use marinas) that cruises at 7 k but can do 12 to 15k when required.
I have not been able to contact anyone who has added sails successfully to a powercat as I don't want to experiment on it if someone has done it.. The only ones I have heard of are:
1. a 40 ft (or about) Nustar built in Australia 25 years ago as a power cat, almost houseboat and has over 12000Kg displacement). The owner had a web or face page about them sailing the Australian NE coast but no mention of how well she sailed and can't imagine moves very quickly with that weight.
2. An American guy on this forum somewhere with 2 x100HP outboard powercat with sails who hasn't responded to my enquiry on its sailing ability.
3. A Compucraft 31 powercat (Australian designed by Col Clifford) which was converted to sail by an owner on Russell Is in Moreton Bay but not found to date.
4. indikon k4 & p4 - Indikon Boat Works | Indikon Boat Works which unfortunately is still a paper dream
5. Catamarans Sailing Powered Electrics who seem to be not afloat anymore

Then there are the Lightwave and Brady Used Brady 52 Catamaran for Sale | Boats For Sale | Yachthub once you go above 12m.

If anyone knows of a successful powercat to sail conversion please tell . When I say successful I mean does it sail at up to or over motor cruising speed on a run or shy reach

Sounds as if you want to reinvent the wheel?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

I too may sell my race winning Newport 41 and go over to the dark side. I'm looking at the 47 Power Cat with the two very efficient Cummings 150hp engines. Besides, I can race every week with my friends if I want. Only down side is mooring, she's too beamy for my club. I can put in a mooring in the bay and dinghy our but that's a pain. Or, I can spent $3-4 million for a waterfront home with a dock. Maybe the lottery tickets will come in soon.

Buy the home. If you are going from a 41 Newport you would have more accommodations on a 36 foot power cat with a 14 beam, that is dockable.

[Capecoder]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

If you buy a sailboat thinking you will save money by sailing... I would say 95% of people find out like you have that the wind is rarely of the appropriate speed and direction to get to your destination in a reasonable period of time...so they motor most of the time. The problem is the other "sailors" will all come down on you for admitting exactly what they do.

The one exception is ocean crossing where most power boats don't have the range.

We've actually been debating simply pulling the mast off our boat but it does get really good radio reception with the antenna 45' above the water.

I'll start with I do enjoy sailing. This year I have cruised over 5,000 miles along the east coast. Yes a lot in in a ICW, but also off shore and the Chesapeake and other large bays. If I saw 10,000 +/- sailboats maybe 300 had sail up and most also had a motor running. (Not counting small sailing races)

I have not been to the South Pacific and doubt I or most of the motorboats with the tall radio antennas will. I really don't understand why Sailors think they are superior to smokers? We are all enjoying what we love.

[Scout 30]

We made the switch about 15 years ago. Like you we realized that whenever we wanted to actually get somewhere we usually ended up motoring. What you gain is more living area for a given length, no maintenance of sails & rigging &, generally, a quicker boat, even with a displacement hull. That's because you are always cruising at or near hull speed in the exact direction you want to go. And, with a displacement hull, the fuel burn is so slight that it's really not a factor. Of course, if you get a boat that cruises at speeds above hull speed the fuel burn will go up dramatically.


What you lose is the joy of sailing. Those rare but great days when the sun's out, she's got the bit in her teeth, a rail buried, and you're really cookin in the direction you generally want to go. The other is the peace & quiet of cruising without having the diesel running. Diesels, even small ones, are loud. You can try to minimize it but you can't escape it.

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Sounds as if you want to reinvent the wheel?

when I read that, it sure sounded like Tom Lack inventing the Catalac....

[captain58sailin]

I use the sails when I can, the engine when I have to, I enjoy being out to sea regardless the mode of transport. One of the things I enjoy about sailing underway, is the quiet.

[Prflyer]

I have been a sailor all my life, and recently I bought a Trawler, completely in love with it, no longer worried about going upwind, and a lot less work still love sailing and somewhat get the feeling anyway since I am going 8 knots lol! fuel consumption is very good at least for a MV, 5 gallons an hour for a twin engine to me is great. lot of options out there, I would of never thought I make the change, good luck!

Dan

[AnchorageGuy]

Bill, we spent 17 years cruising our Mariner 40 ketch and now liveaboard and cruise our Marine Trader trawler. We occasiaonally miss sailing, but for the most part love our trawler. It gives us more living space, point and shoot ability and we find we will pick up and go much more than we did with the sailboat. The shallow draft opens up many more cruising options. We have found no more expense than owning and cruising the sailboat in the long run. That relates to the excellent fuel economy of our Ford Lehman 120. There are downsides. We must pay closer attention to weather than with the sailboat and often find ourselves sitting in port waiting for a better forecast, when we would have taken off and enjoyed a great sail in our sailboat. Certain sea conditions and winds over 15 knots are very, very uncomfortable conditions in most trawler types or displacement power boat hulls. That is the biggest downside, but one we have learned to live with. We have blog posts on both boats in my signature lines. Chuck

[Sea Frog]

I have been thinking about trawler or motorsailer for some time, I love the comfort and all, but there are very strong feeling that within next few years buying diesel at any cost will be a serious PITA, when crap hits the fan globally. And I would hate to be stuck in some hole not being able to escape because of the lack of diesel. With free wind, at least you get a freedom of sort and can run away when things go bad...