On passage, what speed do you decide to turn on an engine?

[clownfishsydney]

When sailing in New South Wales, you generally need to average a certain speed to get from one port to another (most are good distances apart) before dark or to catch the tide as you are crossing a river bar. In those cases, we nearly always had to run an engine at least for part of the passage to make sure we arrived in time. Other than that, probably below 3 or 4 knots.

[chrisr]

as a rule we start looking for some engine at around 4-5kts (i get bored easily...)

but this is very much dependent on whether we are aiming for a particular arrival time (tide, daylight etc) or date

also (being very conservative) we tend to be a bit under-sailed at night so more likely to run an engine then

cheers,

[Rustic Charm]

I usually hit the ignition when I see below 2. But depends on the conditions too. If it’s choppy I might turn on at 3.

[Tupaia]

I think motoring at all on an ocean passage is futile. Unless there are particular weather events to avoid. So generally we will just keep sailing no lower speed limit. If there is no wind at all we drop the sails and stop, enjoy the scenery and go for a swim, it has never been more than 24 hours. Swimming mid ocean in 1000's of metres of water is a belittling experience.

For coastal stuff we will "consider" starting an engine if we drop below about 4 knots but usually depends on tides.

We rarely if ever motor sail. There either is enough wind or there isn't any.

[hpeer]

There is nothing quite so enjoyable as listening to the melodious clang of a sea bouy for 8 hours.

While sweltering.

With no ice.


Or music.



Alone.

[Kd9truck]

WARNING: some of the content is satirical

Hi, My name is KD and I may be a Wind-Aholic.

I tolerate the sound of our motor running much better than the sounds of sails luffing and halyards clanking, I own it. I am not alone, “Wind-Aholics” W.A. self help group be dammed, I am proud of my “wind addiction” And i prefer my pronoun to be “movement positive”.

I will only bob around if I am tight on fuel, I don’t day hop under 5 knots, when making passage and it goes below 4 knots, When we run the motor at 1800 RPMs and that will get me 5 knots and this is when I think I get the best fuel economy.,…and I try to make sure I am never Under a 1/4 tank. We can double our range by utilizing a second dormant tank.
We are 20 % cruising, 80% day sailing, the vessel is moderate displacement, she will move in light wind, but I can only tolerate the lack of purposeful forward movement when the water is really still, around us under 5 knots is “power boat paradise” in my area, lots of driving from one gas dock to another God bless their souls. We like to wave at each other (we me waving and them no so much) coming into mooring when they are going out, and when I am going out and they are coming in, I think they like the arrangement also.
I would blame my lack of “light wind patience” on Attention deficit, or lack of light wind passage sails (just a 140% Genoa that can get poled out) but I think it’s more that we've been fortunate to have consistently good sailing conditions and other options like a great mooring location when there’s no wind, and a multitude of land things to do. Cheers

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by HeywoodJ

Not sure why Boatman wears the Speedos, it is the middle of the ocean after all. Nothing quite like being 1000 miles from shore, jumping off the bow, and watching the boat slowly glide by. Catch the trailing line at the stern, pull yourself aboard, wash, rinse, repeat

Sometimes I have folks like Fore n Aft on board..

[sailorboy1]

I don't have a speed to turn on the engine. I have a "big picture" that changes each trip and is based on what is going on etc. I do have a SAILboat afterall.

[jeanathon]

Only fire up the engine if there is no wind and low on rum.

[Cheechako]

3.5 knots, and not for long at that speed.
Motorsailing at high idle can be great, point much better and make a lot more speed.
I have little resistance to using the engine. It's a tool, the boat's a tool, etc...

[thinwater]

When I had my turboed Stiletto 27 I would get twitchy when the speed dropped below 7 knots. 8-12 was the sweet spot, but we saw 24 knots once. That was a bit too much.

Of course, she would also motor at 12 knots. Often the plan was to get up early, cover 80-100 miles, and get there mid-afternoon.

The truth is that the ride was smoother about 6 knots. Below that, with sloppy wakes, she got bumpy. Very light, about 1200 pounds.

With the PDQ it was about 5 knots. The boat was boring under sail until it hit about 8 knots, so drifting felt pointless. Might as well get somewhere.


---

Now I'm less ambitious. Yeah, somewhere below 3 knots you really aren't sailing anymore. It depends on whether there is somewhere I need to be. My F-24 is also not quite as fast, though it points better and rides smoother.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by hpeer

There is nothing quite so enjoyable as listening to the melodious clang of a sea buoy for 8 hours.

While sweltering.

With no ice.

Or music.

Alone.

Why did you tie up to a buoy at sea

[Be Free]

I'm generally more interested in the trip than the destination and I enjoy the challenge of getting somewhere without using the engine at all. That said, if I have to stay on a schedule I'll use the engine when I'm under 2 knots or so or when my ETA under sail makes it impossible to arrive before the deadline. I'll use just enough engine to stay on schedule and cut if off if the wind picks up.

[arsenelupiga]

learnt bit more about sailing upwind and here is my latest.

returning from Lizard Island south, one faces relentless upwind conditons, 20-30 kn and on top of that 1-1.5 kn current against. Lets not mention sea state.

So yeah, we sailed al the way in comfort. Basically boat managed to hold 35 apparent and 2-3 kn speed over ground. This translated in around 2 kn VMG against wind and current. Idea is to sail slow enough so that boat does not slam. I am very happy with this technique and have some ideas how to improve. Boat structure takes no stress and wife is happy.

Motoring could propbably add 1-2 kn with cost to structure. So why bother

[accomplice]

If I'm taking people out for a day sail, 4-5 kits.

If I'm on a passage, 7 kts. Unless we are straight into the wind in which case I'll also consider sea state and how much distance and fuel remains.