Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 12-02-2018, 23:50   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 4
Why not a motor yacht?

I admit that I am very green when it comes to boating in anything over a 20' fishing boat. I've been looking around a lot, though, for the better part of a decade. The only thing that has stopped me from acting on it is my now-ex, which happens to be one small reason for her being my ex, but that's another story for no time.
Now that I'm single, my kids are grown, and I managed to get myself out of the debt that she caused, I have been diligently working toward my goal of living aboard a motor yacht. I've done lots of research. So much, in fact, that I have learned that I need to do a lot of research.
On the same token, my life's experience has been such that if you think long, you think wrong. There's as much benefit to jumping in than there is to planning things out, so I'm doing about an even mix of both.
One thing that I've noticed is that there seems to be a shortage of people living aboard motor yachts, yet a plethora of sailboats. Every time I ask for advice, or for someone to hit me with a bit of knowledge I get advice and/or knowledge of sailboats, even when I specify that I'm asking about motor yachts. I may not be the brightest crayon in the tool shed, but I know that I don't have to worry about the sail rigging on a boat that doesn't use sails.
But, why are there so many more sailboaters? Or, is it that there aren't necessarily more sailboaters, just fewer motor yacht owners that speak to people with a bank account under $10M?
Wasp77 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 00:24   #2
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Montreal, Canada
Boat: Hylas 44
Posts: 215
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

I personally see no problem if you don’t plan to do long passages ex: trip to the Caribbean since fuel expenses should be the issue. ( average 5€/ gal)
Northbound44 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 01:25   #3
Registered User
 
Davy J's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Tampa Bay
Boat: Gemini 105Mc
Posts: 767
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Here is my theory and speculation.

Motor yachts tend to go from marina to marina, tie up, plug in, then go to the restaurant for dinner. There isn’t as much a need for weather planning, provisioning and self-sufficiency. Therefore, less research, less discussion and few internet forums dedicated to such.

That said, there are lots of people on motor yachts. You just might be looking in the wrong places for information.

This magazine seems to cater to just that type of lifestyle:

https://marinalife.com/magazine/fall-2017/
Davy J is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 02:28   #4
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 30
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Fuel costs aren't really a deal-breaker on displacement cruisers. I think one of main reasons though is that travelling any distance, in any decent seaway, in a boat without sails and a keel is rather uncomfortable.

It improves with active stabilisation on the bigger trawler yachts, but on un-stabilised small motorboats, it's not fun to be in beam seas for any length of time. On a sail boat with the air keel above and the lead keel below, you're far more comfortable.

Coastal hopping with motor boats makes sense as you can virtually forget about tides, and out run weather if you have a semi-displacement boat, and the extra space is a nice to have when moored up. But offshore passages are best made on a sailboat. Unless you're rich.
Kristoff21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 02:41   #5
Senior Cruiser
 
GordMay's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W
Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt)
Posts: 49,139
Images: 241
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Wasp.

Have you been to ➥ Powered Boats - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Or ➥ Trawler Forum
__________________
Gord May
"If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"



GordMay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 03:00   #6
Moderator
 
Dockhead's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Denmark (Winter), Helsinki (Summer); Cruising the Baltic Sea this year!
Boat: Cutter-Rigged Moody 54
Posts: 33,764
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Why not indeed. If you like them, buy one.

I could take a stab at the pros and cons:

Motor yacht pros:

1. Lots of interior volume for the length and beam. Definitely best accommodation bang for the buck for any boat.
2. Can be quite cheap, especially with gas engines.
3. Relatively easy to handle, requiring less skill than sailing, but you still need some skill. Docking a motor yacht in a tight marina on a windy day is not for the faint of heart.

Motor yacht cons:

1. Uncomfortable motion without expensive stabilizers. Not an issue at the dock.


What is NOT generally a motor yacht con:

1. Fuel cost. Unless you're going long distances or buzzing around at semi-displacement speeds, the operating costs are not so different from what you will spend on a larger sailboat. Sailboats are not that cheap to run -- sails, rigging, etc., etc., etc. can cost a lot per mile, easily more than you spend on fuel for a motor yacht, if you like to sail, use good stuff, and replace it regularly.


Sailboat pros:

1. Sailing is glorious! It's magical. It's addictive. I love diesel engines and like motor yachts, but would I, personally, give up sailing? Nahhh. . .

2. Unlimited range. If you want to cross oceans, sail is the way to go.

Sailboat cons:

1. Accommodation. Sailboats get to be comfortable places to live only with fairly expensive boats -- either large monohulls or catamarans. Of course people get used to whatever, but if you want to live aboard and you plan to be at the dock most of the time, a motor yacht is a much better idea.

2. Complexity. A lot more systems to operate and maintain.
__________________
"You sea! I resign myself to you also . . . . I guess what you mean,
I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me;
We must have a turn together . . . . I undress . . . . hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft . . . . rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet . . . . I can repay you."
Walt Whitman
Dockhead is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 04:11   #7
Registered User
 
MV Wanderlust's Avatar

Join Date: May 2016
Location: Palmetto, FL
Boat: "Wanderlust" -- 1999 Jefferson Rivanna 52'
Posts: 874
Images: 28
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

As a motor boater who is currently searching for our next boat and is heavily planning for extended cruising in our retirement years, I’ll take a stab at this one.

Dockhead and others hit many of the high points. One item to consider is not all power boaters bounce from marina to marina. Many of us travel at displacement or hull speeds to conserve fuel and prefer the peaceful solitude of anchoring out. The combination of a motor boats elbow room with the relatively inexpensive travel is hard to beat. Granted, most of us are not transcontinental but there are more places to explore along the coast of the US, Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean islands than most of us will find in a lifetime of cruising.
__________________
John and Deb Easley
John - USCG 50 ton Master
1999 Jefferson Rivanna 52' CPMY
MV Wanderlust is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 04:28   #8
S/V rubber ducky
 
sailorboy1's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: heading "south"
Boat: Hunter 410
Posts: 20,363
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

There's lots of liveaboard motor boat cruisers here in Boot Key.

I tell people "I used to be a sailor, now I'm a cruiser." What that means is that in cruising you don't get to sail as much as you think so you might as well have a trawler etc. I've met lots of ex-sailors who now are cruising on motor boats. Haven't met anyone cruising n a sail boat that used to be motor boaters.
__________________
Don't ask a bunch of unknown forum people if it is OK to do something on YOUR boat. It is your boat, do what you want!
sailorboy1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 04:40   #9
Registered User
 
MV Wanderlust's Avatar

Join Date: May 2016
Location: Palmetto, FL
Boat: "Wanderlust" -- 1999 Jefferson Rivanna 52'
Posts: 874
Images: 28
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sailorboy1 View Post
There's lots of liveaboard motor boat cruisers here in Boot Key.

I tell people "I used to be a sailor, now I'm a cruiser." What that means is that in cruising you don't get to sail as much as you think so you might as well have a trawler etc. I've met lots of ex-sailors who now are cruising on motor boats. Haven't met anyone cruising n a sail boat that used to be motor boaters.
So, it sounds like you’re saying motor boating is like graduate level boating.

( go ahead, John, poke the bear)
MV Wanderlust is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 05:06   #10
Registered User
 
ranger58sb's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Maryland, USA
Boat: 58' Sedan Bridge
Posts: 5,420
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wasp77 View Post
One thing that I've noticed is that there seems to be a shortage of people living aboard motor yachts, yet a plethora of sailboats. Every time I ask for advice, or for someone to hit me with a bit of knowledge I get advice and/or knowledge of sailboats, even when I specify that I'm asking about motor yachts.

But, why are there so many more sailboaters? Or, is it that there aren't necessarily more sailboaters, just fewer motor yacht owners that speak to people with a bank account under $10M?

Others have touched on high points. You might check out trawlerforum.com (sister site) where more folks drive their ride with bigger engines. Many members there run motor yachts, not "trawlers."

Some here have mentioned that whole "beam seas" thing, and it's sure enough a potential issue. That said, it sometimes affects slow boats with round hulls more so that it might a motor yacht with decent propulsion. Can't always compensate, but sometimes increasing speed slightly and tacking can make things better. Stabilizers even better, of course.

And some have mentioned stabilizers, but often as if they're uncommon. Not really; many of the larger motor yachts are (or can be) stabilized. Its a wallet issue, not a technology issue.

-Chris
__________________
Chesapeake Bay, USA.
ranger58sb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 07:43   #11
Moderator Emeritus
 
a64pilot's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Jacksonville/ out cruising
Boat: Island Packet 38
Posts: 31,351
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sailorboy1 View Post
Haven't met anyone cruising n a sail boat that used to be motor boaters.

You have met me, my background is 36 to 45 Sportfishermen and center consoles, this is my first Sailboat.

Reason I believe most go to sailboats is $$$, most liveaboard sailboats are older, smaller boats that are plentiful and can be bought cheap, I mean real cheap, less than the cost of an economy car cheap. You just cannot life any cheaper than you can anchored out in a cheap sailboat, or I don’t think you can anyway.
look at Steady Hands threads on inexpensive boats for an example, now not all sailboat liveaboards are poor, but many in fact are.
Powerboats of any decent size can in fact be horribly expensive to replace the motors, in fact I’d go so far as to say a 30 yr old powerboat is pretty much worth what the motors are worth, if they need replacing, it’s worthless.

Gas motors if you use them will break the bank, it was nothing to go fishing for a weekend and burn well over 200 gls of fuel, in fact we would carry three drums of fuel on the swim platform to go out to the Fl Middle grounds from the Panhandle. 36’ Boat, twin 454’s. So maybe if memory serves we would burn 400 gls fishing three or four days, constantly moving and the generator never turned off.
If you intend to just liveaboard and rarely move, then a gas motor boat is a deal, cause it doesn’t burn fuel sitting still.

I went with a Sailboat cause my dream would require pretty much a seven figure big Nordhaven or similar to accomplish, but a Sailboat 1/10 the price can do it.

If you move, even under power alone a sailboat can be phenomenally efficient, frugal if you will. I burned 35 gls of fuel motoring down from Brunswick Ga to Vero Beach, and that includes 20 hours of generator time.
Balance that however with the fact that I have spent well over $35K in “sail stuff” and that is a whole bunch of fuel, but My Boat is 30 years old, so I was replacing 30 yr old stuff, it ought to be good for 15 years?

A trawler is sort of the middle ground, it’s fuel efficient and I’d want a steadying sail myself. However we looked at a couple in Stuart Fl at the Kady Krogan dealer, and the price they wanted for a boat the size and condition of my IP was three times the price, so that kind of killed that idea for me, if they are that expensive anyway.

So, if you can afford a good Trawler and don’t have Ocean crossing dreams, I’d say they are likely a better liveaboard Boat than almost any sailboat.
a64pilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 07:48   #12
Moderator Emeritus
 
a64pilot's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Jacksonville/ out cruising
Boat: Island Packet 38
Posts: 31,351
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnEasley View Post
So, it sounds like you’re saying motor boating is like graduate level boating.



( go ahead, John, poke the bear)


I’d say as people age and maybe realize that they are at most going to do the great loop or run up and down the ICW, and maybe spend months at a time in a mooring field etc., yes a powerboat is graduate level boating.
My plan has been all along that when we get older, that we get a nice Trawler, they are easier to get in and out of, don’t usually have companionway steps and don’t require as much physical labor to sail, and when the weather is bad and or cold, that fully enclosed heated and air conditioned pilot house I have to tell you is appealing
a64pilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 08:14   #13
Registered User
 
danielamartindm's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
Boat: Leopard 39
Posts: 860
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristoff21 View Post
Fuel costs aren't really a deal-breaker on displacement cruisers. I think one of main reasons though is that travelling any distance, in any decent seaway, in a boat without sails and a keel is rather uncomfortable.

It improves with active stabilisation on the bigger trawler yachts, but on un-stabilised small motorboats, it's not fun to be in beam seas for any length of time. On a sail boat with the air keel above and the lead keel below, you're far more comfortable.

Coastal hopping with motor boats makes sense as you can virtually forget about tides, and out run weather if you have a semi-displacement boat, and the extra space is a nice to have when moored up. But offshore passages are best made on a sailboat. Unless you're rich.

Your last paragraph nailed it. It comes down to the mission of the vessel. If you're planning on passage making in a motor yacht, it had best be a BIG motor yacht.
danielamartindm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 08:23   #14
cruiser

Join Date: Jan 2017
Boat: Retired from CF
Posts: 13,317
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sailorboy1 View Post
I've met lots of ex-sailors who now are cruising on motor boats. Haven't met anyone cruising n a sail boat that used to be motor boaters.
I've met lots of people used to ski and kayak and rock climb, that now play bridge and shuffleboard.

Not so much, other way around 8-)
john61ct is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-02-2018, 08:40   #15
Registered User
 
denverd0n's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 5,009
Images: 6
Re: Why not a motor yacht?

There are a fair number of motor yacht folks here. But you could also check out Trawler Forum.
denverd0n is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
motor, yacht

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Crew Available: Love your yacht? Why not hire the Best. captmarlena Crew Archives 0 22-09-2014 17:27
Micah's Folly...why not, and why anyway... micah719 Monohull Sailboats 10 17-07-2014 13:15
Why Not Build a Motor Boat Like a Sailboat ? Lexam Powered Boats 50 19-02-2013 08:50
From Motor Yacht to Sail Yacht BoatingCruising Meets & Greets 9 21-04-2011 22:59

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:59.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.