SAIL vs POWER

[brian eiland]

Yachting magazine has a fairly new page at the end of each issue titled "In Our Wake"

The Aug 07 issue had a rather interesting observation:
"In 1987, Yachting focused about 80% of its coverage on SAIL"

I spoke about going back thru some older issues (early 60's) of Rudder mag when I wrote this posting on Rhodes & Alden Motorsailers. Well mixed in with some of these old issues of Rudder were also some old issues of Yachting. What a contrast between the amount of coverage of the subject of sailing compared to that of power boats.

No need to get either side offended....just an observation

[longliner45]

interesting concept..at most pionts ,,boats are boats,,for example planing hulls come from power boats ,,but some high teck sailboats have planing hull sterns,,,,,,,go figure,,allways something to learn,longliner

[Frosty]

And the observation is?

Who or what gets more coverage now than before?

[longliner45]

what ever generates more income,for sure,,,,money talks,but also interesting because so many applications of boats,,I only hope those power boat guys will learn,,longliner

[Frosty]

Well round here there is no wind. There are lots of sail boats but most are in transit and although some stay round here for years, they finally move on.

Racing is a problem sometimes (most times ) races are called off for no wind. Time after time the boats havnt got enough speed to cross the start line against a 1 Kt tide.

I had 2 yachts here and as I intend to stay I bought power. I have had many a discussion with Yachties who agree.

Not only that,- fuel is cheaper here than in most places.

[alan white]

Going back to the subject of the general trend all over changing (as it has, meaning a shift to power boats away from sailboats), I would guess it has a lot to do with the general exposure of the current boating generation to hands-on concepts. There are also hardly any more basement train-sets that used to be common. Nor do kids build as many model cars, planes, etc. nowadays.
In a world that has changed from you-do-it to we'll-do-everything-for-you, things that go at the touch of a button will always be more popular.

alan

[brian eiland]

I think you are right Alan.

BTW Frosty, what part of Thailand are you in?

I saw over the years the power market increase its share of the marketplace up to 80%, backed off to 75, then back up to greater than 80. It will be interesting to see what the future brings as the world oil markets climb towards the $100 per barrel that I've forecasted to happen (maybe only briefly) this year (before Jan 08).

[brian eiland]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Who or what gets more coverage now than before?

If you picked up an issue of "Yachting" magazine (American mag) now you would be hard pressed to find any sailing subjects. I would guess it is 97% power.

In contrast pick up an issue of "Yachting World" (English mag) and get a great diversity of boating discussions.... probably bias toward sailing.

[messabout]

Commentary on economics: Some really bright investors, Warren Buffet and others of his ilk, are betting that oil price will go to $100/bbl and beyond. That is to happen in the fairly short term. What the hell, it is at $70 today. If the hundred dollar and up predictions become a reality, some changes in propulsion preference are likely to follow. We do have a finite amount of dino oil reserve.

I certainly like the push button convenience of power boats but there is a limit to my discretionary funds.

Truth to tell, much of the power boating community consists of posers. Marina Queens and all that. Why is it so important that we appear important?

Given the near certainty that fuel prices will escalate, maybe prohibitively, is there a chance that the pendulum will begin to swing toward sail? If so maybe there will be fewer Jet Skis.

Social commentary: Alan is right when he suggests that people, these days, are less inclined to do things that may take some energy, ingenuity, craftsmanship, and sweat. Let us raise our glasses to those old timers who created things themselves.

[brian eiland]

Originally Posted by messabout

That is to happen in the fairly short term. What the hell, it is at $70 today.

Don't know what country you live in, but I think it topped 80 today

It will only take some sort of little hic-up to drive it further

[brian eiland]

Here's a reference to another forum discussion of fuel prices entitled $ 2.00 Gas
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/ge...-2-00-gas.html

[yipster]

$ 2.00 gas ? we pay that here the litre, € 1.50

[Bergalia]

Originally Posted by yipster

$ 2.00 gas ? we pay that here the litre, € 1.50

Bugger it - let's invade Iraq.....

[SAQuestor]

Originally Posted by Bergalia

Bugger it - let's invade Iraq.....

[politics] No! No! No! Been there done that. Oh, wait. It was NEVER about the oil. WMD's - not there. Nukes - not there. 9/11 sponsor? Nope, not that either. Finish what daddy started? Probably.

But hey, there's a coalition of 36 - so 'he' says - helping out in Iraq.

Maybe 'he' can get a few more for taking over all the oil in Iran. Oops. It's not about the oil - is it?

[/politics]

[Willallison]

I think that it's mostly the way people use their boats that has resulted in the massive swing from sail to power. Few are interested in doing extended offshore passages - in fact few do extended inshore passages! Time is short - they want to 'get away from it all' for the weekend (that they insist on taking their aircon, dvd's, coffee makers, etc, etc is a matter for another discussion... ) And the reality is that for the most part power makes more sense for these people. Here in Tassie - for a long time, one of the last strongholds of sailboating - I guess the split these days is somewhere around 50/50. But on any given weekend - apart from those who are racing - I would guess that 90% are operating under power, regardless of vessel type. Why suffer the compromises that a sailboat brings if you're hardly ever going to sail it? I don't mean that as any sort of criticism - but whacking a bloody great stick thru the middle of a boat, with all it's attendant bits of wire and rope, does have some bearing on things!

As for the crystal ball, I don't think that that we'll see much in the way of change. There are a lot of cashed up people out there. They do 50 hours a year in their boats. It matters not if fuel is $50 or $200 per barrel. There will always be those who are after more efficient solutions, but they are the vast minority and are already there. We may see their numbers grow somewhat, but I suspect they will still be in the minority.
The hole in my wisdom will be if it becomes socially unacceptable to be seen as a resource waster. The day that conspicuous consumption is seen as a character flaw rather than a mark of ones success... that'll be the day when the bottom will fall out of the guzzler market.
But blow-boater's... don't hold your breath... we consumers are a greedy bunch!