power v sail

has your thinking of sail v power been changed by the increasing cost of fuel?

 

Yes ,and this will skew [or possibly even screw] the industry here in the UK .We have lost red diesel as a propulsive fuel in leisure boats as well ,just to add to the misery.The real evil is that it is all manipulated. I have just dug my old sailing dinghy out of the garage ,haven't used it for years.

 

I looked into some of the issues a while ago
the thread is located at
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-design/cheaper-motor-sail-31976.html

have you considered going with bio-diesel ?

 

Not much difference in the operational cost of a sailing yacht vs a well designed displacement motoryacht. I have a 25 meter double ended, twin screw steel trawler type yacht berthed next to me. She burns 30 litres of diesel per hour at 8 to 9 knots. Fuel could triple in price and still be a small fraction of the ownership costs of this 3 million euro boat. Customers who operate these type boats will continue to enjoy the water.

What you will see is the death of the crazy " sport boats" ...... down the dock is a 25 meter powered by twin MTU 2400hp diesels....800 liters per hour. Its chained to the dock.. 6 months behind dockage fees. The market is flooded with them... resale value peanuts, dont buy one..

The big pressure on ownership costs in the west med. has been dockage , yard fees and crewing regulations.... the normal annual haul, antifoul type service has skyrocketed to 12 thousand euro for a 25 meter...dockage up to 6 euro per square meter, per night.

 

those costs are insane
I might have to reevaluate my hole retirement plan if thats the kind of thing I can expect here.

 

I regularly pay one euro fifty per liter of diesel. Very soon the US will see 10 dollar per gallon fuel. Best to realize this, then design your boat accordingly.

 

I already make my own fuel
actually I use waste material and end up with a 140,000 BTU/Gallon fuel
so diesel is not a problem, but the dock fee's and haul out fees and bottom paint issues bla bla bla if they are increasing in price and I have my plan calculated for x instead of y then I'm still screwed

 

Everything is connected to petroleum and governments need to tax to pay the bills.

 

hmmmmmm
I may have to rethink a few things and dream up a vessel that will be independent of the vultures running the marina if prices are really going up like that. OK I'm not on the Med coast but still, those are some pretty scary prices. I'd be broke in a flash if I had to pay that kind of coin just to park.
I'm trying to retire not break the bank

 

The larger boats seem to be looking at CNG as a source.

A push boat needs 1200 miles of range to go from New Orleans to deliver its barges.

This seems possible with larger boats that have the fuel tank space as new builds.

FF

 

now we're back to the largest trailerable ramp launched boat

something along the lines of an as-29 with a proper small diesel begins to look good

 

I downsized a few years back ,when even the yards I knew and had used for years got greedy. Largest boat you are comfortable towing is the most economical option. Sounds silly but on an island like ours it can even increase your cruising range. The loss of red diesel has been by far the worst thing for us, but that is so far, who knows how bad it will get.Diesel is £1-40 a litre, we have seen the best years.

 

we could open up the discussion to include the cheapest sail and rig that would do the job

 

Its not the cost of rig or sails...its the style of yachting, area of operation and technical complexity of the whole package.

Year after year the people I meet out on the water who are enjoying life with the big smiles, are the ones with simple, elegant boats.

Its makes little difference whether power or sail.

For international work, vessels that fit inside a 40 ft container are a winner...for domestic work vessels that can be handled on a trailer are winners.

Both allow you to escape the ever rising shipyard storage and marina fees. Both allow you to avoid the expensive safety equipment , fit out and design details needed for "on her own bottom" transits.

 

I totally agree