Will $5/gallon gas change the next boat you buy?

I have only three words to say - steam steam steam!.
the thing is - your poll doesnt have a "steam or alternative fuel category- i would be inclined to hit the "go slower" poll. or lighter or maybe smaller.

someone mentioned wood chips costing money--

my solution to that!?
there is this new idea that just came out--its called: when cruising(pretty much for free) on the great lakes - go to any crown land owned shoreline(its everywhere!)- look around for standing dead timber, dead fall,or driftwood, take a swede saw or a small chainsaw which uses only a bit of gas- cut all the standing dead wood--driftwood etc you can find, haul it into your boat. stack it and run some more...this whole process costs you about two hours labour--now some will say --but my labour charge is 40.00 an hour-- well thats not really true since you are just doing it for fun anyway---and cavemen had no idea about hourly wages and they expelled much more energy to eat everyday...

this gentleman--while a small amount of lubrication oil is necessary- is free energy at its closest!..whats not free is the work to get it.. you do invest time and labour- but when you work a job to pay for oil--you also do that -

and yea its easier to pull the lid off a gas can and push a handle to release expensive fuels into your boat tanks..ok admittedly there are trade-offs... i dont know about you guys- but during my build-when i start to think of propulsion needs- and the next day fuel is up another 20 cents a liter! my brain automatically switches into "Exxonphobia": a obbsesive disease characterized by the following symptoms

--first --ANGER! like -WTF!! then anxiety- "oh no wtf!"... am i going to do if this continues!?
then there starts a panicked debate in my brain- " how can i bypass this fuel crap-and still have cheap boating experiences!??
and never worry about rising costs again--thats when my steam obessesion kicks in...

my "Essodysphoric anxiety" where my brain is analyzing: "HTF am i going to afford 6.00-10.00 per gallon fuel prices"!! ? has me on the computer obssesing about those beautiful -almost silent running-nice smelling- low rpm -high torque(for the tug) 18 hp steam engines. which are cheaper than diesels- even new!

-which run off dead vegetation, garbage, old newsprint, pieces of dead fiberglass boats thats been cut up,animal bones, lawyers politicians oilcompany owners and execs., charcoal, wood pellets, and the deniers of the enery crisis!

hell you could run these off of compost gases or methane.


with new technology regarding steam- i.e. u can now singlehandedly control the boiler-- there r safe- more efficient boilers, and engines- etc etc, im quite surprised steam is not more popular for slower displacement hulls--and yet -there are high performance steam engines which could propel a boat to planing speed.(see www.reliablesteam.com).
flash steam- steam turbines etc...old but still viable technology.

i do have a smaller diesel for my boat. it probably uses 2 liters an hour @ 25 hp--which isnt really a lot for a tug at 25 ft! just to swing a decent prop i need 4:1 gearing on that engine.


but when i keep thinking that even 2 liters will cost SOMEDAY, possibly when im still alive- the same as a gallon of pure maple syrup, has me thinking "its a no brainer"!.

and wood cannot rise in price when its so abundant and free for the taking..-i dont gotta compete with the local redneck ******* who beat me to the punch(this did happen to me) by monopolizing all the WVO at the local chipstands and restaurants... and wood will never be other than free in Canada---unless -the entire world goes back to steam and somehow they can take every last bush tree or shrub from the soil..(i better be careful about misjudging mans greed-he will find a way to do that too!)
wvwn if you buy chordwood- its still about 150.00 andim being liberal on the price--i get good oak or birch for 90 bucks a full chord this give about 30 hours running-used sparingly..not bad..thats-5 bucks an hour (at 150 per chord)-- do that on an equivelent 200 hp diesel!
steam= viable alternative.
even if more work..but our culture--me incuded needs the exersize...get out into nature more etc.
but when searching for your free wood supply-just dont step on any yellow jackets" nest..bad idea--trust me on that...!

 

A wood gasifier can make your gas engine run on vapors that comes off burning wood. And you can keep you carb installed.
I think it wont be as powerful as gasoline. It does work.
It will be a lot more trouble.

https://www.google.com/webhp?source....r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1111&bih=771

I also think most people will just not get into boating with high fuel costs.

 

i looked into those--but they seemed complicated--? Mike Brown suggests those--they were used in the 30's when fuel was scarce...they hooked them up to the vehicle and it is a laborious and complicated set up if im not mistaken..perhaps no more than steam though ? if people see that they can be run effectively with an alternative,people will. I don't think the boating trend will ever die off--there will always be people like us around who love water...

 

yes likely more trouble than a regular steam engine, except you get to keep your standard motor. I dont see why some engineer could not design a modern version of this.

They ran charcoal taxis for decades in Korea.
http://www.webpal.org/SAFE/aaarecovery/8_transportation/woodgas/introduction.htm

 

i knew someone who fitted a gas producer to a datsun utility and drove it for years with out problems.

 

what is the efficiency comparison between wood and gasoline?
mpg, gallon per hour equivalence?
Any thoughts?

 

don't know what the economy figures are but i remember my grandfather saying they did not have much power when running on gas producers during the war. i would imagine there would be at least 40 - 50 % power loss.

 

But the source of all the energy so far relies on Carbon. as does my boat (now with new propellers) so lean burn and alternative sources must be considered.

Long distance cruising is comfortable between 6 and 15 knots and I now do 6 on one engine and 10 knots on both, (unless I am surfing a following sea - and then I have consistently recorded 19 knots with the old 2 blade folding propellers), so I hope for better in my next cruise.

If I win a small lottery, $40K will set me up with mast and sails designed for my boat. Other changes like an additional pair of 600 litre fuel tanks will give me a range of some 2000 to 2400 N miles. Sails work out at slightly more than fuel at current prices. Tropical waters around the periphery of the Coral Sea are mostly calm or blowing strongly for the afternoon storm, so the usual 8 to 10 hour 'dash' to the next anchorage / shelter is the go.

 

im not sure- i know that steam is only 6% thermal efficiency and i believe fuels such as gas and diesel are around double that at 12%...if we could find something that ran at 99% thermal efficiency that would be something!
maybe nuclear energy does--i dont know the stats on anything other than steam and gas/diesel. i dont know what hydrogen is? or peroxide. the germans in ww2 were going to use peroxide for thier u-boats but they didnt for some reason...probably too costly..note im saying thermal effciency for the ENGINES that run these fuels not the fuels--

 

I've been dreaming of a small reactor in my boat for years!! Propulsion, HVAC, electricity, no refueling for many years on end... ah... a man can dream.

 

[

yea its like 10 00000 miles per rod of cesium 235!

but I can see the CNN headlines now:-

"worlds first atomic yacht experiences meltdown in backyard"
-

reuters
In a last desperate attempt at stopping an atomic yacht from meltdown- home boatbuilder tries to epoxy seal the reactor core!

 

Hey Tug - what about "cold fusion"? - no harm in pushing for anticipated advances... and no nuclear fallout or radio active residues

I feel that a fair comparative evaluation would be cost per n-mile x number of paid crew + tonnes of carbon credits to offset carbon content all divided by the number of permanent passengers.

Of note - this ignores size as I presume we are only talking of personal leisure boats and by using carbon credit balance costs methane burned from poo is exempt, as once burnt it is neutral on greenhouse? I think... - Anyway looking after our own and works as steam and IC. - As everyone knows I can make my own using sustainable coconut oil.

 

I think its neck and neck between solar and wind. Ille put my money on either depending on your location windy or sunny.

Ive noticed a lot of solar panels easily available these days. I bought a little one that sits on the dash board that keeps the car batt just topped up. Great for long stays in airport car parks or as in my case Satun Ferry car park in the sun.

It was only 15 dollar,--just plug it into the cigarette lighter( If the plug is still live with ign off) works a treat.

Cold fusion is great, has all the benefits and is safe,--only one problem,--it does'nt exist, well for more than 3 seconds. I heard they made a massive break through and can hold it for 15 seconds which means they have a longer time to analyse it and toy with it a bit.

 

see this is why there is no real solution yet for carbon fuels- with our present photovoltaic cells-just to charge a battery with one panel takes about three days of sun--so now you need to have a surface area the size of micheal jacksons amusement park-just to charge your batts faster than you could use them...then there is wind power- this is feasible to a degree- you need a lot of wind to turn an alternator small enough to fit onto a powerboat, but its opnly truly effective if the system isnt the size of the windfarm machines they put up now...

but practically, the size that a boat could accomodate, - again the charge runs out before the system can aquire the needs of the electric engines-anf if there is wind!

...then there is a combo--
even with this--there isnt to my knowledge-anything known to present man using even both systems that can replace a battery fast enough that
charge the batts faster than they drain -
cold fusion--that was some failed experiment(some say it succeeded and was covered up)from my understanding two particles collide causing a fusion of the particles -which gives of energy - i dont know the details..what i do know is--if it did work it would have been the cleanest-least dangerous of all nuclear power and the cheapest...

i have ven heard it said that--its actually "necessary" for our culture to be dependant on oil--that in fact it is healthy for the economy and our culture--i never did understand that reasoning,...

 

i sooo wish! but (sigh) we dont have coconuts on the great lakes but maybe all the creoste from these factories could be a viable alternative fuel? have you ever seen this stuff ignite?--its highly flammable. :idea: hmm(note to self--look into creosote deposits for steam fuel)

tinytech--the steam engine company i will be buying my steam engine from -have mills for sale which use the steam engine power to press your own oils from flax seeds nuts etc..you gotta read this guys philosophy--he believes this is the solution to the oppression by the oil companies--read his philosophy here(and note the beautiful engines running)
www.tinytech.com

i really do wonder about methane--its practically a free byproduct!?
why not?

a cold fusion reactor for every boat--thats my vision for the future!!