Searching for fuel efficient powerboat

Discussion in 'Powerboats' started by Chuck Losness, Apr 29, 2011.

  1. Chuck Losness
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    Chuck Losness Senior Member

    That Monk was nice except for the ugly tacked on fly bridge. But it is a wood boat and it is almost impossible to find a marina in So Cal that will except a wood boat as a new tenant. I cruise through yacht world all the time. I like the roughwater 35, 36 and 37. They come close to what I want. There are other designs there that come close but nothing that I am willing to spring for at this time. Thanks for the suggestions.
    Chuck
     
  2. Chuck Losness
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    Chuck Losness Senior Member

    I like this boat. It comes close but I would have to make some modifications to the interior. I would also remove the fly bridge. I know the owners and they say it can get a little rolly in beam seas. Might be too much weight up high. It's been for sale for about 2 years with no takers.
     

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  3. sabahcat
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    sabahcat Senior Member

    Here is one I have been watching come down in price and was also one that started me on my build.


    [​IMG]

    3500nm (or even 2500nm) range make it quite the passagemaker
     
  4. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    I think I would follow up on a cat for effecient motor cruising. Buy an 40ft ex charter sailing cat...chop the rig off and repower, might be a very effective way to go motoring
     
  5. Easy Rider
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    Easy Rider Senior Member

    Michael,
    Don't need a cat for that.

    Sabahcat,
    How do those cats handle really big seas. I'm quite sure they do'nt have the ability to slide sideways down the face of a big wave and it would seem to me eventually one would need to do that. Also a big breaking sea would wash right over it. How can/do they survive? Dos'nt seem possible to me.
     
  6. sabahcat
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    sabahcat Senior Member

    You would be incorrect and testing has shown them to be superior in really big seas.



    From Crowther's design notes:

    Testing was done in the Southhampton wave tank
    In testing, it was found that a monohull power boat was easily capsized in a 25 ft breaking wave.
    Tests with conventional monohulls after the fastnet disaster showed they could be capsized in 12 ft breaking seas.

    In comparison a multihull with a typical 24ft beam was unable to be capsized , even beam on, in the largest wave generated (equivalent to 31ft breaking beam sea)

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Steve W
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    Steve W Senior Member

    Obviously a powercat is more likely to sideslip than a sailing cat as they dont have leeway preventers, ie daggerboards or keels to trip on, also not sure why a wave would be any more likely to wash over a cat than any other boat.
    Steve.
     
  8. sabahcat
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    sabahcat Senior Member

    A cat with boards will usually have them up if lying in storm conditions

    Many powered cats do have keels to aid tracking and protect appendages (props and rudders)

    I doubt that they are
     
  9. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    And as always, Horses for Courses. A lightweight fuel efficient whatever is not going to be suitable for high latitude , off season, cruising. Most people dont demand that capability.

    As for cats, I never sailed one, but I meet many people...families with kids...cruising around the world on 40 to 50 foot cats and they never express any fear.

    What they do tell me is how pleasant a 40 ft cat, with 80 feet of monhull interior volume and living space, is to operate. And that when driven on one engine a cat is very fuel efficient

    It would be worthwhile to check out the cat option
     
  10. u4ea32
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    u4ea32 Senior Member

    Thanks Tad for these data points!
     
  11. u4ea32
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    u4ea32 Senior Member

    Would love to watch this concept evolve!
     
  12. u4ea32
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    u4ea32 Senior Member

    We have looked at several similar boats (Taiwanese trawlers) and been disappointed in the fact that so much of the encapsulated wood in the decks, cabin sides, stringers, etc was rotten.

    Also, those things have so much wetted surface and the submerged transom that doubles drag at low speeds. Just yet another example of what you've been seeing, Chuck, that existing fiberglass production powerboats were designed when fuel was cheap. Fuel is never going to be cheap again, until there are a LOT less humans on Earth.
     
  13. Chuck Losness
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    Chuck Losness Senior Member

    David,
    The boat in the photo I posted was made in South Korea and to my knowledge does not suffer from the rotten plywood ills of the Taiwanese trawlers. It does have the submerged transom though. It is also narrower, lighter and has a slightly longer LWL than is typical of the Taiwanese boats. I sure wish I could afford to have a boat built. But that is not in the cards at the present time. So I will just have to wait and see what I find on the used market. I have some ideas on how to deal with the submerged transom issue by making the swim step an extension of the hull.
    I am getting serious about selling my Gulfstar 37 and will talk to the brokers in La Paz when I get there in January.
    Chuck
     
  14. sabahcat
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    sabahcat Senior Member

    A high performance cruising cat, while more expensive /lb, will also be considerably lighter in weight.
    Less weight = less $
     

  15. sabahcat
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    sabahcat Senior Member

    What did they do to sort this out?
    No ply?
    Or proper use and installation?
     
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