Crossing over the Dark Side

[Captain Smollett]

Okay, so if you WERE to cross over to the dark side and cruise on a power boat, what would it be?

I've come to really like the lines of the C-Dory 28's.  The 26's are nice too.  Everyone I've met who owns one REALLY likes them.

Not looking to switch to power boating, but I like boats...all boats.  By the way, saw a wooden power boat on the water today...reminded me of an older Chriss Craft.  Beautiful.

Thoughts?

[sailorflo]

nortic tug is the power boat for me

[dnice]

If money wasn't an issue...
I'd build a george buehler diesel duck around 46'
http://dieselducks.com/index.html

[jotruk]

I like a Main Ship Trawler myself, about a 38 to 40 Ft.

[Godot]

Power small, I say.  I actually do like the Cape Dory motor boats, and it is possible that I may end up going that way someday, if that is the only way to get my wife out with me.  It would be a darn shame to give up the stick; but the compromise may be worth it.  If she can survive diesel sticker shock. 

I don't know anything of the Cape Dory 26 motor yacht; but the 24 looks nice, as well as the 28.

[dnice]

Well, this got me looking around on YW for a bit :)

When I first thought about cruising and living aboard, i spent a lot of time researching powerboats... but of course, I found sailing and forgot all about them.
Anyway, There are some really good deals to be had on them old stinkpots.
It seems like the 'yacht' mentality dominates the world of powerboaters (i guess it does for the majority ofsailors too...), so the old 'project' boats tend to be extremely cheap. As far as I am concerned, as long as it floats and the motor runs it would make a nice cruiser :)

with that said, being a power cruiser doesn't have to be extremely expensive.
If I really wanted a decent budget cruiser, I would go with something like this Carver , or maybe this fiberglass chris-craft(the old wood or steel ones are much nicer, but still too expensive). But then there is quite a few of old work boats that would convert nicely to a cruiser.

All-in-all they are still more expensive to own than a sailboat, but if I were a marina dweller with short-term cruising plans, a P/Y may well be worth it.

[s/v Faith]

I like the little Nimble boats,

The Kodiak;



& the Wanderer;

[mrb]

There may be some nice motor vessels out there, however

I've had a Carver Voyager 28"  nice vessel for the dock and maybe small lakes but for ocean they stink.  Anytime you try to add all that head room and free board and very little hull under water.  Mine had the flying bridge thankfully because motion and noise inside was horrendous.  no fun.  then 1 mile to the gallon hm to go 300 miles whats the price of fuel at the dock now.  A friend has a 38 or so ft Pacific Trader.  We took it down the Columbia from Portland, across the bar and down coast to Brooking/Harbor Or. Nice ride and less than 100 dollars in fuel.

The tugs are nice but they are giving up fuel economy for speed,  whats that about.  Some of the early ones nice all a round though.  I would take one of the originals.

The Kodiak is nice, I would go for the motor sailor.

Ted Brewer has a nice trawler that has steady sails, small main and bigger forsail.  mostly to steady boat on beam reach but will help you get to down wind port if need be.  Calls it his Grand Banks 33

Cousin has a 55 ft salmon trawler that gets 5 miles to the gallon.  Buys fuel by the tanker truck full so gets a better price.

My ideal motor cruiser would be stick to nice pilot house sail boat and have some of both worlds.  maybe not the best of eather but

[dnice]

Here is some pretty good reading about a couple who have traveled (and lived) extensively on a trailered c-dory 22. Pretty interesting stuff.
They definitely fit the sailfar type, minus the sails :)

"It takes a certain type of person to contentedly dawdle along through life, displacing water."

[edited] sorry I guess C-Dory is not the same as Cape Dory :)

[mrb]

Looking on the cape dory site lastnight and came across their motor sailer with steady sail set as the Ted Brewer Grand Banks 33.  Very nice.  Actually don't think most people realize what that mast is for on their trawlers and such.  Maybe a place to hang radar and other paraphernalia.  A few fishermen still use them to mount steady sails and even improve down wind fuel consumption.

Any way that cape dory would rate high on my list.

[Oldrig]

I've been aboard a Cape Dory motorsailer, and it is a beautiful boat. (Of course, I'm hardly unbiased, owning a Cape Dory 25D myself.) Even the owner said the boat was a compromise. He said he had to use the engine whenever he tried to sail upwind.

I had a long discussion a few years ago with a licensed commercial captain who has operated schooners and Great Lakes ferries. He insisted that the best kind of boat for all-around cruising, especially as you get older, is a motor sailer. They don't sail terribly well upwind, but that's when you use the motor and the sails.

That said, if I had to turn to the Dark Side, I think I'd look for a stinkpot with a no-nonsense workboat heritage, like a Maine-built lobster yacht or, perhaps, a nice Carolina-style hull (like a Parker).

--Joe

[AdriftAtSea]

One of my marina neighbors has what looks like a Nimble.... cute little boat... powered by a 50 HP Honda OB IIRC..

I like the little Nimble boats,

The Kodiak;



& the Wanderer;

[Amgine]

See, I'm kinda torn by this idea...

Cruising on a motor vessel implies you've got deepish pockets. So, do I approach the idea realistically, or go gonzo fantastic?

The gonzo fantastic would probably be an extremely fast fuel tank with motors, something like an over-grown cigar boat. I want 50 mph, at least. Then I can go fast as heck to the next resort with jacuzzis, room service, and a beautiful view.

But realistically? I'd probably end up with a displacement boat (none of this silly semi-planing or semi-displacement poop - I want slow moving, extremely low rpm, and fuel savings.) And I do mean displacement. An engineer friend once said he wanted to buy an old commercial tug that was for sale because he'd checked the numbers and could build a small brick house on the aft deck without sinking her waterline below spec. There's a lot to be said for motor boats in the 'heck yeah, you can take that with you too!' department.

I just realized that I think of motor boats as a cold climate thing. When I think of a motor boat in Florida or southern California I think of speedboats, or at most a Winneboato. But when I think of colder regions - the PNW or Massachusetts  and north - I think more of the lobster boats, the chris craft, the nordic tugs.

[KenR]

I think that the Ranger Tug is an interesting consideration. Three different models but you need a lot money for the 25' and 29'.

[Oldrig]

Ken,

I visited the much diminished New England Boat Show on Friday and found myself spending a lot of time at the Ranger Trawler display. They only had one model at the show last year, but this year they had a wide range. (oops--no pun intended)

These little, trailerable boats make a lot of sense, especially if somebody plans to retire and cruise a lot of inland waterways (or both coasts). Of course if you're talking about trailering the boat around, you're going to need a powerful truck, perhaps with a camper top. And then there's the small matter of fuel costs.

Still, I agree with you about Rangers. They're cute and just about the right size.

BTW, I was chatting with somebody at the booth and he said that demand for Rangers is exceeding supply right now--there's a long wait for the boats. Considering what's happening in the boating industry, that's probably a good thing.

One question: Where's the mast?

--Joe