"Put a higher powered Cummins or Yanmar and cruise in the mid to upper teens."
And at about 20+GPH for the fun of making big waves.
Most trawler folks seem to prefer 2 GPH at 7K to 20 GPH at 17K
PS I didn't use the power most of the time, however there were several summer evenings that Block Island called my name when I got to the marina but I knew I couldn't make it there for the sunset unless I put the hammer down. At that point, screw the fuel economy, I want to be anchored with a cocktail in my hand watching the sunset.
2mpg versus 3.5mpg
3000 miles cruising the AICW each year
1500 gal fuel at $4 = $6000 vs 857 gal fuel at $4 = $3428
$2500 fuel diff for some liveaboards/cruisers is a chunk and fuel is not a stable commodity.
while nice to have the speed...if you aren't going to use it...I'd probably go with a smaller engine in many boats and save even more...
But the idea of the correct /better size engine in a 34 Mainship as Jay pointed out could really help in resale.
i can relate to that sentiment. Some things in life are priceless. Not being late to your favorite sunset is one of them.
First off, you forgot the .4 in Mr. Leonard's example...if that is what you were using. I'll make it simple and not sure if the math works but .4 represents 20% in this case. Take 20% off of your $6000 dollars and you are at $4800.
So that is $1400 dollars more in a year(than your slowboater) and you covered at least a 1000 more miles!!!...again....all a matter of what YOU consider efficient! Efficiency has different values to different people....and it is not always the cheapest.