Getting her convinced to go slow...

Lots of compromises are involved here. The major one is an affordable, available boat one falls in love with regardless. Others are that faster boats generally have two engines rather than one which increase engine maintenance/repair by two, and are less likely to have keel-protected propellers, shafts and rudders, consume more fuel at speed, but have potential to go faster.

Fortunately, my Sweetie has never complained not going faster than six or seven knots. When facing steep five-foot wind/current waves showering water several feet above the pilothouse, five knots is more than enough.

Just ask the bride to remember how many times in the past decade you actually chose to outrun a storm , and weather it worked.

NDM said:

Can someone please validate my understanding that being able to cruise at 17 knots when necessary is not just to outrun storms or having one more day in Bahamas. A planing hull at 17 knots is actually more comfortable in choppy but safe seas than a displacement hull even a 45' long one without stabilizers. IOW the benefit of large engines is not just speed, but comfort. A wallowing 45' trawler without paravanes or active stabilizers is not that comfortable in 6 foot seas, whereas a 40' planing MY can choose a reasonably comfortable course in the same 6 foot seas. So, the benefit of the MY is that it opens up the weather window for a passage and the choices for cruising grounds.

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Yes, for us that's sometimes true.

-Chris

Like I have said, she doesn't mind going slow in the boat - she just wants the option to go fast if we need it.

Over the past 4 years we have only had the need to go fast a time or two.

We both are about the journey AND the destination.

I just cant help to think about all the additional benefits of a larger but slower boat - walk in engine room. Three real staterooms, an actual couch or two...

aboatman said:

And you could have seen ten times as much as the typical looper if you had travelled in a car.

When I want to get somewhere in a hurry, I drive my car. If I want to take it slow and easy and smell the roses, I take my trawler.

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"And you could have seen ten times as much as the typical looper if you had travelled in a car."
This is not accurate where we drive and boat.

"When I want to get somewhere in a hurry, I drive my car. If I want to take it slow and easy and smell the roses, I take my trawler"
When we want to get somewhere fast we may take either dependent upon the destination. Often we go slow in a boat that can move faster and often we drive faster in a car that can go slower but in each we have a choice and we do use the extremes of both speeds in each conveyance. Having the choice is what makes some experiences and destinations possible. If we really need to cover larger distances quickly we take a major airline.

k9medic said:

Like I have said, she doesn't mind going slow in the boat - she just wants the option to go fast if we need it.

Over the past 4 years we have only had the need to go fast a time or two.

We both are about the journey AND the destination.

I just cant help to think about all the additional benefits of a larger but slower boat - walk in engine room. Three real staterooms, an actual couch or two...

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We had all of those in a boat that could move economically at 6 knots but move at 16-17 knots when the situation required it. Even at 16 knots we did not break the bank with fuel usage.
Perhaps look at your possible travel plans and see if you will be facing current issues, timing issues, weather windows or the like which would make the potential speed choice a positive or just moot.
Crossing the gulf stream at all, moving along a river , heading out into a faster tide or none of the above?

O C Diver said:

If I were to ever run aground Or hit a submerged object , I'd rather be doing it at 7 knots.

Ted

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Wouldn't it be better at 3kt or even at 2kt? Personally, if I ever do either of those things I would rather be drifting.......

k9medic, If you can swing it, why not make both you and your wife happy by waiting for a boat that has both speed and trawler qualities. There are many that would fit the bill like Offshore, Krogen Express, Newer GB, Fleming, Ocean Alexander, Symbol ......

I too was impressed by the trawler style and moved from a faster 32' Silverton flybrige cruiser to a GB 36. We loved the extra room but it took us a while to get used to 8 knots and the rolling. I considered the boats I mentioned above when it was time to upgrade again, but in the end, they were just too much money. So we got another 8-knot boat but this time with stabilizers and the wife is very happy.

Larry M said:

Going 7 knots is fast now and 8 knots would be flying. Our longest passage was 24 days and averaged just under 6 knots. You have to relax.

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"Anything over 6 knots sucks the air out of your lungs" Anonymous

k9medic said:

I just cant help to think about all the additional benefits of a larger but slower boat - walk in engine room. Three real staterooms, an actual couch or two...

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Seeing as 99% of the time you will be anchored and enjoying these additional benefits I think you have your answer.

It's important to keep in mind that some people on TF place fuel economy above almost every other quality in a boat. It's what likely drove them to buy a trailer in the first place. It's also how they justify a single engine, for the most part.

Fuel burn is King and that's fine, to each their own. Others, like me, see zero downside to a boat that can go faster when you want/need it to.

We have spent a month in the Bahamas every summer since 2007 We vary our speed between 8 and 16 knots. I keep track of my average fuel burn. It's the same every year, just under 10 gph. At 8 knots we burn 4 5 gph. So going fast when we want to means we burn maybe 150 gallons more. So five or six hundred dollars. Three nights eating on the boat instead of in a restaurant. So worth it.

A boat that cruises twice as fast as another boat covering the same distance will have 1/2 the total hours on the engine then the slower boat. Think resale?

NewbieFromNJ said:

A boat that cruises twice as fast as another boat covering the same distance will have 1/2 the total hours on the engine then the slower boat. Think resale?

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But... at higher stress on the engine... I guess hour meters can lie; sorta! :lol:

Art said:

But... at higher stress on the engine... I guess hour meters can lie; sorta! :lol:

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I’m far from a mechanic but my understanding is not so much the speed of the boat but rather the rated rpm’s for cruising speed. I don’t think there is much difference in engine wear for a boat that cruises
at 8 knots or 16 knots. If it required the fast boat to achieve the 16 knots at wot then yes otherwise I don’t see the difference.

Academic discussion I suspect,and much of it way off the OP`s issue.
His wife wants a fast boat "just in case". They will be getting a fast boat.
We still don`t know the engines or WOT speed of the boat in view.

NewbieFromNJ said:

I’m far from a mechanic but my understanding is not so much the speed of the boat but rather the rated rpm’s for cruising speed. I don’t think there is much difference in engine wear for a boat that cruises
at 8 knots or 16 knots. If it required the fast boat to achieve the 16 knots at wot then yes otherwise I don’t see the difference.

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Tony Athens from seaboard marine would disagree.
He wrote an article on this subject basically :
Fast boats running at high rpm blow up often
Trawlers running at low rpm last forever.


https://www.sbmar.com/articles/low-speed-running-break-in-of-marine-diesels/

BruceK said:

Academic discussion I suspect,and much of it way off the OP`s issue.
His wife wants a fast boat "just in case". They will be getting a fast boat.
We still don`t know the engines or WOT speed of the boat in view.

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Duly noted.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Art
But... at higher stress on the engine... I guess hour meters can lie; sorta! :lol:

NewbieFromNJ said:

I’m far from a mechanic but my understanding is not so much the speed of the boat but rather the rated rpm’s for cruising speed. I don’t think there is much difference in engine wear for a boat that cruises
at 8 knots or 16 knots. If it required the fast boat to achieve the 16 knots at wot then yes otherwise I don’t see the difference.

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Trust the #'s NJ... boat engine must turn conceptually more rpm to gain speed and the number of rpm increased is higher %age than the % of boat speed gained. This is primarily due to water friction on boat bottom. Therefore, to go faster in a boat stresses the engine more than going slow in per moment of use. Soooo... hour meter in fast boat that shows less hours than same meter in slow boat does not necessarily clearly represent the level of stress that an engine has undergone.

What is really a fast boat? Saying fast boats blow up a lot depends heavily on definition. Yes, a 60 knot boat run regularly at 55 knots won't last as long. However, engines run at cruising speeds have a long life. However, the best way to measure engine life is by fuel consumed. In terms of hours, an engine run at 20 knots will have a shorter life or at least need servicing more often than if the same engine, same boat, was run 10 knots.

Regardless, we run fast, and our engines are going to outlast us.

This is not a boating question...its a marital question. Why does your desire for a slow boat outweigh her desire for a fast boat ?

Engine longevity is frequently measured in total gallons burned.

Running hard may burn 4X the GPH , so total in boat hours will be reduced

Running "really hard" (sportfish ) is a whole different set of rules, and expense. .

Benthic2 said:

This is not a boating question...its a marital question. Why does your desire for a slow boat outweigh her desire for a fast boat ?

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You missed the point. It doesn't. For that matter you could revise your questions to why does her desire to go fast...

She is not opposed to going slow as we do that most of the time anyway. My attempt is to convince her that the trade off of having a boat that ONLY runs slow provides other benefits.

From what I see, the fastest some of these widebody trawlers can run is about 10 kts, with a cruise of 7-8kts.

We already run 8kts most of the time.

Benthic2 said:

This is not a boating question...its a marital question. Why does your desire for a slow boat outweigh her desire for a fast boat ?

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Wow - That sounds like a whole new thread!

k9medic said:

You missed the point. It doesn't. For that matter you could revise your questions to why does her desire to go fast...

She is not opposed to going slow as we do that most of the time anyway. My attempt is to convince her that the trade off of having a boat that ONLY runs slow provides other benefits.

From what I see, the fastest some of these widebody trawlers can run is about 10 kts, with a cruise of 7-8kts.

We already run 8kts most of the time.

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Just like marriage, boating is a compromise!

The discussion really boils down to just two issues:

1) a full displacement, go slow always trawler, is bigger or roomier (dollar for dollar) than a semi-displacement trawler.

versus:

2) a semi-displacement, go fast sometimes trawler (or other style boat), is (dollar for dollar) smaller than a full displacement trawler.

Unless you are planning to be full-time live-aboards, I would opt for a boat that you both will enjoy and feel comfortable on. After all, "a happy wife is a happy life!"

Jim


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