Average daily distance ...
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rcsomany
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Daily Distance
We cruise Canadian waters between Vancouver island and the mainland and Puget Sound at 7.5 kts. Unless we are hastening to a committed ETA, our rule of thumb is that, if you are underway for more than a couple or three hours, you're driving past things you probably should have stopped for, explored, and enjoyed. That translates to 15-20nm/day.
We cruise Canadian waters between Vancouver island and the mainland and Puget Sound at 7.5 kts. Unless we are hastening to a committed ETA, our rule of thumb is that, if you are underway for more than a couple or three hours, you're driving past things you probably should have stopped for, explored, and enjoyed. That translates to 15-20nm/day.
BobMc
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We've cruised over 40K miles in two trawlers at around 6.5 knots (7.4 MPH) in each. We've done two hour days and we've done 14-16 hour days. This is all coastal (east) from Dry Tortugas to the Bay of Fundy, Canadian Canals, Erie and Champlain Canals, and the loop. All depends on where you're going, the weather, the distance to the next anchorage, etc.
jimisbell
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Yes, of course. 18 hours across the big bend of Florida because there is no place to stop. Sometimes 3 hours if the wife is pissed off. BUT the AVERAGE is more like 50 statute miles.
Capitaine R
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On our one and only cruise, we were all over the place on mileage for a day. We had one day of 47 miles and one day we made 111 mile, But we needed to get the boat home and get back to work. We would have loved to go 6 to 8 hours a day or some days we would have loved to stay in one spot for a few days. Hopefully next time well be much more of a site seeing tour then a delivery type trip.
caltexflanc
Guru
There are a lot of shallower draft, faster (since fuel isn't much of an issue), very, very nice vessels that IMO are better suited for short coastal cruising duty. A Nordhavn for that use kinda reminds me of when I lived in Dallas and people were driving huge, very nice Hummers to drive on very flat city streets on a daily basis. If you;ve got the coin and that's the boat for you, well then by all means have at it . I'm just curious about the reasoning.
Fletcher500
Guru
Caltex, I believe he took his boat down the East Coast, through the Panama Canal, and up the left coast to WA if I am not mistaken. That’s a tad more than “coastal cruising” in my book.
Reply to Imp, and general topic:
In my sail days, all day/night crossings were not a problem, and expected, could not motor fast, but sails always there if engine stopped. Switch to power was because we found seeking a destination found us motor sailing upwind,took forever to get there.
One of our reasons for selecting the Endeavour 44 catamaran trawler was both stability of 2 hulls and 18’8” beam, but also the ability to cruise at 9 knots, but go up to 14 at 3000+ rpm to get across big water or miss a squall. So my answer is, I prefer 6-8 hour days or shorter, but we have gone longer and faster to get to particular destinations. Example: we went from Clearwater to Apalachacola, about 150 miles. Some Gulf weather was predicted the next day, so we left at 7am and ran at 14 knots, got there in under 12 hours, but avoided the squalls the next day.
Jack Hulse
New Orleans
In my sail days, all day/night crossings were not a problem, and expected, could not motor fast, but sails always there if engine stopped. Switch to power was because we found seeking a destination found us motor sailing upwind,took forever to get there.
One of our reasons for selecting the Endeavour 44 catamaran trawler was both stability of 2 hulls and 18’8” beam, but also the ability to cruise at 9 knots, but go up to 14 at 3000+ rpm to get across big water or miss a squall. So my answer is, I prefer 6-8 hour days or shorter, but we have gone longer and faster to get to particular destinations. Example: we went from Clearwater to Apalachacola, about 150 miles. Some Gulf weather was predicted the next day, so we left at 7am and ran at 14 knots, got there in under 12 hours, but avoided the squalls the next day.
Jack Hulse
New Orleans
Tin Man
Veteran Member
No later than time to setup for cocktail hour.
IntoTheBlue
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Most of our cruising is coastal, northeast. We like to keep our cruising time under 4 hours. Coastal northeast cruising sometimes requires a few times going 6, but most of the time staying around 3. We made it our rule on our trip to Maine.
Inside cruising, we averaged around 6-8 per day. That was the norm when we did the Triangle Loop last year.
Inside cruising, we averaged around 6-8 per day. That was the norm when we did the Triangle Loop last year.
Comodave
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We were delivering a previous boat from Seattle to LA. We did a couple of 36 hour hops due to really good weather at those times so we could make some distance. Our preferred travel time is 4 to 6 hours. We crusie about 8.5 knots in our current boat. But really we do what distance we need to do in a particular situation.
Gray Dog
Veteran Member
About 7 hours is plenty. At 8.5 mph or ~7.5 kt. 50-60 miles. Less is great. 80-100 miles is toooo long. Leave around 7:00 AM arrive at 2:00-3:00 is good. Plenty of time to settle, do a few things and enjoy life!
overgill
Veteran Member
I am with Grey Dog ,, 6-7 hours at 8 mph, I have done more but it gets to be a long day especially solo. A lot has to do with the boat, speed, weather and how bad do you want to get there. On long runs you plan your best case and provide for bail outs just in case.
Medic
Senior Member
In the past I have been largely interested in getting from point A to point B, and would cruise 24/7 to do so. Did a 63 day voyage one time, cruising from Dana Point, CA to Bayfield, WI. Stopped for 4 days waiting to get through the Panama Canal, then stopped for 6 hours in the Florida Keys, and that was about it, continuing on up the entire east coast of the US and Canada then through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, down the St. Lawrence River, through the St. Lawrence Seaway (we did stop for one day in Montreal, actually for a crew change. I had forgotten about that until just now), then through the Great Lakes to Bayfield, WI. Our trips from Bayfield were generally to Mackinac Island which was a 52 hour run going 24 hours each day, about 160 nautical miles. We did another trip from Nantucket to Bermuda, about 450 miles. That was 4 days, 24 hours a day obviously since we were on the open ocean. Then Bermuda to Antigua which was longer.
HOWEVER, ta-da, it's time to smell the roses. I expect to still do point A to point B trips, I love them, but the points will be closer together, and I won't travel as much at night. And I no longer have the huge range I had on my Nordhavn 55. Beginning in 2021 we want to cruise the East Coast starting in Nantucket and ending at Hilton Head Island, and each day I will be at a marina. Some very short legs like Nantucket to Martha's Vineyard, and some longer like Martha's to some, as yet unknown, marina on Long Island Sound.
Basically, I have loved being at sea. As I get older and wiser I'm determined to love other shorter legs.
HOWEVER, ta-da, it's time to smell the roses. I expect to still do point A to point B trips, I love them, but the points will be closer together, and I won't travel as much at night. And I no longer have the huge range I had on my Nordhavn 55. Beginning in 2021 we want to cruise the East Coast starting in Nantucket and ending at Hilton Head Island, and each day I will be at a marina. Some very short legs like Nantucket to Martha's Vineyard, and some longer like Martha's to some, as yet unknown, marina on Long Island Sound.
Basically, I have loved being at sea. As I get older and wiser I'm determined to love other shorter legs.
Wifey B: I went back out of curiosity to our looping and picked a few months. Starting in NYC and reaching Lake Pickwick.
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3,5,7,0,4,8,0,5,4,0,0,2,7,0,0,8,0,0,2,1,3,0,0,3,0,0,7,0,4,0,0,0,2,0,2,11,0,0,7,0,8,0,0,0,0,0,3,0,4,0,0,3,0,0,0,0,0,6,0,4,0,9,0,9,0,5,0,5,0,6,0,9,0,12,0,9,0,4,5,4,0,3,12,0,8,0,5,2,1,3,2,3,0,4,8,0,0,3,3,0,4,0,3,0,5,0,0,8,0,4,0,2,2,0,2,0,3,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,6,4,13,0,0,0,6,18,6,0,8,8
caltexflanc
Guru
How so?
From reading all these responses it seems that the average "long" trips are usually in the 6-8 hour range. That's really a comfortable duration for a couple, and realistic even for a solo.
As an aside, I wouldn't see how an autopilot is even necessary for this type of cruising. Taking 2-3 hours stints at the wheel isn't very strenuous.
As an aside, I wouldn't see how an autopilot is even necessary for this type of cruising. Taking 2-3 hours stints at the wheel isn't very strenuous.
psneeld
Guru
Most of the long range coastal cruisers I know wouldn't be without an AP.
Almost a safety item in their opinions. I agree as my last 20,000 miles of almost all ICW has been on AP....at between 6-7 knots.
It's not the 6 hr trip that's tedious, it's the month after month of them.
Almost a safety item in their opinions. I agree as my last 20,000 miles of almost all ICW has been on AP....at between 6-7 knots.
It's not the 6 hr trip that's tedious, it's the month after month of them.
Last edited:
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One hour at the wheel without an autopilot would be tedius.
Vadim
Senior Member
It is all depends on what you want. I did plenty 24 hr and 48 hr runs. But it is because I need to go home. And most importantly my trawler is well equipped with electronics and Flir night vision system. I went through Ten-Tom, Golf of Mexico and ICW. Calculate and always add 10% more in your calculations for delay. If you arrive early to your destination just enjoy you relax time. If you are not comfortable to go though the night, just do not go. Set your destination and distance the way that you would be there at least an hour or two before the sunset. One last thing, if you do not have an autopilot, get it. Your piloting experience will be more positive and relaxed.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Capitaine R
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I was once of the same thought of not needing an autopilot, until I used one. And he is right it's not the few hours of manual steering it's the weeks of it.
Comodave
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As an aside, I wouldn't see how an autopilot is even necessary for this type of cruising. Taking 2-3 hours stints at the wheel isn't very strenuous.[/QUOTE]
We delivered one of our previous boats from Seattle to LA without an autopilot. I had 5 crew on board so it wasn’t too bad, 2 hours on and 8 hours off. But now with just the two of us it would be miserable not having an autopilot. Also you have better situational awareness with an autopilot since you are not locked into tunnel vision on a compass or plotter. I glance down every so often to check our course but other than that I am scanning around the boat to see what is coming our way or what is in our way. One or two days of driving without an autopilot isn’t a problem, 30 or so days without one is a problem.
We delivered one of our previous boats from Seattle to LA without an autopilot. I had 5 crew on board so it wasn’t too bad, 2 hours on and 8 hours off. But now with just the two of us it would be miserable not having an autopilot. Also you have better situational awareness with an autopilot since you are not locked into tunnel vision on a compass or plotter. I glance down every so often to check our course but other than that I am scanning around the boat to see what is coming our way or what is in our way. One or two days of driving without an autopilot isn’t a problem, 30 or so days without one is a problem.
Agreed, which is why I go outside whenever possible instead of traveling the ICW. Constantly adjusting the wheel for wind, current, etc. is actually distracting from what else is going on around the boat. I consider autopilot a mandatory safety device, though if I used it on the ICW I would still be aground.
Without autopilot, constant wheel handling can indeed be strenuous. A typical watch on my boats has usually been 4 hours (except on night watch when, after a couple of days in on passage, I usually am able to go 5-6 hours). If you are talking about a short "daysail" trip, it would depend on the the weather, current, traffic & other environmental conditions. Note that using autopilot to stay on course does not mean you are not responsible for manning your boat. It's not a matter of being lazy to use autopilot, but being efficient & safe (freeing you from being distracted by constantly adjusting course via compass heading).
sunchaser
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As so often already said, it really depends. Things to consider include available time, final destination, tides, weather, currents, distance to acceptable moorage/anchorage and pet requirements.
In the past few months our shortest trip was 7nm and longest 112nm. It really depends ——
In the past few months our shortest trip was 7nm and longest 112nm. It really depends ——
Your point is that Panama Canal for most is still largely coastal cruising. In making the Big U there is really only one time most cross a body of water away from land and that is between Cancun and Key West and it's only 350 nm or so. Certainly not like ICW cruising but also not crossing oceans. If one likes a Nordhavn, still fine. Many people have boats capable of far more than their normal cruising.
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