Fountain Powerboats - 48 Express Cruiser - YouTube
Makes sense to me! I met a guy on the docks of the Marriott Hotel here in Miami who had just come in direct from Key West on a Boston Whaler with a cabin and 4 stoke outboards. He said he was coming from Mexico and was taking the family (he had a wife and a kid with him) and was going to Maine. He said he stay's in hotels every night, and did the math for me. The 4 strokes get excellent mileage- the speeds allowed him to blow past the boring stretches and there were lodging everywhere for a boat his size, he could tilt the engines up for skinny water. With the money saved from buying a larger boat- his wife and kids had a nice comfortable place to stay every stop, and STILL had time to anchor, snorkel until they had enough, and make the next place. Sounded like a plan to me. I went from sailboats to a 50' Single screw Pilothouse and thought it was fast (because it WAS almost double the speed of the sailboats) but sold it (dockage got insane expensive here in the mid-90s!) , then bought TWO 25' boats- one a Cigarette with a single Suzuki OB that cruised over 60 mph, and a 25' Doral that had a single engine with a Duo-prop that cruised mid 20s- the Doral SE had a nice cabin, AC, full enclosure etc., just a great boat for a lady and a kid- went to Nassau-, Key West, Everglades, etc. nice boat to anchor out in OR stay at a nice marina for CHEAP, and cruise for a couple of weeks. The Cigarette I would run to Bimini and back in HUGE sea's without missing a beat.
Speaking of Schuckers- I remember spending the night on one during a Columbus Day regatta-(got there in my 15' Hobie Skiff w/90hp Yamaha) and the next morning went home. Later in the day, after I had napped, visited the ex and the kid for breakfast, went out lunch AND dinner ,when my friend in the Schucker, which I had already forgotten about was just reaching the dock-as the sun set. That really impacted to me the difference in time that speed made.
I've cruised both slow, and fast, and I can factually tell you that with a fast boat- you can go there and BACK, in the time it used to take me to be 1/4 of the way there...and NOT have to worry about the weather.
All these new boats you see running around with 2-4 four stroke outboards on them have totally changed the market because one can go so far-so fast, stay in nice marina's with hotels, or come home to your mega-mansion- squirt em down with freshwater, tilt the engines up-flush em out and DONE-the same day. Run to Bahamas and back. Or as in this video to Cancun. Something to think about for sure. Dockage is hard to find these days so a smaller boat you can keep on a trailer or a rack starts to make sense, and they're all so light now being so high tech.
King - funny you mention that... I am torn between a MT 34 and... a Chaparral 31'. Yes, totally different boats... but for putting around Tampa bay, with (maybe) a once a year run down to the FL Keys... the Chaparral is tempting (would not be a live aboard, just a "hang out on the boat on the weekend and explore the bay" boat).
Getting to Key West in less than 10 hours is appealing, compared to a 2 day trip on a MT 34...
NOW, I'm going over to the hot rod forums and tout slow boats for "smelling the roses"! It's "what I do" causing trouble on the waterfront since 1974! lol
