Miles per year

[Hippocampus]

We’ve been looking at powerboats and visiting them with intention to buy. Our intention is to continue cruising and like several fellow cruisers we know have recently sold our sailboat. Both wife and I have been struck by how much better shape the interiors in power vessels look than sail. Fewer dents, better looking soles, varnish and overheads in better shape.
She ascribes it to fewer miles traveled overall per year and fewer of those miles traveled in adverse conditions. I’m not so sure. Among active cruisers would think activities and travel would be comparable.
At a minimum we’d do 3000-4000nm on passages and another 1000-2000nm messing around cruising grounds. That seems an average year for those with similar programs. Our more restricted working liveaboard friends still sneak in 3000-4000nm/y.
Given service intervals, replacement intervals are determined in the main by miles traveled so cost of ownership is effected. It’s the variable. Everything else is a fixed cost determined by LOA. Is the admiral correct? Please active cruising power folks tell what’s your average nm/y?

 

[O C Diver]

Ok, I came out of a major refit and repaint (1.5 years) in January of 2016. I have almost 20,000 miles (at 7 knots) on the boat in the last 5 years. This year was a bust because of covid. Did about 3,000 instead of 6,000 as the Erie canal was closed later and Canada was closed.

So 4K to 7K is my normal range. I could make an off handed comment in the difference between power boaters and sailors, but I won't. IMO, it's probably a lot simpler. In general, I would guess power boaters are more near coastal and a higher percentage of sailors are more offshore. Secondly, a lot of the wear difference you're noticing may be attributed to a boat that heals most of the time underway versus those of us who try to stay level.

Ted

 

[jungpeter]

Hi Hippocampus,

At a minimum we’d do 3000-4000nm on passages and another 1000-2000nm messing around cruising grounds. That seems an average year for those with similar programs. Our more restricted working liveaboard friends still sneak in 3000-4000nm/y

.

Wow-you must have WAY more disposable time on your hands than most, or a REAL fast sailboat! The average powerboat usage in the US is something like 100 engine hours/year. At a crude guess of "trawler speed" of ~8 knots, your 6000 nm/year average will take ~750 engine hours! Not impossible by any means, but likely optimistic.

Given service intervals, replacement intervals are determined in the main by miles traveled so cost of ownership is effected. It’s the variable. Everything else is a fixed cost determined by LOA.

Not quite. Good ol' Mr. Depreciation rears his ugly head in determining "cost of ownership". Depreciation is absolutely non-quantifiable in general terms, as there are simply too many variables (location, age of boat (new? used?), propensity of the owner to maintain his/her boat, etc.) to quantify. But an absolute, no sh&* cost of ownership eventually. And the many other fixed costs you attribute to LOA vary all over the place as well, depending on location of the boat, type of moorage, area of operations, type of operations, etc.

And those fixed costs are WAY, WAY more contributory to overall cost of ownership than the variable costs associated with being underway. For instance, fuel usage is very seldom more than 5-10% of the total cost of ownership, given typical coastal cruising usage.

With all due respect to the Admiral, in my opinion (IMHO), her presumption of "average condition" (whatever "average" means) of powerboats being attributable to fewer miles traveled per year is misguided. IMHO, condition is VASTLY more determined by each individual owner's propensity to perform due diligence in routine and preventative maintenance than reluctance to leave the dock. I've seen 40-year old powerboats clean as a cucumber, and one-year old powerboats that look like warmed over dog food. Mileage be damned.

Ditto with "adverse conditions". I will venture a guess that there are a HUGE number of powerboats (and sailboats too, for that matter) that suffer NO loss of condition from operation in adverse conditions. It's almost ALWAYS the owner/operators that suffer from such operations, and send themselves to the barn WAY before the boats cry "uncle".

Regards,

Pete

 

[mvweebles]

A quick scan of the first four N40s that appears on Yachtworld showed an average of around 125 hours per year, with high being 3800 hours for a 1999 vessel. Maybe some engines were rebuilt. Looking at 1000 nms per year in average, though likely many came in first couple years.

When I was delivering full time, I averaged around 225 billable days per year underway. Somewhere in the 3500 engine hours, 18k-20k nms range give or take. I also racked up a lot of Southwest Air miles along the west coast. Pretty sure my experience was at the extreme end for vessels in this class.

If all goes well next year, I'll start cruising at a pace of around 400-500 hours per year, or around 3000 nms. I suspect that that will put me a few std devs beyond normal.

Peter

 

[twistedtree]

Interesting observation about interior condition. It's not something I would have guessed. I doubt it's just miles since I know lots of trawlers that are occupied and used 365 day a year and are in immaculate condition.


I think OC Diver may be on to the cause; the contents (people and stuff) of a heeled boat I imaging get shaken and banged around more than on a power boat?


Also, since you are in and out more on a sail boat, are shoes more likely to be worn? I'm not sure about others, but we are a no-shoes boat.

 

[SteveK]

...............

If all goes well next year, I'll start cruising at a pace of around 400-500 hours per year, or around 3000 nms. I suspect that that will put me a few std devs beyond normal.

Peter

can you estimate how many days on the boat that equates. You are now talking pleasure cruising.
The number of days I spent on the boat bear no real relation to the number of miles under the keel. How do you measure a day at anchor into hours on the engine?

 

[Giggitoni]

We’re averaging between 500-700 NM per year. Of course we spend numerous days enjoying the boat at anchor or visiting a marina adding zero miles.

 

[Hippocampus]

Understand both power and sail are way underused except for a relatively small subset. Those who are retired or can consult/work remotely or with short hiatus from their boats are the subset I’m interested in comparing usage. 750 h is 31 days underway or ~62 if avoiding nights while coastal. Two passages chew up about half or more of that so not hard to do. We took 8(once) to 12 days east coast-leewards. Think average probably ~20d for round trip.
Think Peter’s post is informative. Suspect many power vessel cruisers transition from sail as they age. Been there done that sets in and miles decline. Think once you’re looking at comparable boats (oyster, Hinckley,Hylas, outbound to nordhavn, Krogan, northern) attention to the boat is comparable. For passage making boats few will risk their life on a poorly maintained vessel. Seen a whole lot of sailboats trashed by owners but very few long distance cruisers suffer that fate.
By fixed I wasn’t clear but mean that to mean costs that don’t vary by miles traveled.

 

[menzies]

We don't have a clue how many miles or hours we put under the keel on an annual basis or even since we got her.

I guess if we bothered to look at the hour meter we might, but we don't. I could even go back to the survey and compare to now, but I don't, and won't.

We use the boat when and where we can. Have the professionals do the annual maintenance on the engines plus any periodic stuff. And fix stuff either ourselves or in a yard when we need to.

We crank her up and go again when we can, for as long as we can.

Miles/hours are not units we relate to.

 

[twistedtree]

can you estimate how many days on the boat that equates. You are now talking pleasure cruising.
The number of days I spent on the boat bear no real relation to the number of miles under the keel. How do you measure a day at anchor into hours on the engine?

Exactly. I think the measure is really days on the boat, not miles traveled.

 

[Hippocampus]

Apologize for prior post. Underused is just wrong. Going out some miles and hanging out with friends or family is a wonderful way to enjoy a boat. As are short trips in your chosen cruising grounds.
Asking about a different subset. Trying to get a rough idea of annual expense and understand wife’s comment.
Can appreciate your mindset. But as long as we can want to explore multiple cruising grounds. So much to see. A different mindset. Please don’t judge me poorly for that.

Try to do as much maintenance as possible as to learn systems and be able to keep them running when there’s no professionals nor yards near by. Have always put in the log when and for how long things like gensets, water makers etc. go on. Have always kept a maintenance log. Now can drop logging when engine goes on/off. If we’re moving it’s on. Knowing hours on systems in an ongoing fashion lets me know when to start looking for such and such brand/wt. oil or a particular filter. Things like that. Different mindset when availability is limited. Just a different mindset. On last boat spent ~300d/y on the boat so was thoughtless as historically haven’t considered days on the boat as use. Next boat will probably be 180-200d/y.

 

[guy with a boat]

I’m not really sure why miles per year is of interest, but the cost of maintenance driven by engine hours really won’t move the needle. Run 1000 or more hours a year and your fuel cost will be significant, but extra oil changes on your engine(s) and gens is peanuts. Eventually depreciation will increase because of total hours and that might actually be significant if you really pile on the hours.

You will always change oil and filters on everything at least once a year, and many believe twice a year is the better minimum. Adding an extra change or 2 is cheap and easy, and is about the only direct cost increase by adding hours. I would argue that over several years the total maintenance cost is similar in a heavily used engine and a low-hours engine since sitting is bad for them also.

Days per year is what matters to us. We’ve had 20 mile days and 200 mile days and they are both good. We enjoy the time underway but we only go as far as required to get to where we want to be. There was a time when I liked to know that I’ve traveled farther than most but I’m over it and that is a good thing.

 

[Hippocampus]

TT thank you for your observations. Most cruisers rarely wear shoes on the boat. When they do its shoes, seaboots or sandals that are worn only on the boat. Most are pretty meticulous about not wanting to bring in sand, dirt or other abrasives into the boat. But think you’re on to something. You’re frequently going in and out so you’re bringing in salty and often wet foulies or clothes. You’re harnessed when outside. I insisted crew immediately go to the aft head and take off harness and tether and if off watch foulies but there’s still much more opportunities to bang a clip, buckle or other metal piece into the wood work. There’s also more opportunities for dried salt to do its magic. It’s so hydroscopic it must be hard on interiors. Don’t think it’s life on a slant as think it’s the same for multihulls. When it’s sporty it’s sporty regardless of what you’re on power or sail.
Apologize again but still think sails are used when they are deployed. Engines, compressors, gensets are used when they are running. My bad for how I phrased the earlier post. In retrospect should have asked someone how to phrase it better as I’m still struggling with that.

 

[Hippocampus]

Guy...... had an interesting talk with a cruising couple on a Dashew 64. He changed my thinking about power pointing out sail and power have the same systems (HVAC, nav, comm, entertainment, watermakers, gensets etc.). There maybe differences in choices as power often is less limited in electrical energy available. There maybe differences in annual engine hours and fuel use expense but that’s pretty much washed out by need replace/service sails, running and standing rigging and the other chores a sailboat entails. Cruising on either probably ends up costing about the same if the creature comforts and size are about the same and the program the same. But he said miles traveled does produce wear/tear and need for more maintenance. Even things like how long bottom paint lasts Given the service life of a Diesel engine don’t think engine hours has much effect on depreciation. Would note your amazing vessel probably has depreciated less due to its initial quality then other vessels and that’s true for the same level of quality sail as well. Still I didn’t start out thinking about economics. Initial post wasn’t directed at issues of depreciation nor enjoyment. Of course appreciate your excellent insight on that subject. Expect you’ll get what you paid for the base price and lose what you spec’d in addition, inflation as well as any improvements along the way or replacements such as electronics. Still think miles per year adds expense. Not only shortening replacement/service intervals but also clearance fees, slips (if used), and all the extra expenses that come along with travel and exploring new places.
This conversation started with the wife’s observation about interiors - sail v power. Seems I possibly mistakenly thought that it was related to miles traveled. Still wonder if that’s a factor. Some excellent thoughts I hadn’t considered. Thanks all for helping setting me straight.

 

[DDW]

I don't think the cost of ownership would be much different, power to sail, with similarly equipped boats. Hull and ancillary equipment maintenance are the same. Sails are more expensive than fuel (at least good ones are) so the powerboat probably will be a little cheaper in boats that actually go places.

 

[mvweebles]

can you estimate how many days on the boat that equates. You are now talking pleasure cruising.
The number of days I spent on the boat bear no real relation to the number of miles under the keel. How do you measure a day at anchor into hours on the engine?

For me, that is pleasure cruising. My aspiration right now is more Mexico and Central America. A lot depends on where I start. Boat is in Ensenada MX just south of San Diego CA. I originally thought we would start cruising from there, perhaps headed to PNW for a season. Then covid and standard refit delays and I started to get impatient so I decided to just plan to ship the boat to Florida. But last month I was in Ensenada and the Pacific just looked gorgeous. It's a rugged and relatively desolate coastline which suits me well.

But to answer the question, because of the nature of the destinations on my tentative cruise itinerary, will clearly involve several long runs of 3-5 days nonstop. That to me is pleasurable. When I get to the Bahamas and perhaps even The Loop, that type of running is not possible.

The last piece is I'm not a sit in one place kind of guy. I put an anchor down and am ready to go a day or two later. Min my vagrant youth, my magic carpet was an old BMW motorcycle. I'd have grand plans to stop and smell the roses. Before I knew it, I'd have spent 14 hours riding. I ended up doing 7 or 8 1000-nile days. My right shoulder trapezoid muscle still hurts a bit from long hours of holding a throttle. I'm sort if hard wired that way I suppose. Delivering yachts suited me very well.

Peter

 

[Hippocampus]

Have had triumphs, ducks, KTM, hogs, airbag wing but fondest memories are on a beat up airhead I got off a cousin as a kid. Peter sounds like we’re brothers with different mothers.
Thread drift but wondering about your plans. Never been to the western Caribbean. Hear good things about the San Blas from some and terrible from others. What’s your take? What are the must see places on the Caribbean side of Central America?

 

[O C Diver]

Peter raises a good question, do the occupants put more wear on a boat's interior underway or on days at anchor / dock? I know from my own experience as a solo cruiser, with the exception of the helm seat cushion, my wear is probably reduced underway. I would imagine a boat with several occupants probably sees more interior wear on days underway from moving inside a moving object.

Ted

 

[mvweebles]

Have had triumphs, ducks, KTM, hogs, airbag wing but fondest memories are on a beat up airhead I got off a cousin as a kid. Peter sounds like we’re brothers with different mothers.
Thread drift but wondering about your plans. Never been to the western Caribbean. Hear good things about the San Blas from some and terrible from others. What’s your take? What are the must see places on the Caribbean side of Central America?

I too have heard good things of the San Blas islands. Lately, I've been watching YouTubers Project Atticus in Bocas del Toro islands which seem worthy. Honestly, I'm a sucker for street tacos so small towns and old cities. I have friends who live in the mountains of Costa Rica overlooking the Pacific Ocean so Quepos will probably figure in. A past delivery skipper mentor of mine used to rave about Barra Navidad which I continue to hear good things about, though it's built-up into a fancy resort these days. I've always wanted to go to Oaxaca which is inland so somewhere Chiapas is a decent stop.

Rio Dulce and islands off Roatan are definitely on my radar, but probably a trip from Florida vs approaching from Panama Canal due to security/piracy reports off Nicaragua - the reports are troubling and extend far enough out to Providencia, over 100 nms, that avoiding the coast is difficult. Colombia is now safe and I hear really good things about Cartegena, 300 nms east of the Panama Canal, so that might be a good stop. Cartegena is a colonial city which are fascinating to me. From there, weather and season become a dominant planning factor - next stop would be a 500 nm passage to Port Antonio on west end of Jamaica which I also understand is a good stopping point, especially if intent is to avoid Nicaragua. For example, Jamaica is due north of Cartegena, and I suspect some easting might be in order before heading north. I know nothing about Baranquilla Colombia, but it's east and might present a better angle to head north (as would the ABCs). It's been a couple years since I studied the Pilot Charts, but from memory, late Spring/early Summer is a good passage time, just before hurricane season. So once you leave the lower latitudes off So America, I would be committed to heading home - no extended stopovers in Turks/Caicos/Bahamas.

I've chartered sailboats several times in the Caribbean - mostly out of BVI, but once out of Charlotte Amalie St Thomas. It's good sailing and a nice enough place, but I do not have a strong desire to return. That said, I liked Grenada when I was there, and Tobago is perhaps my favorite island but I also like Puerto Rico as they still have a strong sense of identity (and yes, it does seem odd that they don't require a passport for Americans to visit), In general, I find the Caribbean to be crowded, expensive, and their culture had been blotted-out by years of tourism. I like it there, just not a compass point for cruising.

They say the most difficult stretch of any passage is the first boat-length, just getting out of the slip and underway. It's a mental barrier, not a physical one. Certainly has been the case for us. We'd planned on heading out in 2004, then I got a dream job, and Cheryll lost her job when Telecom collapsed, so cruising was back-burnered. And here we are in 2020 with a bizarre set of global events that has constipated plans again....

Cheryll and I self-identify a bit more with classic sail-cruisers. I don't say that as a special merit-badge, it's just what we enjoy. Without kids and having been a bit lucky over the years, we will run out of time before we run out of money, but it's a mental thing - we just don't like fancy boats (I'm tired of fixing them, she finds them too similar to Vegas suites). We cruised the California Delta (SF to Sacramento) for years and had a great time gunkholing, so I'm sure we'd enjoy the Loop and Bahamas, but we'd do it in a more austere way. I like long passages, she likes them as long as there is a third crew. On a small boat like ours, a third crew has to be well matched from a personality perspective. We are approaching 60 years old - the pool of contenders has dwindled considerably over the years for various reasons.

Peter

 

[mvweebles]

Peter raises a good question, do the occupants put more wear on a boat's interior underway or on days at anchor / dock? I know from my own experience as a solo cruiser, with the exception of the helm seat cushion, my wear is probably reduced underway. I would imagine a boat with several occupants probably sees more interior wear on days underway from moving inside a moving object.

Ted

Full disclosure, that was Hippo who raised the question (or more accurately, his wife). But your comment on helm-seat cushion reminded me that after being on any boat for a couple days, there is always a bruise or two that develops on me from repeatedly leaning or gently bumping into the same hard object. Usually one of my thighs, and the offending buttress is often a cabinet or chart table. But after a few days, it gets pretty dang sore.

Might be an interesting thread of it's own...."Where do you hurt?"

Peter

 

[mvweebles]

Have had triumphs, ducks, KTM, hogs, airbag wing but fondest memories are on a beat up airhead I got off a cousin as a kid. Peter sounds like we’re brothers with different mothers.
Thread drift but wondering about your plans. Never been to the western Caribbean. Hear good things about the San Blas from some and terrible from others. What’s your take? What are the must see places on the Caribbean side of Central America?

I have a tiny cabin in the mountains of Colorado that I bought with scraped-together money 35-years ago. Originally just storage, stuff has been there so long that it has become the museum of my land-based life and has collected some old treasures, including a 1963 Triumph 650 Bonnevile that I bought in 1979; and a 1967 R69S BMW that I bought as a barn-find in 1986.

Where has the time gone? Days are long.....years are short. Sheesh - I gotta get going. This keyboard-cruising is sorta fun, but not a good enough proxy,

Peter

 

[Group9]

On our last two cruises (on our sailboat) the vast majority of the time, we were anchored (or occasionally docked) rather than moving. I think the reason more sailboats are worn looking than power boats is that sailboats are still the vessel of choice for most cruisers.

Ninety per cent of the boats we saw were sailboats (although being on a few cruising powerboats visiting people on our last cruise made us decide to make the switch).

 

[rslifkin]

Peter raises a good question, do the occupants put more wear on a boat's interior underway or on days at anchor / dock? I know from my own experience as a solo cruiser, with the exception of the helm seat cushion, my wear is probably reduced underway. I would imagine a boat with several occupants probably sees more interior wear on days underway from moving inside a moving object.

I'd say we're also in the less wear underway camp. Particularly if we're running up on plane, as the cabin gets pretty loud and it's a bit hard to do anything in the galley on plane unless it's dead calm, so we tend not to go down other than to use the head.

When cruising slow it's a bit different (gentler motion and much quieter), but unless we've got a long travel day, we still tend not to spend much time moving around and doing anything down below. We may grab something quick to eat, but other than a quick run to the galley or head, we're still mostly on deck unless someone wants to go down and take a nap.

 

[Hippocampus]

Know the leewards and windwards fairly well. Have zero desire to see the leewards again. Between charter boats, cruise ships and resorts might as well go to Miami. Bequia/Tobago keys is still nice but density of cruisers has increased dramatically. Has gotten progressively harder to truly be off the grid. Dominica is still pretty empty in spots but the infighting among PAYS makes for some problems. Enjoyed the close community in southern bays of Grenada but not much to do beyond getting boat projects done.
Rough plan was to go north for summers as we like Washington county Maine which is still empty and gorgeous. Then head to mid Atlantic states. Big question is whether to jump to Antigua or St. Lucia, ABCs and head west from there or Florida, Yucatán, San Blas. Can’t imagine fighting the Caribbean current would be much fun so need to stay out of it unless starting far enough south. Getting back to the US looks easier. Pick up the Caribbean current and ride it to straits of Florida.

 

[catalinajack]

Geez, even for the "average" snowboarder who travels the ICW to Florida and back, that's at least a 2,000 mile round trip and more likely close to 3,000 miles, depending, of course, on the starting and ending points. Lots of boaters make this trip every year. Three thousand miles for us would rack up 450 -500 hours.

A quick scan of the first four N40s that appears on Yachtworld showed an average of around 125 hours per year, with high being 3800 hours for a 1999 vessel. Maybe some engines were rebuilt. Looking at 1000 nms per year in average, though likely many came in first couple years.

When I was delivering full time, I averaged around 225 billable days per year underway. Somewhere in the 3500 engine hours, 18k-20k nms range give or take. I also racked up a lot of Southwest Air miles along the west coast. Pretty sure my experience was at the extreme end for vessels in this class.

If all goes well next year, I'll start cruising at a pace of around 400-500 hours per year, or around 3000 nms. I suspect that that will put me a few std devs beyond normal.

Peter

 

[catalinajack]

Not everyone changes their oil once a year. I change when the oil is worn out as indicated by oil analysis. Even for Dino oil that means 300 - 500 hours. Just change the filter once a year and motor on. And, no, there is no acid in the oil.

I’m not really sure why miles per year is of interest, but the cost of maintenance driven by engine hours really won’t move the needle. Run 1000 or more hours a year and your fuel cost will be significant, but extra oil changes on your engine(s) and gens is peanuts. Eventually depreciation will increase because of total hours and that might actually be significant if you really pile on the hours.

You will always change oil and filters on everything at least once a year, and many believe twice a year is the better minimum. Adding an extra change or 2 is cheap and easy, and is about the only direct cost increase by adding hours. I would argue that over several years the total maintenance cost is similar in a heavily used engine and a low-hours engine since sitting is bad for them also.

Days per year is what matters to us. We’ve had 20 mile days and 200 mile days and they are both good. We enjoy the time underway but we only go as far as required to get to where we want to be. There was a time when I liked to know that I’ve traveled farther than most but I’m over it and that is a good thing.

 

[mvweebles]

Not everyone changes their oil once a year. I change when the oil is worn out as indicated by oil analysis. Even for Dino oil that means 300 - 500 hours. Just change the filter once a year and motor on. And, no, there is no acid in the oil.

I've come around to this thinking - the bigger-brain of TF (coupled with Steve D, the Wizard Behind the Curtain for me) has been very helpful.

Transmission too?

To the point on sailboats being more tired than powerboats. I suppose powerboats have more space to install and store stuff vs sailboats where everything is tucked somewhere - quarter berth or v-berth is often awash in sailbags and such. It's also dang hard to keep a boat maintained to top quality standards once you're outside a first-world country such as the US. You don't have a choice of caulks, hoses, tinned cable, etc.

And of course cruising sailboats get used a lot, and there are more of them than cruising powerboats. I went back to Yachtworld and tallied all seven of the Nordhavn 40's for sale - average of 142 hours per year. Not a lot. I'd guess the bulk of the hours were accumulated in the first 3-years of ownership. The typical new-owner lifecycle was something along the lines of buy the boat, spend a ton of time/money researching doo-dads and commissioning the boat; use the heck out of the boat and accomplish a dream adventure; then sell it and go on to their next adventure, often motivated by newly minted grandchildren.

But I also think that sailboats often suffer from more DIY maintenance and repairs, much of it often deferred. Many Willard Trawlers suffer from this and they look pretty tired after 30-years of DIY repairs - I know Weebles did, and much of this was self-inflicted wounds of triage repairs and not going back to button-up properly. Nordhavns are often professionally maintained and when they are offered to market, the owner often has the boat detailed including steam cleaning of the engine room. Really makes a difference. 20+ years ago when I was heavily involved in trawlers, Grand Banks' owners had a similar reputation - that seems to have slipped over the intervening years.

Peter

 

[Choices]

While politically incorrect, wear can be accelerated by the size and weight of the occupants.

When a wide load walks down a passageway, and rubs both sides, wear is at least doubled.

Same for weight. Ever say in the favorite helm chair of a heavy person? Usually cushion is mashed flat and wear points worn out.

Too bad all crew can't be a size 2.....

 

[bayview]

Sounds like you make long passages. Most of us here make shorter trips and average 100 -200 hours per year or so engine time. With the right sailboat and conditions the temptation to set on a nice reach and just keep going is strong. We powerboaters don't have that draw .

IMO you pass a lot of interesting experiences always going for the far away places.

 

[mvweebles]

Sounds like you make long passages. Most of us here make shorter trips and average 100 -200 hours per year or so engine time. With the right sailboat and conditions the temptation to set on a nice reach and just keep going is strong. We powerboaters don't have that draw .

IMO you pass a lot of interesting experiences always going for the far away places.

Yep. I totally agree. I bypassed a lot of places while delivering. It's a big reason I want to take Weebles home on her own bottom.

But I believe there is a category of distance cruising between day-hopping and ocean crossing. "Coastal Passagemaking" is a pretty descriptive term: longer repositioning legs between cruising grounds with bail-out options within a 72-hr window (say, 500 nms or so). Doesn't mean you will stop, but you can stop if something changes such as weather (thus the 72-hour time horizon). Some people cruise areas where it's not needed or they simply don't care for long runs. Others like long runs and build itineraries accordingly, which is where I lean.

A fairly high percentage of sailors appear to aspire to distance cruising. To me, a surprisingly low percentage of powerboaters appear to share that aspiration.

Peter