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Old 08-11-2020, 11:25 PM   #3
rsn48
Guru
 
City: Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island
Vessel Name: Capricorn
Vessel Model: Mariner 30 - Sedan Cruiser 1969
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,019
One of the things when discussing power boats with my sailing friends is the cost of fuel. My sailing buddies always point out the cost of diesel/gas for the boat and how high it is. What I tell them is for a season, most of the time the cost is about a third of one car's fuel a year. Here's the problem. With a car you pay roughly $60 a week for a year which is $3120 per year. So roughly $1000/year for cruising if you take my one third estimate of fuel for a boat.

The problem is when you go to fill up, the bill comes in at $800/900/1000 and not $60 a week so the hit feels harder. And this is for the smaller cruisers, not the biggies. But if you put the boat fuel in perspective of a car's fuel bill for a year, it isn't too bad.

I'm going to throw some suggestions out there:

1) If I lived in Blaine, I'd prefer to keep my boat in Bellingham. This town is closer to the San Juan Islands and points south. I'd prefer to do the distance travel by car, then hop over to my preferred cruising areas by boat. I live in Qualicum Beach, literally 5 minutes from French Creek Marina but I keep my boat in Comox which is much closer to Desolation Sound and other goodies. I do the distance thing in my car (roughly a one hour drive) also saving fuel as well as time, then get on my boat closer to where I want to be.

2) I prefer something faster than a trawler unless it is some form of fast trawler. In your and my area we are a short hop over to some great cruising areas. My bias is to go faster for the first hour then slow down and smell the roses. One hour of fast will get you from Bellingham to the closest San Juan Island (to lazy to go look and see which one it is). Then you can slow down to 7 knots or so and cruise......................

3) Also if you are out of Bellingham, to use sailing jargon, you will have a beam reach on your trawler/tug/express/sedan cruiser. When it is windier its nice to make the jump faster and not be bouncing around on a slow boat as you take a beam wind/sea off of the open water on your way to the San Juans.

4) Remember a trawler going 7 knots is faster than a sailboat going 7 knots. So you will be more destination oriented than travel oriented. Comox to Desolation is much like Bellingham to the Islands, you will make this traverse so many times the initial hour will loose its luster and you will be more inclined to be in Friday Harbor rather than getting to Friday Harbor. I make the traverse going to and back from Desolation and surrounding areas so I like to move a bit. You can always make a fast boat go slow, but you can never make a slow boat go fast.

5) This is my opinion, caveat - not THE TRUTH - but I think the best boats for our area are semi displacement hulls that can achieve a plane. The tug series of boats like Nordic and Ranger Tugs are really express cruisers in drag but I think these boats are great for our area. Also express cruisers like Cutwaters and Back Coves do a great job of cruising and moving.

6) If you can, get a boat with a full bimini that covers the entire cockpit with fold down soft walls. This will really extend the time on the water during our rainy season. So it can be pissing out greatly and you can be sitting in your chairs in the cockpit on the hook enjoy a brew or two. Try that on a sailboat. Also if you can, your boat should come with a heater again for off season cruising.

7) No outboards on your fast boat as you will need a swim grid for your dinghy, the smart car of cruising families.
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