Can Power cost less than Sail?

[Heckler]

Tunisia last year in March paid .55 lts we not only filled our tanks but got 8 20 lts cans and filled them too .
By the way our 40 Hp volvo does 1.5 @ 1800 RPM and 1.8 @ RPM 2000

Coming down here to Portugal, I motored more than I wanted to but overall my 50hp MD22 averaged 1.8 litres per hour
S

 

[ribrage]

Everybody knows that a power boat will cost more than a sailing boat to cruise, but in fact it can cost less.
On our trawler yacht it can/does cost less. Here’s how: Although we are less than 14metres LOA we have large capacity fuel tanks (4000+ litres), so we only ever buy duty free fuel - in 7 years cruising we’ve never paid more than €1/ litre and recently just topped up at €0.60/ litre. Our engine is a single John Deere 120HP that pushes us along at 7 knots and consumes about 6 litres/hour so an hour run costs between €3.60 and €6.00. I can put up sails to reduce this further if I wish, but by no stretch of the imagination are we a sailing boat.

Most sailing boats will not have the fuel capacity to purchase duty free and so will buy fuel off the dock at between €1.50 and €1.80 per litre. Assuming a fuel consumption of 4 litres/ hour for an equivalent sized boat it will cost between €6.00 and €7.20 per hour. The obvious response is ‘ Yes, but we sail and only use the engine in and out of harbour’. Well there are purists out there, but looking around the average Mediterranean sailing spots they are few and far between.

By the way ‘Destiny’ is now on the market if anybody is interested.

But the silence of sailing is priceless....................

 

[Jeva]

But the silence of sailing is priceless....................

You have me there - you are absolutely right.

 

[blampied]

You can't have it all ways!
Yes the sail boat has silence while underway sailing, but only just.
A modern motor running slowly at displacement speed can only just be heard over the sound of the sea slapping past the hull.

Then at anchor the trawler motorboat without all the rustling, clanking and flapping rigging of a sail boat becomes the quieter beast.
Having fully charged the batteries from the engine while underway and far more room for solar panels is very unlikely to need to run a generator at anchor.

 

[ribrage]

You can't have it all ways!
Yes the sail boat has silence while underway sailing, but only just.
A modern motor running slowly at displacement speed can only just be heard over the sound of the sea slapping past the hull.

Then at anchor the trawler motorboat without all the rustling, clanking and flapping rigging of a sail boat becomes the quieter beast.
Having fully charged the batteries from the engine while underway and far more room for solar panels is very unlikely to need to run a generator at anchor.

I work on a research ship 100 meter - ish - constant engine noise -generators - Engine ventilation fans - AC units - air tools - grinders - ETC ETC

As coxswain I'm responsible for two 30 ft work boats , generally twin engine Yanmars on water jets - a busy day maybe Im out for 10 - 11 hours - water jets mean high revs or no steerage - high revs = more noise - then I get to do all the maintenance on them, more noise !

Trust me I get home , the minute I'm out the harbor that engine is......... OFF !

never sat in a mobo that was really quiet and I've sat in a lot of them , cant recall seeing many mobos with solar panels, most are so heavily dependant on 240 v power that batteries and solar panels wouldn't stay on top of consumption ?

As for noise - most are so used to the noise the engine makes its a relief to switch on the gen set

he he

 

[Sybarite]

, cant recall seeing many mobos with solar panels, most are so heavily dependant on 240 v power that batteries and solar panels wouldn't stay on top of consumption ?

http://www.setsail.com/fpb-97-a-wicked-intro/

Steve Dashew reckons on his own 83' yacht (with many fewer panels than on this one) that they can spend 4-5 days at anchorage without having to switch on the generator.

 

[ribrage]

4- 5 days - is that good ?

 

[KellysEye]

No, the wind is free diesel costs money.

 

[westernman]

No, the wind is free diesel costs money.

An oil change is cheaper than a new suit of sails.

 

[Sybarite]

4- 5 days - is that good ?

With what I understand the 97' has sufficient solar panels to not require a generator.

 

[KellysEye]

>An oil change is cheaper than a new suit of sails.

I don't see the relvance you have to change engine oil on a yacht too. If you want to prove sailing is much cheaper than motoring do an Atlantic crossing in a sailing boat then a motorboat. We spent virtually nothing on fuel, we rarely had to motor. Also we had Hood sails that hadn't stretched after 10,000 nms.