Displacement economy, meditteranean style wanted

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desperatelyseeking

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Hi all,

I'm new to the forum but have been a boat lover for years. I currently have a Cranchi CSL 27 based in Sardinia so it's only a holiday toy sadly. Looking forward, I'd love to move up to a bigger boat that I could cruise on for longer periods of time.

Here's my quandry, i can't really afford the running costs of a high powered 55' fly. Having owned a boat, I know how the fuel costs and servicing costs add up and that's on a single Volvo Penta 320hp!!

Anyone reccomend a 50' single engined displacement boat with the style of an Azimut or Fairline/Sunseeker/Princess. It seems to make sense to me to have an 8 knot cheap to run sun worshipers boat that doesn't look like a Nordhavn/Selene/Grand Banks.

Seems to be a lot of chat aboput running boats at slower speeds for better economy at the moment but not many boats with that economy designed in whilst retaining the head turning modern style both externally and internally.
 
you can pootle along at 8 -9 kns on a big planning boat you don't necessarily need a full on displacement boat. I frequently motor at 9Kns on a sealine t50 if I'm not going far - doing @ 1.8mpg at that speed. I was worried at first it would roll a lot but it doesn't unless the waves are beam on. The T50 weighs 18 tons loaded and that helps a lot smoothing the ride. I tried running on one engine to see if it used less fuel but it was pretty much the same total burn with either one or both running. If it gets too rough you can always speed up - which you can't in a full sd boat. A big planning boat doesn't cost that much to service either - no outdrives to mess about with and usually easy access to everything so its quick to do and chances are will have been done properly in the past.
 
kashurst said:
I frequently motor at 9Kns on a sealine t50 if I'm not going far
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Well, if for going far you prefer full planing speed, the whole economic logic of it is a bit lost, I reckon.
Though your train of thoughts is not uncommon among planing boat owners, I must say.
In fact, displacement boating is for those who like cruising at slow speed, to start with. The fuel saving is just a consequence.
I would have never choosen to move from a 40+ to a 9 kts boat, a dozen of years ago, for the savings alone.
 
Re: Mapism - yes I agree its seems illogical but I really like going slow and being out at sea, I'm more into the journey than the destination - if it was just me I'd get a Fleming or similar, however the regular crew tend to get bored after 2 -3 hours. So I tend to plane more if SWMBO and co are aboard. I was trying to explain to desparatelyseeking that a big planning boat works surprisingly well as a displacement boat, so it might be another solution to his idea
 
just seen Hurricane's post - that's it exactly, we even play the same music (I prefer the Rod Stewart version though)
 
Hurricane said:
Pootling



HD Link https://www.youtube.com/v/G5_9YKeBIh8

This is a 20m planing boat (just under 50 tonnes)
10 knots = 22 litres per hour per engine
25 knots = 175 litres per hour per engine
Hope that helps
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Great video! Reminds me of leaving Cala D'or (Mallorca) recently in my Squadron 58 and just pottering at 10 knots due east until we arrived in Sardinia about 24 hours later..., with the fuel tank still more than two thirds full! I think some planing boats are a bit better than others at pottering though - low cg and deepish forefoot are two important characteristics that keep the roll down; as well as a general effort having been made by the builder/designer to keep the profile relatively low. Some planing boats have HUGE radar arches and excessive (IMHO) topsides which often causes rolling at anchor and certainly when running at displacement speeds. And as has been said, the great thing is that if you want/need to, you can outrun the weather reasonably efficiently - try running a Fleming 55 at 18 knots, that'll really do some diesel!!
 
kashurst said:
I tend to plane more if SWMBO and co are aboard.
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That's weird. Not only it was actually my wife the first to see the light, when we decided to move from an express cruiser to a wooden trawler, but I've found that many other women actually like displacement cruising much more than the faster stuff.
In fact, I know a couple of them, also experienced boaters, who started pushing their husbands towards displacement cruising...
...in spite of the fact that they're usually more attracted by the fashionable look of planing boats, I must add.

Anyway, for true petrolheads, it takes much more than 20 kts to appreciate the speed side of the boating fun - which just begins from three times that speed upward! :cool:
 
Yep, Hunton builds some beautiful speed machines indeed.
Though, with respect, some less "old school" speed boat builders in the last couple of decades came out with tricks which made superfast hulls much more efficient.
It takes 1300hp to reach 80mph with the Hunton 43, whilst there are similarly sized boats that can achieve three digits speeds with that sort of power.

In a sense, I'm more interested by the camera boat. Apologies if you already mentioned her and I forgot, but wazzat?
50 mph is still a respectable speed after all, and she seems to handle it easily and with a very stable ride.
 
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desperatelyseeking said:
I currently have a Cranchi CSL 27 based in Sardinia so it's only a holiday toy sadly.
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For some reason, I didn't notice this line the first time I read your post.
Dunno where exactly in Sardinia you're based, but I'm in the SW tip of it, and being a former Cranchi owner myself, I feel obliged to offer you to give displacement cruising a try, if you're interested.
My boat is actually twin engined, and quite far from the style your're looking for, but she's a full displacement boat for good, and the "feeling" is indeed similar to most other D boats in the 50' bracket (and very different from planing boats).
Otoh, I'm afraid that you'll struggle to find a true trawler anywhere near the P boats design - and even more so for single screw boats.
All the best anyway for your search.
 
Thanks for all your comments. Interestingly MapisM makes the point that wives prefer displacement speed cruising over noisy planing speeds. However, whenever I show her displacement boats she refers to them as "Tubs". I'm still attracted to the idea of a displacement hull with a single engine and the sea keeping/economy advantages that brings with the above water style of flybridge cruiser. I imagine, the saving from having a modest single engine rather than two big powerful blocks would make a 50' possible for £300k - there's gotta be a market for that!!
 
We're in Santa Teresa in the northern most tip of the Island although I keep the boat at a tiny marina in Porto Pozzo at the end of the Conca Verde. Beautiful cruising round the area if you ever make the trip north.
 
Yep, I know that area.
With the Maddalena archipelago within easy reach, it's definitely a great place for boating!
I don't think I'll head up there this summer, though.
The agenda is already a bit busy elsewhere, with visiting friends.... :-)
 
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