How green are you?

[grumpygit]

There is at the moment a lot of threads on the forum about diesel fuels, red, white, taxed or not, low sulphur fuels/oils and additives and so on. I would say the vast majority on here have sailing vessels, but those being a MoBo owner are welcome to state their views. So how much of a tree hugger are you?

Do you-;

Sail because it's cheaper, greener or just for the thrill of it?

Have you wind and solar power because it's cheaper or greener than a generator?

Agree with wind farms blotting the land scape or sea based farms causing a navigational hazard?

Worry about when and where you tip your holding tanks (if you have them)?

Use biodegradable detergents and cleaners?

I think that'll do for starters, and remember honesty is the best policy...........That's polite for no bulls**t please, at least not near the coast!!!!!!

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[sailorman]

There is at the moment a lot of threads on the forum about diesel fuels, red, white, taxed or not, low sulphur fuels/oils and additives and so on. I would say the vast majority on here have sailing vessels, but those being a MoBo owner are welcome to state their views. So how much of a tree hugger are you?

Do you-;

Sail because it's cheaper, greener or just for the thrill of it?

Have you wind and solar power because it's cheaper or greener than a generator?

Agree with wind farms blotting the land scape or sea based farms causing a navigational hazard?

Worry about when and where you tip your holding tanks (if you have them)?

Use biodegradable detergents and cleaners?

I think that'll do for starters, and remember honesty is the best policy...........That's polite for no bulls**t please, at least not near the coast!!!!!!

__________________________________________________________________

1/ i do sailing coz i like it
2/wind genny because i inherited one
3/yes
4/No
5/No
6/agreed

 

[prv]

Sail because it's cheaper, greener or just for the thrill of it?

Cos it's fun.

Have you wind and solar power because it's cheaper or greener than a generator?

Don't have either. Prefer solar and perhaps wind to generator for various reasons, but tree-huggery not among them.

Agree with wind farms blotting the land scape or sea based farms causing a navigational hazard?

No. Modern nuclear makes more sense, and possibly shale gas etc (my brother does research in that area but I don't really know enough about it)

Worry about when and where you tip your holding tanks (if you have them)?

Only from the point of view of politeness in harbour etc, not their wider effect on the sea as a whole (psst, fish **** too). Although I wouldn't use toxic chemicals in a holding tank as apparently some Americans do.

Use biodegradable detergents and cleaners?

No, but try to avoid letting too much into the sea.

Pete

 

[Twister_Ken]

Sail because it's cheaper, greener or just for the thrill of it?
Just because I enjoy it, and it's mentally stimulating.

Have you wind and solar power because it's cheaper or greener than a generator?
Solar. Don't wan't a genny, thanks

Agree with wind farms blotting the land scape or sea based farms causing a navigational hazard?
Yes

Worry about when and where you tip your holding tanks (if you have them)?
Last emptied at the HM pontoon, Hamble. Don't bother with them at sea.


Use biodegradable detergents and cleaners?
Yes. Ecover.


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BTW, also a member of Friends of the Earth and have been for 20 years.

And I responded to the HMRC questionnaire on keeping red a few years back saying that I didn't want special treatment for leisure sailers.

 

[little_roundtop]

Sail because it's cheaper, greener or just for the thrill of it?

I do it to keep the sails aired and free of mould. Oh, and it's good fun.

Have you wind and solar power because it's cheaper or greener than a generator?

We have solar panels because it saves wear and tear on the engine and because the Sun is there.

Agree with wind farms blotting the land scape or sea based farms causing a navigational hazard?

Yes, provided the area where they're located is sufficiently windy often enough and long enough for them to make a useful contribution.

Worry about when and where you tip your holding tanks (if you have them)?

Of course! Not much point in having a holding tank otherwise......

Use biodegradable detergents and cleaners?

Mostly. But only because that's all that SWMBO buys!

How'd I do??

 

[Plevier]

Anyone who thinks typical sailing is in any way green is deluding themselves in my view.

Consider the materials and energy used in making and maintaining boats (especially GRP) and sails, the chemicals in anti-fouling and paint and varnish, the fuel we use going back and forth to them, it goes on and on.

Then there is the waste disposal at end of life.

If you're a liveabord on a wooden boat with cotton sails and a bicycle and you don't antifoul, OK you win.

 

[Babylon]

I sail because I love sailing.

I have a green conscience, and am a supporter of Greenpeace.

One constantly needs to make choices, both on land and at sea - where there are other constraints and conflicts which also impact on one's decisions.

Modern nuclear power (which is not however a Greenpeace policy) has to be part of the mix going into the future. So do renewables, but not switching off all the lights at night in city office blocks is cretinous.

I use Ecover products in the home, except for laundry and washing-up liquid, for which I use Surecare to prevent excema reactions and split thumbs - and the same is true onboard.

Heating oil is the only available fuel where I live, and my windows are single-glazed (listed house), so having a good jumper collection, closing the heavy curtains and blazing up the woodburner when its particularly cold and damp is the only green and economic answer.

I've got several bird-seed feeders. I can't stop the crows from raiding them and frightening away the purdy little birdies whose natural habitat has been denuded by intensive farming, so my solution was to buy yet another feeder and stick it on the crows' tree away from the others.

I often have an urgent dump onboard when berthed in a marina in a tidal river and pump it straight out (no holding tank), but wouldn't do so in a locked harbour or marina basin. Wet-wipes and nappy bags are not as easily biodegradable as loo-paper, but the main consideration here is not wrecking the pump with anything one hasn't eaten first.

One has to actually think every circumstance through, and there are not always perfectly satisfactory answers.

For a lot of people thinking things through can be very tiring. Everything is a compromise, absolutism is fascistic, but sticking one's head in the sand and hoping the problems will just go away - they will when we die, but they'll still be there for our children - is plain stupid.

Thanks for asking the question.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

No
No
No
No
No
No

Sorry.

 

[[70521]]

Do you:
Sail because it's cheaper, greener or just for the thrill of it?

The thrill

Have you wind and solar power because it's cheaper or greener than a generator?

Free energy is good, its not that I am Scots or anything like that.

Agree with wind farms blotting the land scape or sea based farms causing a navigational hazard?

Dissagree; there needs to be a mixed energy economy.

Worry about when and where you tip your holding tanks (if you have them)?

I pefer to tip them in the proper place.

Use biodegradable detergents and cleaners?

I use something that gets the job done.

 

[Blueboatman]

Reckon I am as green as most, wind, solar and lots of sails to put up, ashore I do v v llttle driving, zero flying, do use diesel for heating the boat though and when the wind don't blow can get thru a couple or three hundred litres a year, it seems.

Any question that invokes Big Greenery should start with how often do you change your car for a newly manufactured one? Make and mend your kitchen or throw it out? Same for glass windows. These things require absurdly huge amounts of energy to manufacture/distribute/display/dispose of.
The 'red' diesel fiasco is more about stupid executive part of government steering the marine leisure users into a complete mess and collecting salaries in so doing, surely?
The rest of the Ops questionnaire, imo is raindrops ( or peedrops if you like) in the ocean

 

[snooks]

The diesel in my jerry can is very green....cos it came from Ireland

We try to be as "green" as possible as often as possible. But when there is no wind we'll motor.

I like the idea that I can sail to places and it doesn't cost anything to get there (ignoring the price of the boat, sails and running costs of course!) but this rarely happens.

We bought a wind gen because it was cheaper and easier to install than a diesel gen. We took the decision to avoid antifoul and have now gone to copper coat. We use the Ecover products on board (and at home) our bilge is clean so we don't pump any oil over the side.

We don't have a holding tank so we use toilets ashore wherever possible.

 

[Babylon]

No
No
No
No
No
No

Sorry.

No you're not.

 

[dylanwinter]

Dirty planet bustin son of a gun

KTL is an environmental disaster primarily because of the road miles involved

although I do it in a Polo or a Micra

the boat istelf is, I think pretty green

the beast sips diesel - maybe 20 gallons a year

no anti-foul

I have turned my back on the seagull as a back up

it does have a pumping sea bog of last resort

but...I worry a lot less about the occasional highly biodegradable poo or sheet of paper than I do about the washing up liquid that goes down the sink and the gallons of fuel used in the car

it will only get worse as I work my way North

compared to the bloke with his 2.5 litre Audi and twin diesels in the power boat I am a paragon

but seen from the perspective of a non-car owning African farmer then all of us Brits are sinners

Dylan

 

[capnsensible]

I dont own a car or a farm in Africa

 

[Robin]

There is at the moment a lot of threads on the forum about diesel fuels, red, white, taxed or not, low sulphur fuels/oils and additives and so on. I would say the vast majority on here have sailing vessels, but those being a MoBo owner are welcome to state their views. So how much of a tree hugger are you?

Do you-;

Sail because it's cheaper, greener or just for the thrill of it?
Used to because I love it, now have motor and no sails.

Have you wind and solar power because it's cheaper or greener than a generator?
Had wind and solar, no genny but now have solar (lots) and a big genny.

Agree with wind farms blotting the land scape or sea based farms causing a navigational hazard?
NO NO NO NO NO.

Worry about when and where you tip your holding tanks (if you have them)?
Used to empty ours at sea, new boat in USA gets pumped out weekly in it's berth free.

Use biodegradable detergents and cleaners?
Not deliberately, some are.

I think that'll do for starters, and remember honesty is the best policy...........That's polite for no bulls**t please, at least not near the coast!!!!!!

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See above. Our new mobo in the USA averages around 2mpg (US) including generator use as required. Since we will be living on board it and therefore have no commute other than to the local supermarkets that should be no worse than say your average Solent yottie who drives down from the smoke and motor sails everywhere..

 

[webcraft]

Do you-;

Sail because it's cheaper, greener or just for the thrill of it?
As opposed to what? A MoBo has never appealed. We use the engine quite a lot when passagemaking - generally when the speed drops below 3 knots.

Have you wind and solar power because it's cheaper or greener than a generator?
Wind genny was on the boat when we got it. No room for a generator even if we wanted one. Have run the engine while sailing on odd occasions.

Agree with wind farms blotting the land scape or sea based farms causing a navigational hazard?
Trick question innit - only an idiot would agree with deliberate navigational hazards. My navigation is good enough to avoid hitting windfarms tho', so YES.

Worry about when and where you tip your holding tanks (if you have them)?
No holding tank.

Use biodegradable detergents and cleaners?
Not AFAIK - but hardly use any anyway.


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- W

 

[grumpygit]

Thanks for you out there that did join in and thank you for the honesty of your input. I did post the questions with tongue in cheek approach.
Of course we sail because we love it, we all enjoy the thrill of a really good sail and endure the bad times. If it was down to cost I doubt we would be out there at all, sail or power just ain't for the cash conscious.
We sit on our floating abodes that for want of a better word are like factories, making water, cold storage, light, power, waste and on the list can go. We need power to do these things and I for one do not think green, I think how best I can do this without a big impact on the pocket but to others it might look green.
Wind farms, I chucked this in as a bit of a red herring really, I do not like to see them, they spoil the ambiance of my view. All wind farms should be at sea and be used for sailing marks instead of cans. Apart from all else they are a politically correct statement for being green and their ascetics.
As for the tipping of holding tanks, I do not believe anyone would do this in an Anchorage, tidal or non tidal without just cause. I do know a lot of if not most charter boats don't/can't hold their s**t but this does not stop them pumping it and dumping it.
As for the biodegradable, we may be offenders of this because we don't also prepare soon enough and can't get the products when we need them.
I did intend this to be a lively and light hearted thread but it's been a tad covert.
Those that thought the green issue didn't go far enough and want a bun fight, please describe the merit of hybrid cars or nuclear power!!!.......................

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[Babylon]

Those that thought the green issue didn't go far enough and want a bun fight, please describe the merit of hybrid cars or nuclear power!!!......................

Hybrid cars - great for cities. My sister uses a quarter of the fuel in her hybrid in London than I do into my non-hybrid in the sticks, for the same annual mileage!

Nuclear power - assuming you don't build them on geological fault lines or at sea-level in the path of tsunamis, and instigate the most rigorous standards of operational management and inspection, the why on earth not include nuclear in the mix.

My bun - aimed right at anyone who wants to join in - is free-range, organic and fairtrade!