How long before your bored on a motor boat?

[Greg2]

Interesting stuff......although I must confess that I find it a little dificult to understand some of the apparantly polarised views.

As someone with a foot in both camps I can see the enjoyment to be had from both mobo's and sailboats......both are about boating and being on the water with diferent aspects to enjoy on each.

We have a mobo here in the UK having nearly switched to sail last year. What made us stay with a mobo was the ability to easily combine river and sea cruising with the benefit of a few creature comforts and passage hours that are in single figures at sea. Sure fuel is a big issue but we factor it in for the sea passages we do and on the river it is less of an issue. The big deal is the weather here so the mobo works for us.....we are on the water and can stay warm and dry in adverse conditions.

Saling is far better in sunnier climes IMHO.....we got back from a truly superb sailing holiday in the BVI yesterday. I wouldn't have swapped for a mobo out there as the sailing was great and the climate meant that we were never wet and cold.....mainly wet (sweaty) and hot actually!! Hurricane Sandy meant that we experienced some unusual weather and winds but we had everything from exhilerating passages with 20 knot winds and 25 knot gusts to trickling along in 8 knot winds with the sails and autopilot set and a good book to read. Unfortunately cost means that we can't do this as often a we might like but we will enjoy it when we can.

Bottom line is that there is pleasure to be had from both mobo's and sailboats and people will do what they enjoy within their means......we are all on the water no matter what is pushing us along.

 

[Wansworth]

One of the perks that attracted skippers to running a dredger out of Southampton was the ship handleing which is always interesting.Likewise a nice 45 foot Inchcape with lots of skill needed to manuver etc is inte3resting.On top of that there is always the maintenence of the engine etc and a small sailing dinghy can be carried without problems.

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

So, someone gives you a nice big motor boat and as much fuel as you can use. You have all the creature comforts including tv, washing machine, wi fi, plush interior, large spacious bedrooms and lots of horse power. Everything you need is aboard including a well stocked drinks cabinet.

How long would it take before you got bored and hankered to be back on your sail boat?

I am a sailor first and foremost. My passion is however mainly driven by being at sea. Playing with bits of rope is enjoyable and the undeniable satisfaction of being propelled by wind power alone is tremendous!

That said I have recently delivered a Privateer 50 to Monaco from the UK and at no point was I bored. The trip almost exactly fits your description; we just didn't have any wi-fi or a usable drinks cabinet!

The trip took the best part of three weeks. There were only a few days when I longed for sails (including a 24hr period when we had F5 on the beam). For the vast majority of the trip, especially crossing the Med, there was very little wind and extremely calm seas.

Southampton to Monaco

Yes - I do personally prefer sailing yachts, but I wouldn't ever be bored whilst at sea...

Pete

 

[oldgit]

All down to time and Airdraft ?

Forget what you read on the £500 quid a trip MoBo forum.Many boats round here are displacement stuff and a weekend creek crawling is simply not going to use much diesel.
You will however be able to get into places and back out again with a motorboat due to not faffing about to get there in the first place .
Another problem is that the very first fixed bridge in front of your boat prevents the boat visiting some of the UK most iconic waterways.
To sum it up sailboats are both limited by mast and keel and going round in circles AKA sailing is about all you CAN do in a yacht. ?

 

[Habebty]

Fast rib about a day.
Trawler type yacht about a summer.
Planing Fairline/Princess type thing, maybe a week.

I love the sound of a big (old) diesel on a boat ever since I heard MTB102 or whichever MTB it was? leave Ipswich once - magic, now that I could live with.

But sailing is and always will be my first love until I get too decrepit and buy a mobo (does that mean all mobi drivers are already decrepit? )

And yes, they are two totally different types of boating as previously described.

 

[Daydream believer]

Deleted

 

[westernman]

I have no interest in driving a double bed and cocktail cabinet around nor sail them around come to that!

Sailing for me is 80% of the thrill, skill and satisfaction. Take that away and you are just left with the scenery...

+1.

Although on the Costa Brava the scenery is pretty good as well.
And the very fine restaurant on the beach in the anchorage, the spectacular sunset, and the good bottle wine are pretty good too.....

 

[westernman]

Let's face it - most of us have motor boats. It's just that some of them have auxiliary sails.

Once upon a time, most yachts had just sails, no engine at all. (There were such things as steam yachts - the purchase and running costs of these would put a Mobo in the shade.) So, for most yachtsmen, going from A to B was entirely dependent on wind (and tide)power. Now that would be a test of skill which few modern yachtsmen could handle. My admiration for the few that can.

Actually (apart from getting in and out of the Marina), that is not difficult if you have the same amount of time and patience as they had back in those days.

When the conditions are right, the wind in the right direction etc, handling a sailing boat is easy.

All you need is the patience and time to wait until the conditions are right.
However, most of us in this modern world have too little time and are in too much of a hurry.

Last year on our summer cruise at one marina we stayed in on our first night, there was a German boat there. He said they always day sail to a port which is about 30nm from the previous one. And they do it when the conditions are right.

At the end of the cruise on our last night before returning to our home port, he was still there! Although he did actually leave that day.

 

[[2068]]

Forget what you read on the £500

Portsmouth to Brighton would cost me somewhere in the region of £100, as an example.

 

[Zagato]

For me, motor boating is more about the destinations you can reach within the available time, than the journey itself. As such, how long it will stay interesting will depend on location, range and amount of time you have.

May as well take the car

 

[[2068]]

May as well take the car

Traffic Jams?
Speed Cameras?
Road Rage?
Hemmed in to a narrow strip of tarmac that only goes one of a limited set of ways?

No Thanks!

 

[Vara]

Had 8 days cruising north coast of France a few years ago.
Wasn't bored.
Can't do this on my little saily boat.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Look, don't get me wrong as some mobo's are a work of art and from time to time I wouldn't mind a little bit of luxury or messing around in one.
As it is I cannot even afford the fuel to run the generators on one let alone take it anywhere.
The biggest limitation I suppose is the range of the fuel tank which will usually mean you cannot use it too far from sight of land or the next fuel station.
Sailing is about freedom where as with a mobo you are a little tied.
Having said that.. good luck to anyone (apart from jet skies) who likes to mess about in the water.
I don't do enough sailing just for the hell of it and need to do more.

 

[ricky_s]

The biggest limitation I suppose is the range of the fuel tank which will usually mean you cannot use it too far from sight of land or the next fuel station

Your average mobo wouldn't get too far without refuelling, that's true. But how far does your average sail boat user actually go?

 

[westernman]

Had 8 days cruising north coast of France a few years ago.
Wasn't bored.
Can't do this on my little saily boat.

I can do that on my biggish saily boat. Indeed my MIL cooked a full dinner which we ate on deck while running downwind before a F8-F9.

We did have to keep the plates loaded and the cups full to stop them blowing away.

 

[outtametree]

I've only been out a on mobos a couple of times & from my experience I enjoyed it will I was driving. whilst a passenger I found it uncomfortable to begin with & after around 10 minutes became bored & uncomfortable.

 

[LionsDen]

I think if you gave me a mobo and all the fuel I could use and the west coast of Scotland to play in I could bimble around for a summer most happily. A stop here, a distillery tasting there, drop the anchor and climb a Munroe, fish a bit. Great fun, but in a way it'd only be like your best caravan holiday but on water.

I'd miss the sailing. The fact that a sail boat is slow (well mine is anyway) means it takes a bit off effort to get anywhere and not only does that effort make it seem more worthwhile but it makes you appreciate where you get to just that little bit more. Or so I think, maybe? Do all motorboats really have a drinks cabinet?

Most motorboats do not have A drinks cabinet but normally 2 or 3 including one on the flybridge plus off course a ice making m/c for the G&T that is why motor boats are referred too as Gin Palaces

On a serious note we will probably get a catamaran in about 15 years time when retired - until then we need the big engines to get too wherever we are going quickly for the weekend i.e. France and would want to enjoy the place we are visiting for as long as possible whilst there rather than spend all weekend travelling

 

[Greenheart]

For myself, I'm unable to separate the idea of motor cruisers from that of large motor-homes. They're not pretty, often an eyesore in the lovely places they visit, and they're slightly embarrassing as a thing to own...but quite comfortable and practical, aside from fuel costs.

I think the reason I don't want a motor cruiser is the same as the reason why ferries and commercial vessels don't have sails: as has been ably expressed here already, their purpose is mainly to cover distance without delay for enjoyment; each mile is just another obstacle...

...whereas I believe there are many with a Flying Dutchman disposition on this sailing forum: we like being at sea, and whilst it's satisfying when the wind drives the yacht to its best speed, just being out there is the reason for buying the boat. NOT as transport.

Consistent with that spirit, I've sometimes fantasized about how it would be to keep a cheap old Fairline near a South Coast rail terminus...finish work in the West End, train down to Portsmouth, aboard the boat, and power round to Swanage or Ventnor before last orders...

...not possible on any sailboat. The problem would be that having arrived in a leisurely seaside spot, I'd want to go sailing!

ANOTHER THOUGHT:
I reckon almost everybody here has been very diplomatic about motorboats...

...I wonder how the motorboat forum would have responded to the equivalent question:

How long does it take you throttle-happy types to get bored, aboard a sailing boat?

(D'you think any of them have ever tried it? )

 

[chinita]

Anybody who claims to be 'bored' at sea does not deserve to be there. A disaster waiting to happen. IMO.

 

[Greenheart]

He's right, you know...I too like nothing better than a large cake and seven cups of coffee on a sunny morning...