Supporting Diesel friendly boats - or not

[DaCostaGreene]

Further to the publication of a couple of Mags this month, which exclude certain boats, I am dismayed at the effort to publicise diesel/eco friendly boats.

Surely, with the inevitable, the Mags should support this new wave of boats, which eat/drink less fuel - the fuel will go up at some point, whatever anyone does or says.

This lack of support for boats that drink less fuel and DO NOT compromise on looks (which is what everyone moans about) is ridiculous. Maybe the buying public should wake up to this and realise that fuel, although it has lots of support will rise in price - we all know the government don't listen, even when they do, they "smile and nod", just like I do in meetings!! then nothing gets done, just like after the meeting!!

I do not WANT prices to rise, I think it is in the next couple of years, inevitable. I just think that companies such as MotorCats, EcoCats, PowerCats and such like, who are trying to relieve the pressure on the buyers by creating great ideas (not always good looking) and manufacturing them at semi-reasonable prices. The money that is saved in the long run - especially as fuel will go up, will be fantastic - may be worth the investment.

If fuel goes up the whole boat building ethic will change towards lighter built (flimsy) monohulls or Moterised Catamarans.

IMHO, what do you think???

 

[rickp]

It amuses me that you think the magazines set the agenda. Surely its the boat buying public that set the agenda - if there were hundreds of cats being bought then the magazines would follow? I think you're confusing the (lack of) coverage of a small boat builder as the mags ignoring cats - which can't be true as I've seen reviews of cats in recent editions of mby I think.

It also amuses me that you think the market will change dramatically if diesel goes up in price. Its doubled in a year and things haven't changed. Its taxed in most of Europe and there market doesn't seem to have beaten a path to your door...

Rick

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

If you can afford a new boat you can afford to fuel your exisitng one may be pertinent, in the way that Rolls Royce traditionally are held to advise that if you need to know the cost of ownership you can't afford one. The older and cheaper end of the market, who might be more critically interested in lower fuel costs, are not likely to scrape up the £60K or so that a new MotorCat or similar will cost.

Now if they want to give me one I'll extol it to the heights because, like many river boaters, I do want low wash at 4 knots and achievable 15+ knots when downstream of Tilbury. But I would get shafted by the EA on licence fees, although I could claim to be rafting up with myself (pretty kinky eh?)

 

[DaCostaGreene]

Rich,

It is not a lack of coverage that bothers me, it is an ingnorance of the smaller boat builder - What do you class as a small boat builder???

I do not think Eco Cats are a small boat builder (unless you class the size of their boats) on the contrary they are quite large and popular with those that do not mind what they are looking at (the fashion conscious on the other hand do) and are extremely economical. PowerCats are (to my knowledge) a smaller boat builder, who's design are excellent and there are MotorCats, who IMHO are the market leader when it comes to styling and efficiency combined. Take the RIBcat for instance (I may be bias around about now), it is a great looking boat, which utilises a Hydrofoil - which means it only needs small engines (tein 50-70hp) to reach similar speeds to that of a similar sized monohull that would need one or two large engines (100 hp plus) to reach the same speeds. This is where your fuel efficiency comes in, smaller engines doing the same speed - you will go further i.e. more miles per gallon (I reckon around 30% further - needs to be tested though) You have not comprimised anything at all other than using less fuel to go further.

On the other hand, if we were to fit an inboard diesel, apart from losing some storage space, I would bet that the RIBcat would go even further, the weight of the engine may slow it down so you might have to use two small diesels but the fact remains Cats go further (so you don't have to - thats an advert somewhere) on less fuel, less weight etc....

 

[KevB]

I wouldn't buy one cause they look terrible. Now if they looked like the Lagoons........

 

[DaCostaGreene]

Sailing vs Power

 

[Whitelighter]

I think Kev was thinking of the lagoon power:

 

[DaCostaGreene]

Looking like lagoons

This is the point, they are not meant to look like a conventional powered Cat, they are supposed to look like/similar to a monohull attract that particular market, looks of a monuhull - economical as a CAT

Can you explain the anomily that there are some huge power catamaran builders in the US e.g. Glacier Bay, posting remarkable fuel consumption figures. In the UK we are continually complaining about high fuel prices and don't give enough coverage about this possible solution (one possible solution)??????

Forget the sheep ethic, which most new buyers follow - try something new!!!!

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Do US marinas roast cat owners on mooring fees?

 

[LeytonC]

in fareness - the victorasprey cats are not that beamy - certainly not like normal sailing cats i have seen, that are wider than they are long!!

 

[No1_Moose]

I think it's pointless, boats are never going to be "eco-friendly". A 45ft mobo now is burning similar amounts of fuel per mile to a shorthaul aircraft. Having said that boat pollution is so insignificant in the scheme of things that unless people get very tetchy about the price of fuel there isn't going to be a drive to pursue efficiency over style, comfort, safety etc.

Oh, I think you're trying to plug motorcats agan but hey ho.

 

[john_0neuk]

Guys,
You only have to look at commercial fishing charter skippers to see what is the most economical solution. They need space, seakeeping and economy, what do they buy diesel powered Chetah cats etc. So if you want to use a boat at sea instead of pose on it in a marina, have to watch the pennies re running cost and have the space to do what you want then a Cat is the way forward.
I would love to own a cat and if more of us bought them then market share would go up and hopefully prices would come down or at least there would be more available second hand!

 

[adrianm]

For a lot of people the berthing costs far outweigh the diesel costs. Given that most cats incur a 50% increase in berthing costs it's not as cut and dry as it sounds.

Charter fishing skippers need a lot of room to pack as many fishermen in as possible which is the primary reason why they use cats.

 

[oceanfroggie]

As I said in another post:

Sorry, but I still think small motorised cats are as ugly as sin, about as functional as the dome, and as stylish as Mr Bean's cloths. I couldn't care less about the fuel savings if I had to boat with a paper bag over my head for fear of being recognised, not to mention the extra cost of ownership (eg high berthage and unusually expensive lift outs, two hulls to antifoul, etc). It's a no brainer!

 

[DaCostaGreene]

Actually cost of ownership is small. Hardly any antifoul as hardly anything in the water. not excessivelly beamy so no extra mooring charges. No added lift out charges. Try www.adventurebaypowercats.com/pacificharmony.htm for a quality large powercat. Smaller good looking designs are possible.

 

[adrianm]

Getting a bit fed up with all this advertising on this forum these days........

 

[DaCostaGreene]

I agree with you on this. It does annoy me that every post is about a monohull. Some users even promote there boat in their user names. Blatant advertising of monos everywhere in every post. Shameful isnt it.

 

[duncan]

[ QUOTE ]
Charter fishing skippers need a lot of room to pack as many fishermen in as possible which is the primary reason why they use cats

[/ QUOTE ]

you won't find them moored in marinas very often either - Brighton is an exception but Weymouth Poole etc have their own comercial docks (and terms).