Really big motor yachts... something Ted might think about

My biggest boat to date was a 30' twin inboard express.

A trip to the gulf stream from VB and back was ~$1k.

You can buy a lot of tuna for $1k. (At least that's what my wife used to tell me. I prefer trying to catch it.)
 
This looks like a fun little pleasure boat...
Steam-Powered-SS-Delphine-Yacht-8.jpg
 
SkyDog58 said:
See there you go again, grumpy and ridicule.

That’s alright though. I frequently suffer from those ailments as well.
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And ya can’t even do what you are told to do...
 
Everskyward said:
Thanks. I've looked at asa.com. There are plenty of schools around here (San Francisco Bay Area). I'd like to learn and crew, but not sure I'm interesting in renting, since sailing seems like a group activity, and none of my current friends and relatives seem to be interested at all. Sorta like flying. I'm finding my own sailing friends.
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Understood! Hope you are able to get out there and have some fun!
 
Everskyward said:
Thanks. I've looked at asa.com. There are plenty of schools around here (San Francisco Bay Area). I'd like to learn and crew, but not sure I'm interesting in renting, since sailing seems like a group activity, and none of my current friends and relatives seem to be interested at all. Sorta like flying. I'm finding my own sailing friends.
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If you ever get down to San Diego, give me some advanced notice. I have several friends still there who are sailors, and would be happy to take a new victim er.... crewmember out
 
Everskyward said:
I have been attempting to learn sailing, mostly by observation. But I think I will take a course this spring.

Is there a SOA? (Sailboats of America)
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Thinking about leaving us? :eek: :(
 
Everskyward said:
Thanks. I've looked at asa.com. There are plenty of schools around here (San Francisco Bay Area). I'd like to learn and crew, but not sure I'm interesting in renting, since sailing seems like a group activity, and none of my current friends and relatives seem to be interested at all. Sorta like flying. I'm finding my own sailing friends.
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Seem to be a lot of pilots I've known over the years who are avid sailors. Something about them having an aerofoil I imagine. Sign up and go for it. If you live in the Bay Area you've got one of the best places on the west coast to sail, perhaps second only to the San Juan/Gulf Islands in the PNW.

I started as a teenager sailing dinghys on a lake. But once I discovered keelboats on saltwater it opened the door to adventures all over the world. I've chartered boats for holiday trips in all sorts of places - with a small group of friends it's a quite economical 10 day vacation, and you can have a new waterfront view every day for a fraction of the cost of a resort hotel.

I've sailed the Solent, into the ancient harbour of Rhodes, chartered out of Dubrovnik, after a long run out of Kos on a broad reach I accidently discovered the gorgeous little island of Simi off the coast of Turkey, enjoyed the incredibly reliable katabatic winds in the Ionian Sea, and more. If I could live my life over again I'd try to dispense with all that "study hard, get a good job, get married, duty to my immigrant parents" thing, and instead buy a boat and spend a year or two doing nothing more than exploring the coastlines of Greece.

Don't hesitate, just go try it.
 
GeorgeC said:
I was up for some pattern work this summer and this slick eurocopter landed behind me. A search revealed that it's based here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrant_Curiosity
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From that link:
The yacht has a crew of 26. Her twin MTU diesel engines produce 9,360 hp, good for a top speed of 20 knots, a cruising speed of 17 knots,
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My mind was boggled by these stats. (boggling occurs more frequently these days!)

The efficiency of this vessel is quite low. In the Navy I was assigned to a cargo ship, the USS Betelgeuse AK-260. She was a 450 foot long, Victory Ship (Original name: SS Colombia Victory), 455 feet at the water line. Her single screw steam plant produced 8,500 hp which drove her to a cruise speed of 18 knots. Flank speed, also 18 knots. Gross weight 12,000 tons inclusive of max cargo weight 4,000 tons. We burned 50 gallons of NSFO per nautical mile.

So we could cruise as fast as the Vibrant Curiosity while carrying many times the weight in cargo. All with 1940s technology. And much further too. We also had cargo fuel oil tanks which could feed the engine, too.

So why is the Vibrant Curiosity so fuel inefficient?

-Skip
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Bill Jennings said:
Coast of Croatia is where I think I want to charter next. Thailand is also high on the list.
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There are so many utterly gorgeous places to experience sailing, one lifetime isn't enough. Doesn't seem fair.

The Dalmatian Islands off the coast of Croatia are stunningly beautiful and largely unspoiled (unlike parts of the western Med, which can be wall-to-wall hotels and villas along the beaches). If you go, head North out of Dubrovnik and make time to motor up the short, narrow channel to Ston. The Roman era salt pans and the city wall fortifications make for a wonderful bit of exploring.

Just beware the bora winds coming down the Adriatic. The two most violent windstorms I've sailed in were both in the Adriatic.
 
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Bill Jennings said:
You don’t want a huge boat for the loop, you have to clear a 19’1” fixed bridge, and it’s desirable to have draft <5ft.

Good resource: http://www.captainjohn.org/GL-Boat1.html
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Correct, most boats under 45’ will clear that unless they have a really tall radar arch. It’s still close 17-18’ bridge clearance with those fly bridge/sedan bridge boats.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Bill Jennings said:
You don’t want a huge boat for the loop, you have to clear a 19’1” fixed bridge, and it’s desirable to have draft <5ft.

Good resource: http://www.captainjohn.org/GL-Boat1.html
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Thanks for posting that link! I had fun exploring it. I never really understood "the Great Loop". Now I do. On one side it looks like an amazing adventure. On the other side it looks like a lot of tedious motoring. Particularly if the weather is bad, winds are up, or seas are rough. I guess you take enough time to wait out bad weather and only motor when it's nice.

Jet Skis are my true love on the water, so I would have to have a pair on the back of the boat. Not negotiable, I can only motor slow for so long... :D
 
Dav8or said:
Jet Skis are my true love on the water, so I would have to have a pair on the back of the boat. Not negotiable, I can only motor slow for so long... :D
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@jesse and I had talked (mostly jokingly) about doing the great loop with his boat and a couple jet skis. ThT was back when it was my boat.

I think that’d be the way to do it personally.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
@jesse and I had talked (mostly jokingly) about doing the great loop with his boat and a couple jet skis. ThT was back when it was my boat.

I think that’d be the way to do it personally.
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Can't just fly the route in a day? :p
 
Dav8or said:
Thanks for posting that link! I had fun exploring it. I never really understood "the Great Loop". Now I do. On one side it looks like an amazing adventure. On the other side it looks like a lot of tedious motoring. Particularly if the weather is bad, winds are up, or seas are rough. I guess you take enough time to wait out bad weather and only motor when it's nice.

Jet Skis are my true love on the water, so I would have to have a pair on the back of the boat. Not negotiable, I can only motor slow for so long... :D
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Ted DuPuis said:
@jesse and I had talked (mostly jokingly) about doing the great loop with his boat and a couple jet skis. ThT was back when it was my boat.

I think that’d be the way to do it personally.
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If I did it I would really think hard about doing it in a 30-35 ft diesel shoal draft sailboat. Sailboats have more room down below at a given LOA, and with a diesel they sip fuel. I had a nice 25ft inboard sailboat (Yanmar 2GM) that would motor at 5.5kts and sip 1/3 GPH. And, step the mast on the ocean, up the intercoastal, and on the lakes and sail for free.

I wonder how well a waverunner would tow at 6kts behind a sailboat?
 
I'd probably be good with one of Regal's 42'-46' Sport Coupes. 14' beam, under 13' bridge clearance w/radar, twin 435HP Volvo diesels. I think a family of 4 could be pretty comfortable living out of that for a few months to do "the loop." They'd technically qualify as a mortgage too, if one wanted to deduct interest on a loan for taxes. :) Throwing a jet ski on the back would be easy with the hydraulic swim platform that lowers into the water.

regal-46-sport-coupe.jpg
 
Bill Jennings said:
If I did it I would really think hard about doing it in a 30-35 ft diesel shoal draft sailboat. Sailboats have more room down below at a given LOA, and with a diesel they sip fuel. I had a nice 25ft inboard sailboat (Yanmar 2GM) that would motor at 5.5kts and sip 1/3 GPH. And, step the mast on the ocean, up the intercoastal, and on the lakes and sail for free.

I wonder how well a waverunner would tow at 6kts behind a sailboat?
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I'm not sure, but I know that it used to be generally avoided to tow a jet ski much over idle speed (not that 6kts is much faster). It may have just been a two-stroke thing, but they had a tendency to flood the engine due to the water intake reversing back through the exhaust. Not sure how the newer 4-strokes might be designed differently.
 
Bill Jennings said:
If I did it I would really think hard about doing it in a 30-35 ft diesel shoal draft sailboat. Sailboats have more room down below at a given LOA, and with a diesel they sip fuel. I had a nice 25ft inboard sailboat (Yanmar 2GM) that would motor at 5.5kts and sip 1/3 GPH. And, step the mast on the ocean, up the intercoastal, and on the lakes and sail for free.

I wonder how well a waverunner would tow at 6kts behind a sailboat?
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I've been able to tow a water skier with the Hobie Cat.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Lol, was the skier 80lbs soaking wet? 20mph winds? :)
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Strong winds, calm harbor, good skier. Conditions were just right. I had a 16, not sure if you could pull it off with a 14. 18? No problem.
 
GRG55 said:
Can't just fly the route in a day? :p
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At over 5,000 nm round trip (roughly), that looks like a 2-day flight. ;)

Bill Jennings said:
If I did it I would really think hard about doing it in a 30-35 ft diesel shoal draft sailboat. Sailboats have more room down below at a given LOA, and with a diesel they sip fuel. I had a nice 25ft inboard sailboat (Yanmar 2GM) that would motor at 5.5kts and sip 1/3 GPH. And, step the mast on the ocean, up the intercoastal, and on the lakes and sail for free.
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The idea of doing it with a sailboat that also had diesel is very appealing. Laurie and I had wanted to travel around on a sailboat prior to kids. Of course that never happened for various reasons, but it would be fun to travel that way someday. Gives you the best of both worlds - able to go under power when you want, but also able to just put the sails up and enjoy the wind and quiet.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I'm not sure, but I know that it used to be generally avoided to tow a jet ski much over idle speed (not that 6kts is much faster). It may have just been a two-stroke thing, but they had a tendency to flood the engine due to the water intake reversing back through the exhaust. Not sure how the newer 4-strokes might be designed differently.
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It's not a problem anymore. The manufacturers got smarter. It is a consideration for older vintage skis though.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Gives you the best of both worlds - able to go under power when you want, but also able to just put the sails up and enjoy the wind and quiet.
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I never found any sailboats I’ve been on under serious sail with real wind to be all that quiet. Just a different kind of noise.

I like both kinds of noise on boats, really. But I wouldn’t describe a sailboat as quiet. :)
 
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