PassageMaker - May/June 2011

Nuclear? – You’ll die before your first permit is processed. Hybrids? – Maybe potentially, but not ready for prime time yet. Remember your only lifeline offshore is likely search and rescue. So we’re back to petrol. The good news is that if you are planning long distance passages (i.e. across oceans) you’ve probably already determined that a displacement boat is the most logical choice. Small boats just can’t typically carry the fuel to keep the engines churning economically at high-speeds for long periods. That, of course, doesn’t make high priced diesel economical, it just makes it the best option. But if you can’t control the cost of the fuel, at least you can control the rate at which you burn it. The amount of that fuel burn drops significantly if you pull that throttle back a bit and reduce your speed by a few knots. Yes, you are already going slowly and you don’t really want to go slower BUT you need to be practical.

These thoughts were prompted by an email that I got from a designer friend. Most of his work is for the cruise ship industry. He wrote that he was leaving for Germany aboard a 265-foot passenger ship. It was heading there to refit with no passengers aboard. To save money they were planning to travel slowly at 15 knots well down from the 22+ normal cruising speed. Even so they’re figuring to burn $800,000 worth of fuel. Still you do what you can do, until boats can burn air.

But then that’s just my opinion.

The Cruising Yacht
Specialists
CHARLES NEVILLE associates
Naval Architects
223 Broadway, Centreville, MD 21617
tel: 410 758-1891 • fax: 410 758-3724
www.nevilleboats.com • e-mail: chuck@nevilleboats.com

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