Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

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BarraMan
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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by BarraMan »

You burn $300 at $4 a gallon...or 75 gallons.
75 gallons at $6 is $450
Let's say you get 75 miles.
10 mph cruise 5mpg Skoota 24
max speed 25mph
At cruise, the Skoota uses 15 gallons or at $6; 90$ bs 450$
Yeah, that is pretty close to real economics.
Imagine saving $360 a weekend for gas.
Forget the Skoota. Some of JM designs will do better than 1mpg I'll bet.
Its unclear to me what you are getting at with that post Fallguy.
The Skoota can autopilot and you can radar alarm, flir alarm, yada yada.
I am building the 32 to fish. And cruise. And I am quite happy at 25mph if I need it. The other thing is no way do the displacement craft need to drop to 5 mph in weather.
The obvious downside is you can't win the race around V.I. But I don't want to...
I am sure that you put a lot of research and thought into what design best met your needs, as did I, before you settled on the Skoota 32. Likewise I hope that you find your boat exceeds your expectations, as I have with mine.

The issue here is that IMO Christer is all over the place with what he is looking for in a boat across size/performance/economy/amenities - and is just not going to find all of his desires satisfied in one design.

I went from a 14' alloy boat with a 40 hp 4 stroke $50 dollar a day fishing boat to a 22' composite boat with a 250 hp 4 stroke $200 a day fishing boat. At first I was concerned about the increased cost of operating the bigger boat until one of my mates pointed out that it is a BIG boat with a BIG motor and a large capacity to take family and friends (generally 3 rather than 2) to remote places. I've put 100 hrs a year on my motor in the two years since it "splashed", and many times more than that on the boat because we spend most of our time on the trolling motor.

I could do almost everything with my 14' boat that I do with my 22' boat - but not with the same comfort and safety!

We were sitting comfortably on 20 kts in this video. Thoughts of economy tend to be put on the back burner in such conditions.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/bfa67LO6qmU[/youtube]

In my little boat I would have been doing 6 kts max. I have no idea how a Skoota 32 would go in such conditions!

I am fortunate in that the build and operating cost are not an issue for me, but I have seen many people buy big boats and once the novelty has worn off realise that they can't reasonably afford to use them.
Last edited by BarraMan on Fri Nov 16, 2018 11:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

cracked_ribs
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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by cracked_ribs »

BarraMan wrote: Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:10 pm
You burn $300 at $4 a gallon...or 75 gallons.
75 gallons at $6 is $450
Let's say you get 75 miles.
10 mph cruise 5mpg Skoota 24
max speed 25mph
At cruise, the Skoota uses 15 gallons or at $6; 90$ bs 450$
Yeah, that is pretty close to real economics.
Imagine saving $360 a weekend for gas.
Forget the Skoota. Some of JM designs will do better than 1mpg I'll bet.
Its unclear to me what you are getting at with that post Fallguy.

I think he is pointing out that I, specifically, am burning a LOT more fuel than I could be.

Which is totally true. My program could be almost satisfied with a Skoota as well. If the beam and speed are not obstacles they're sure efficient and presumably very smooth.

I am a little more wired for Mangusta type action myself, though.
I designed my own boat. This is the build thread:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=65349

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BarraMan
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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by BarraMan »

I think he is pointing out that I, specifically, am burning a LOT more fuel than I could be.
Which is totally true. My program could be almost satisfied with a Skoota as well. If the beam and speed are not obstacles they're sure efficient and presumably very smooth.
I am a little more wired for Mangusta type action myself, though.
Oh......OK!

In that video we got to our fishing spot in 40 min at 30 kts and came back in 60 min at 20 kts. In my little boat it would have been 1 hr out and 3.5 hrs back!!!
Last edited by BarraMan on Sat Nov 17, 2018 2:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by cracked_ribs »

30 knots in open water is really moving in a small boat!

I can definitely relate to the conditions...this is a pretty typical day for me. Of course seas never look like anything on camera and things had calmed down enough that we were joking and taking pictures but behind us there is a pretty big flybridge that would bark the props one moment and all but disappear the next.

Image

Image

Well big by my standards...I think it was not more than 30'. We'd been talking at the gas dock earlier and he was very worried about heading out. But I don't think he was very experienced.

Also we were not doing anything like 30...more like 13. And earlier when we were leaving the river, it had been genuinely pretty rough. There was a 40' trawler leaving at the same time and even he was all over the place at the rivermouth.
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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by fallguy1000 »

The return trip is always the bugger.

It ain't about you two fellows

Trying to help Christer understand fuel realities.
My boat build is here -------->

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=62495

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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by OrangeQuest »

Most marine fuel is taxed at a higher rate than fuels you can get else where. Diesel is dyed so law enforcement can identify who is not paying their taxes. :)
"that it isn't just an ordinary sort of boat. Sometimes it's a Boat, and sometimes it's more of an Accident. It all depends." "Depends on what?" "On whether I'm on the top of it or underneath it."
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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by BarraMan »

It ain't about you two fellows
Nor you! :D
Trying to help Christer understand fuel realities.
That pottering around at 12 kts is an economical way to go? :?:

We’re trying to help Christer understand reality - period ! :lol:

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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by fallguy1000 »

BarraMan wrote: Sat Nov 17, 2018 8:08 am
It ain't about you two fellows
Nor you! :D
Trying to help Christer understand fuel realities.
That pottering around at 12 kts is an economical way to go? :?:

We’re trying to help Christer understand reality - period ! :lol:
Yes on all.

The 12 knot Skoota speed is 5 mpg and you don't need to back off for weather because the bdeck is high enough ( well, within reason weather I suppose). Course, he doesn't like the looks of them...

I love all your comments Barraman. Video was great, too.

The Skoota is at displacement speeds; not really any hump. So the slower you go; the better the economy. A fuel meter is nice because it can deliver the vessel range, and you know if you can make port at 20 knots for a dinner bell or need to run at 10 and eat soup.

Your boat would be a great boat around here; especially on Lake of the Woods.

The video looked like following seas. Most vee hulls perform okay there; the head seas are what pound you to death at throttle.

Anyhow, I don't know if Christer understands that a 25' planing hull is gonna drink heavily; thus the breakdown on fuel...

I have a buddy that toys around his 25' speedboat on the river here and he says he drops $400 a weekend in gas.
My boat build is here -------->

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=62495

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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by cracked_ribs »

fallguy1000 wrote: Sat Nov 17, 2018 9:38 am
The 12 knot Skoota speed is 5 mpg and you don't need to back off for weather because the bdeck is high enough ( well, within reason weather I suppose). Course, he doesn't like the looks of them...
To be fair it doesn't sound like one would fit in his slip, either. If he has to lay out a pile of cash for a second slip just to get a boat that would be cheaper to run, that's not necessarily a good strategy either. Particularly if the boat doesn't turn his crank.

Anyway it seems pointless to continue suggesting big anything to someone whose next project sounds like it's going to be a little boat, or fixing up an existing boat. When my wife heads off to the gym, I don't start talking about how a great deadlift is 500 pounds - she's not about to go gorilla a bar into a pretzel. When she expresses interest in crazy gymnastic moves like those beach workout people do on youtube, I don't give her an equally distant alternative goal, I say "yeah, that looks like crazy core strength...aren't you doing a core day tomorrow? Keep at it, that's how you get to that point!"

No point worrying about a distant dream of a boat. The goals will change 500 times before the plans get ordered anyway.

Focus on the immediate goals: a small boat and time on the water. It's more productive and you don't have to argue with people about whether their distant goal is better than your distant goal. In fact you probably won't be arguing much at all, because you'll be building, which is always better.
I designed my own boat. This is the build thread:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=65349

Christer
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Re: Christer's planning-to-build-a boat-at-some-point thread

Post by Christer »

Yay! Big change of .. everything.

The dragon just landed a job in Oslo, which is on the other side of the country from where we live now. She starts the second week of January, so we'll be moving some time come spring, I guess. I need to find a job over there as well.

So there will likely be no building anything this winter, except maybe a few transport crates.

To top it off, she mentioned how nice it would be to have a boat with which we could cross over to Denmark - a 103 nautical mile trip at the shortest point between the two countries, and a lot longer from Oslo. That crossing is over Skagerrak, which has quite a temperemental weather system. It is quite possible to cross with leisure boats in 2-4 hours in good weather - people do it every summer - but if I'm attempting that trip with kids on board, I'm going to want something bigger and safer than a 18 foot open bay boat.

So, just to put all the discussion about the aforementioned boats to an end - I'm going to need something else. Since I don't yet even know where we'll live or if I can get a mooring slip, further discussion about which boat to build is kind of pointless. We can pick it back up after the move and after we've settled in and researched possibilities for mooring.

The good thing is I'll live a lot closer to suppliers of both epoxy and marine plywood and can go pick up everything in person - no need to wait for shipping. :)
8ft dinghy built in 1992, BBV sufferer ever since.

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