Outrageous Fuel Costs

[cchesley]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

The "crime" is that most dumbass Americans can not imagine driving 10 mile down the road to their local bar in anything less than a 4800lb pickup. Or pick up the kids at soccer in anything less than an Escalade.
The entire nation of Indonesia rides around in 125cc motorbikes or, God forbid, walks.

Let's see. The above comes from someone running a 63' steel trawler.

I'm thinking of words like.

Pot
Kettle
Black

[Target9000]

Originally Posted by cchesley

Let's see. The above comes from someone running a 63' steel trawler.

I'm thinking of words like.

Pot
Kettle
Black

While I respectfully disagree with Lorenzo, I have never liked this sort of phrase. Just because the pot called the kettle black, it didn't mean he was wrong.

[Celestialsailor]

Well lorenzo...at least you didn't use the word "selfish". In Thailand there are small pick-ups much like the Toyota Tacoma. They are Diesel and get great diesel mileage. As I remember somewhere in the 30's. And like you said, the rest of the population is content with a 125cc. motor-bike, often times with a family of 4 aboard. It's a sight to see. But don't worry about a thing...with the way the economy is going, we'll be a 3rd. world country real soon...

[tropicalescape]

God forgive them for they know not what they are saying...Long live America and the men and women that make the world a better place...yea you could be in europe where it cost me 150.00 to fillup a VW polo 3 cyl. diesal and I have never seen an entire nation riding 125 cc motor bikes and if the weather was tropical every where a lot more people could ride or drive something similar..and think about the day we stop selling scrap metal to other countrys,we will have all those big gas guzzlers to turn into .... ...DVC

[cburger]

Originally Posted by cchesley

Let's see. The above comes from someone running a 63' steel trawler.

I'm thinking of words like.

Pot
Kettle
Black

Maybe the man uses the trawler to fish with, huge difference between that and using a Ford Expedition to run into town to get your nails done.
"Not a gender specific comment".

[u4ea32]

It is very easy to design and build a one-off custom boat that achieves 20 or 50 miles per gallon at displacement speeds. There is absolutely nothing technological that stands in the way of such vessels. All that is required is to design for 10HP instead of 1000HP, and accept what fits.

We do this all the time: your house probably isn't what you want, its what you can afford. We'd all prefer flying around in private jets, but we put up with the torture of commercial flights because that's what we can afford. If you want a boat you can afford to drive anywhere when retired or on sabbatical, you just have to adjust your expectations.

As a thought experiment: an 8 man rowing shell weighs 250 lbs for the boat, another 1800 lbs for the 8 men and the cox, so a little more than 2000 lbs going down the course. At about 60 feet long, the hull speed is about 10.5 knots. Their racing speed is about 14 knots, so well above classic hull speed. The power is about 2 HP total.

When I add up all the physical stuff I want, determine the widest interior element (8 feet is more than enough for a walk around double bed, or a longitudinally arranged galley, or a saloon with facing settees even with a dining table), and make it about 60 feet long, the weight study using foam fiberglass construction is very, very easy and cheap (far under $100K new, custom build, commissioned) to achieve a loaded weight of about 8000 lbs. The resultant boat should cruise at 8 to 10 knots using about 8 HP, or about 20 MPG burning diesel, 10 MPG burning gas (outboard?). Halve the speed, quadruple the mileage.

[lorenzo b]

I don't believe we're becoming a 3rd world country, rather the third world is moving slowly up to our standard of living and that will pose big problems. 20 years ago we consumed 25% of the worlds resources and were only 5% of the population. With the rest of the world catching up we will have to learn to share graciously and maybe we will have less strife.

[cchesley]

Originally Posted by cburger

Maybe the man uses the trawler to fish with, huge difference between that and using a Ford Expedition to run into town to get your nails done.
"Not a gender specific comment".

The reality is that it's always possible to look at 'the other guy' and make a judgement. It's counterproductive. Being eco-concious to the nth degree results in a world without people when taken to its natural conclusion..... depends where you want to draw the line.

[goboatingnow]

remind me again what this thread is about ...

dave

[lorenzo b]

Oh just put Andy Goldsworthy's flick Rivers And Tides on the screen and play some early Dylan, it will all become clear.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

The "crime" is that most dumbass Americans can not imagine driving 10 mile down the road to their local bar in anything less than a 4800lb pickup. Or pick up the kids at soccer in anything less than an Escalade.
The entire nation of Indonesia rides around in 125cc motorbikes or, God forbid, walks.

Coming from a guy with a 63' steel trawler...

I guess I was beaten to the punch...sorry..

[virginia boy]

I wonder what the future of boating will look like? All sailboats? Electric? Wake free waterways!?

[zeehag]

future of boating??? probably outlawed as opulent and wasteful activity, as politics and private life collide and private life is eaten by big brother for breakfast.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by virginia boy

I wonder what the future of boating will look like? All sailboats? Electric? Wake free waterways!?

it will go back to becoming the sport of the seriously rich..........and pirates...

[perchance]

If the market is going to find the efficient path it had better get a move on.