more on fuel efficent boats

[imported_chris]

It was hard not to notice the interest this topic got last time. I however use a boat for transportation more than just crusing. 7mph is not an option. I am on an island for most of the summer,so I am taking people back and forth, my daugther goes to work 20min away or 14 miles each way plus there is food and supplies to be purchased.I purchased plans for the chinook as I thought this boat would meet my requirements.However this topic on feul is very intersting as prices on the lake are $3.22/gal. or$.89/L and I am sure they will be higher this spring. All this brings me back to the Blue Jacket.I saw the add for it last fall and it got me interested. The flat bottom concerns me? On a windy day or on a calm day all the boat traffic makes for a bumpy ride. I like the boat but is this the way to go? Does the size of the boat help to smooth out the ride?

still looking for the perfect boat!
Chris.

[On Vacation]

That boat is used in some of the most diverse and changing water conditions that is avaliable to challenge ones kidneys. It is very hard to get one boat for all uses. But I would venture to say that this boat probably will not see in your area what is sees in the coastal waters of North Carolina. It is VERY fuel efficent for the size boat with the small engine requirement. It is also easy to build with the straight foward plywood construction.

[John Bell]

It seems to me the first question you need to answer is just how fast you want to go. The second question is how much of that speed do you want to maintain when the lake gets shredded up by wakes.

Tom says his Bluejacket is good for about 22 mph at WOT. Is that fast enough? I also think he says he slows quite bit in a chop.

All things being equal, a heavier boat would smooth out the chop more than a lighter one, simply because the higher inertia afforded by higher mass will tend to accelerate less when encountering a chop. But that's a bad recipe for fuel economy if you want planing speeds.

[imported_chris]

speed is good to have when you travel this much but the cost to go fast out ways the need. I am finding that the depth of my pockets is not as deep as the speed I would like to go sometimes. I do have a rascal that can get me places faster, but its a two seater. Not a family boat. I guess I would like the best of both worlds and so far Toms boat is the closest I have seen to this.

[John Bell]

For a completely different approach to the problem, why not take a look at Bolger's "Slicer", a lightweight 29' x 5' open vee-hulled launch. It's reputed to make 18 knots with 15HP. And with its length and hull shape, it should do very well in a chop, either by slicing through or bridging the waves.

[WWheeler]

Or a Simmons Sea Skiff, Sams, reputed to do extremely well with a small outboard (18-22 ft). They were designed for North Carolina fishermen, to travel out into the Gulf Stream, but I'm right near Georgian Bay, and I've always wondered how they'd make out into that great choppy water. Sounds like you may be around there, what with the island living etc. The Carolinas have some similar conditions, what with the confluence of fresh/salt water/Gulf Stream, etc.

[imported_chris]

wwheeler. I am on lake Muskoka in the summer but live at the south end of Lake Simcoe. I have taken your suggestion of the sea skiff and have been seaching the net to see some. I did find a 22' with a cabin as I would like to be able to have a few over nights on geogian bay. I like the fact that it has a small out board, and still has some speed to get you places. The classic lapstrake look is great as well.
Thanks for the tip, gives me more to think about. The skiff I found was at http://home.att.net/~davecarnell/
If anyone knows of other 22' with a cabin please let me Know.

[Tom Lathrop]

Sams,

I have almost completed the plan package for the Bluejacket 20. It is designed as a convertible, pilothouse or lobster boat style. The forecabin is almost identical to the 24 for overnighting or short cruises. Being lighter, it will be faster than the 24 on the same power.

I plan to be on Lake Simcoe in mid July with the Bluejacket 24 traveling the Trent Severn toward Georgian Bay. We are looking for interesting events and places on the trip.

[imported_chris]

Tom.
That sounds great keep me posted as I would love to see the boat. I am in no hurry to build just would like more knowledge before jumping in to a project.I am currently restoring a 1950 runabout.lots to keep busy.

[WWheeler]

Tom: I'm also planning a trip on the canal system this summer. (folks have a summer place on Rice Lake) If you're travelling up the Trent-Severn, check out the Serpent Mounds on Rice Lake (ancient native burial ground) - a buddy was from the reseveration there, they call the people buried there "the old ones". Also, the lift locks at Peterborough are amazing engineering. (PS the last lock at "Big Chute" before Georgian Bay is actually a marine railway - the first boat they put in it, during the opening ceremonies, was a big yacht crushed by an operator who put too much tension on the slings!)

Sams: I understand the need to have a cabin, especially given marginal days up here early/late in the season, long distances to travel etc. However, I'd have to wonder about the additional weight of the cabin. (slower, less seaworthy?) Most of the skiffs are open, and it seems like the most successful are in this area.

There's lots to be had using the forum search.

For example:
Good pics. (http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=001939)

To order plans:

Cape Fear Museum (http://www.nhcgov.com/CFM/Simmons.asp)

PS Where's the island? We're up on high ground near Orillia (Horseshoe valley). SWMBO has been pestering me about looking at an island in Georgian Bay.

[ 02-04-2003, 10:54 AM: Message edited by: WWheeler ]

[seafox61]

I was wondering if you have considered a power catamairan? if you build long skinny hulls of say 40 feet long by 2 feet wide by a foot deep it would carry over 4000 pounds on 6 inches of draft and have a hull speed of around 14 knots ( 2.2 times the square root of the water line length very narrow hulls can achive a higher than normal hull speed. even at the triditional hull speed of 1.34 it would do 8 knots ) thin hulls like this 20 to one ratio do not create much of a bow wave and if sharp bowed can cut through it fairly easily. if you build a cabin pod forward and place the outboard on another pod farther back the sound level can be lowered nicely
jeffery

[Memphis Mike]

............

[DesignByBird]

Chris, Almost certainly the most efficient high performance power boat for you would be the catamaran. There are a large number of deep v powerboat designs, which because of their low wetted surface area are more fuel efficient than any mono-hull.

Additionally a good tunnel gives the prop clear water to do it’s business in – use a prop with an odd number of blades though otherwise you will suffer vibration. A dual prop will pay dividends in the long term efficiency. A well developed stepped hull cat. is better still, but perhaps not so easy for a home build..

The running flats of these hulls are specifically designed to plane rather than to plough through waves, and the narrowness of the hulls mean that they do not pound or otherwise throw so much spray into your face. (minimum displaced = minimum being thrown aside) ~ Perhaps not so good in long wave cycles where the boat would bury into the next wave, but very good in a short chop where the boat can skip from wave to wave.

For comfort I wouldn’t recommend less than 20ft. the weight and length of this size and bigger give inertia which softens the motion in a seaway. Highly recommend multiple built-in buoyancy chambers and selection of material in any boat you decide upon – impact at high speed is impressive it its destructive power.

Major problem with power cats. is that they are subjectively an acquired taste. Personally I believe that they can, yet rarely do, look as good as a classic craft, but that the benefits by far out-way this. Colours and material finishing will easily distract the eye from the less attractive features.

Naturally an outboard is easier and therefore cheaper to maintain than inboard engines – sounds like inboard engines in your area will be subject to the same monopolized prices as the fuel, whereas an outboard can be dropped off anywhere which gives you a half decent price. It’s also better for laying up throughout the winter. Carrying a second small get-u-home outboard is probably not a bad idea either..!

Hope this helps,

Have fun, be safe, Pete