Abaco Cruisin"

H

Hap-E-Cruzer

Member
Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2005
RO Number
19763
Messages
181
The Admiral and I just completed a 49 day Island Adventure to the Abaco's.
I would like to thank the many RO's that were so helpful with our preparation and expectations for this trip. There is an abundance of knowledge on this forum available for the asking.
Our trip was a huge success much due to the knowledge we got from Ro's like Mixman, Boatbum, Pascal, Billylll and many others.
We read all the books, studied the Explorer Charts, and asked lots of questions. It was worth it......
The weather was our only issue, it took several days of waiting for both crossings but our decisions were made with safety and comfort in mind. It was worth it......
We have many pictures and stories on our blog
cchafton.blogspot.com

Again, many thanks!
 
Glad you had a great time.

Next time head South and experience some more great places in the Bahamas.
 
I tried to tell him that before he turned West. :D

Glad you are all back and safe!
 
Jerry, I'm very glad you had such a good time. I wish our schedule was more flexible. 4 years and counting...
 
Kurt

Bigger boat while you are werkin and take it with you.
 
quote:
Originally posted by boatbum

Kurt

Bigger boat while you are werkin and take it with you.

Click to expand...


Bigger boat means no trailering. No trailering means we're stuck in the Chesapeake until we retire. Plus, we rather like our boat and don't have plans to go bigger. Have you seen how many new models are out now for the "down-sizing" crowd? I'm hoping to tow it to the Great Lakes at some point. Perhaps do the Loop. Heck, it's gotten us across the Gulf Stream 4 round trips, and we go sometimes when bigger boats won't. I don't see any advantages to a larger boat except more room (and more fuel, and more dockage fees, and more maintenance, etc.).
 
True with regard to fees but I think fuel is not as much of a factor as you would make it out to be. As long as we don't put the hammer down we get about 1.2 npg. I can get 2 out of it but that is just about idle.
Small 4 stroke diesels in good condition are pretty cheap to maintain especially if they are naturals.
 
From what I've calculated so far we're burning around 4gph in decent sea conditions at 18 knots. So that's what, around 5 npg? In rough water we seem to burn closer to 6 gph, but these new engines will still keep us around 17 knots (my old engines would slow us down to 15 or even 14 at times as opposed to 17 in flat conditions). Perhaps when we retire we may find that we can be happy going slower. But this really works for us now. I find that to be a very respectable speed as well as fuel economy. And as an off-shore Category B vessel, we almost always have a comfortable ride. Besides, I haven't found a larger cat I like, as we will be sticking with multihulls. Perhaps a mid-30's Endeavour. But the speed won't be there (and if it is, the fuel burn is going to be huge).
 
PDQ 41s do pretty good from what I hear and many bring them across for the Winter. Of course with vacation limitations having the speed is very desirable.
 
5 GPH at 18kts is hard to beat... If the boat works for you don't change :). Boats are always a collection of compromises, if trailering is important to you, then it s worth sacrificing some sace and comfort...

Good to hear you had a great time... Now wait till you get to the real Bahamas next time... Aka the Exumas. :)
 
FYI....
I ran the numbers after finishing up our trip, for what it's worth..

We traveled .....................677 nm
We put..............84.3 hours on the engines
We burned..........744.7 gallons of fuel
Our average fuel cost was............$4.45 per gallon
We ran the genny about .....40 hours
Approx...........8.3 hrs were at 17-18 knots (2050 rpm)
Remainder ....76 hrs were at 8-9 knots (1100 rpm)

My calculations = approx. 30 gph rb2@gr5t 2050
Based on a crossing from West Palm to West End with fuel before and after the run. 3.5 hrs at 2050 rpm and approx 30 minutes to leave and enter harbors at 1100 rpms.

We burn about 6 gph at 1100 rpms exc gen time

Final note....worth every penny
 
Sorry, must have used a symbol the site didn't like so I'll try different wording......

Approx 30 gph when at 17-18 knots or 2050 rpms
 
quote:
Originally posted by boatbum

PDQ 41s do pretty good from what I hear and many bring them across for the Winter. Of course with vacation limitations having the speed is very desirable.
Click to expand...


I got on one of those in Marsh Harbor a few years back. Horrible layout on the inside from what I remember. Plus, I don't think they made very many of them before they went out of business. I'm sure Pearson would be happy to make one, but at nearly $700,000 as a starting price, eh, I think I'll pass!
 
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