[PUP] PUP reinvigoration

[Philip Eslinger]

Scott retorts:  This posting is an example of exactly what has gone  
wrong in
the last few days.  Because we have opened the door to the discussion on
Sail we are loosing focus on the content of this forum.


Scott,

I disagree that anything has gone wrong with the PUP list in the last  
few days.      I am a huge fan of cruising under power.  My idea of  
cruising is a bathrobe and slippers with a nice hot cup of coffee,  
not reefing a sail in the middle of the night in a squall.   That  
being said, I think that these discussions of ways to make cruising  
under power more efficient are very relevant.   As I indicated  
earlier, fuel prices are only going up, maybe not to the $100 per  
barrel by the end of the year as you and Brian bet, but they'll get  
there eventually.   I am interested in any design that will keep  
passagemaking under power a viable genre of boating, whether it is  
new hull designs such as multihulls, new power systems such as diesel- 
electric, or supplementary power systems such as a motor sailor.   
Keep in mind that the motor sailor I  mentioned earlier was brought  
to you by the folks that build Nordhavn.

This is my favorite board and I've seen a lot life and discussion on  
the PUP in the last few days.  I felt like it was stagnating a little  
in the past.   I am not a fan of the personal attacks, but the  
discussions on how to make cruising under power more efficient have  
been stimulating.  If we squeeze the focus down TOO narrow, we miss a  
lot of stimulating discussions.

I would also like to support a comment that Bob Austin made  
concerning Nordhavns.   I have had a bunch of people approach me and  
ask me which model of Nordhavn that I think would be right for  
them.   I never answer immediately.  The first thing I do is ask them  
where they plan on cruising.  Many of them indicate an interest in  
coastal cruising only.   I spend time with these people discussing  
alternatives that may fulfill their needs every bit as much as a  
Nordhavn for less money.  This is no slight on Nordhavn.   Boats are  
very design specific and there is no one boat that does it all.

    Personally, since I live in Utah when I'm not cruising, I've got  
a couple of guys down at the University working on a cold fusion  
power plant for a boat.


Phil Eslinger
Flat Earth N50
currently in Ko Olina, Hi