[PUP] $100 per barrel oil

[Peter Pisciotta]

> What are the thoughts of oil-powered-voyagers?
> 
> Scale down trips?  More time at anchor? Better
> efficiency aboard present vessels? Resort back 
> to sail power, or a motorsailor?  On
> perhaps a more efficient hullform?

A few months ago, our fearless host Georgs posted a
link to an Australian couple cruising in SE Asia. 

http://cruisingunderpower.fastmail.net/

Even on a very modest budget of $25K Australian
dollars ($14KUSD in 2002), fuel was #3 on their list
of expenses, at only 13% of their budget.

For convenience, here are cruising tips from
"Lifeline's" website. They have some ideas that would
easily offset high diesel costs.

Peter (Willard 36)
==================================
TIPS FOR FRUGAL CRUISING:

"The first secret is that fuel is not necessarily your
biggest cost. In 2002, I kept track of every penny we
spent. I was surprised to find that the biggest
proportion of our expenditure was taken up not by fuel
but by Spares, equipment, haulout, materials etc,
18% of our expenditure. The next biggest, at 17%, was
food/groceries. Fuel was 13%. 
 

"Travel distance less  stay in places more. On a
motorboat, the more distance you travel, the more fuel
you use. The more fuel you use, the more money you
spend.  Set your travel horizons to meet your budget. 

"We always take our time cruising an area, often
spending weeks at a time exploring. We do this because
we like to travel slowly (but it also helps the
budget). Last year was an exception. We journeyed
5,000 miles in 8 months. But this year we have cruised
less than 1,200. We are still on last years diesel. 

"Dont stay in marinas often. I found that marina
costs made up a large proportion (8%) of our average
weekly costs, even though we only stayed in them very
occasionally. Even in Asia where costs are generally
lower, a marina berth for a 49 ft boat costs a minimum
of $150 ($US115) per week. And when you are there you
live a different lifestyle, eating out more and
shopping, for instance. I cant overstate the
potential to inflate your expenditure that this
(variable) cost has. 

"In our previous boat we discovered that what drove us
into a marina most was needing water, being
uncomfortable at anchor or getting wet in our dinghy
every time we went ashore. Consequently, we designed
Lifeline so we are self sufficient: able to anchor out
comfortably, catch our own water and store lots of it;
have a good efficient electrical supply; and we have a
large, fast, robust dinghy.

"Have the simplest systems you can live with: where
possible, that you can fix yourself. These days all
boats, power and sail, are full of sophisticated
equipment. But particularly motor cruisers. Once you
start looking, youll be amazed at the gadgets that
are considered essential. Remember, the more equipment
you have and the more complicated it is, the more
likely it is that something will break. Then, if you
cant fix it you have to pay for someone else to do
it. The double whammy is that if you can find someone
to fix it, youll have to wait around, paying extra
living costs at somewhere you dont want to be. So if
you can lessen the things that can go wrong, the
better for your budget. 

"Lifeline, for instance has no generator (we have
solar panels instead), no watermaker, no chain
counter, no washing machine, no air conditioner, no
electric davit, one (household) toilet above the water
line, no ice machine and flopper stoppers instead of
stabilisers.  

"Slow down to your most economical speed. Even if you
have selected an easily driven displacement hull
matched with an economical engine, you can still drive
it at a range of revs. It is possible to draw graphs
to work out the most efficient speed for your boat. Or
you can do it through trial and error. If you go above
your most economical speed, your fuel usage goes up
exponentially. On a displacement boat of 40  50 ft
your best fuel economy will most likely be a bit under
hull speed, or about 6 - 8 knots. On Lifeline we
travel at 7 knots at 1150RPM, which gives us fuel
economy of 8 litres (2 US gallons) per hour or about 3
tenths of a gallon to go 1 nautical mile. 
Hang out with other cruisers on a budget, who enjoy
beach barbecues, sundowners on the aft deck and eating
local food rather than finding the trendiest
restaurant in each new port. 

"So, all things being equal, would it cost more for a
couple to cruise under power rather than sail?
Probably - but not by as much as you might think.