I completely agree with Bill: lowering the speed on a planing hull significantly increases range. Perhaps not to what an optimized displacement hull can do (2-3 mpg) but a decent 1-2 mpg (versus .25 mpg at cruise) Also, it is a complete myth that running diesel engines slower causes it to wear out sooner. If you look at the maintenance manuals of high performance diesel engines, their life between rebuilds is really measured by the amount of fuel consumed, and not engine hours. Engine hours is just a more convenient guideline for the recreational boater derived from typical fuel usage. I haven't heard of a diesel engine having problems from slow use (no use is another matter) but you certainly hear of problems when used at WOT 90% of the time.
That is sad to see. Sounds like a lot of the above issues should have been repaired by the owner. While some boats may be more robust than other boats it is still the owner's responsibility to maintain to showrooms standard (at least that's what I like to do). Regarding price, I do think the Maxi Dolphin is overpriced by at least $1M.
And I'll agree with you here, goplay. I didn't look at the details that closely as I was on the boat a short time, but it is sad how some new vessels are turning out both due to the manufacturer and the owner. With regard to the price - when I inquired and was told, I assumed the little card the guy looked at for reference at the show had the wrong numbers on it. Seemed astronomical for a 74 footer - and a bow thruster isn't standard for that price?!
86' Dutch Semi-custom A dutch job instead of the Italian job. Does 25 knots. range 1500nm. Built in Alustar. Fully loaded.
I am sorry if I have not been explicit in my comment for the range. Yes, theoretically the range increases when you slow down, but then you need a lake to cruise in comfort. Therefore, if you want to use a planning boat in comfort you should take her to plane. Anywhere between the displacement speed, which I presume would be around 10 knots and the planning speed, you will burn much more. I have been using planning boats (Azimut and Ferretti's) for quite a while and unless the sea is dead calm I do not recall traveling at displacement speed. As you would be burning much more and covering less distance in between the displacement and planning speed, you then naturally move to the plane. So, what I want to figure out that you hardly have a chance to travel at displacement speed and anything above that until planning is not economical and not comfortable. Another issue with range is the fuel you can carry. On a planning boat you will have less fuel tank capacity than a semi displacement. Therefore, even if you cruise at displacement speed, you will still be limited in your range. If you take Azimut 85 as an example, you will have a fuel tank of around 9000 liters, whereas a similar size semi displacement boat will carry around 18000 liters. If the hull of the semi displacement boat is right, then you can also travel whichever speed you want, there is more or less no hump. Lastly, it is a fact that you burn slightly more at top speeds, but you can achieve speeds around 25 knots and this should be sufficient in most instances.
Yes, I agree that with a planing boat you're either planing or at displacement speed. In between would consume too much fuel and put too much load on the motors. I also agree that at displacement speeds, a planing hull is not comfortable in comparison to a displacement or semi-displacement.
Hi Goplay Here is a Moonen 94. There is a thread on YF on the construction of a 94 Moonen. Have a look and you will see the quality.
The Moonen 94 is very nice. It is probably too big for the two us to manage though. The model that "Mov-it" shows is not this boat though, right?
Nicest 85ft yacht : Riva 85 Opera Super http://yachts.monacoeye.com/yachtsbysize/pages/riva85operasuper01.html
94 feet is definitely pushing the limits of (if not beyond) what two people would want to handle, despite having the maintenance taken care of. In my opinion, for a husband and wife team (I'll assume this is your situation), even 85 is at the upper end. In fair weather, two people is fine on an 85, but it's those times when the weather (or anything else) is against you that it becomes a problem. The model Mov-it! displayed is of an 86' according to the subject line of the post, but that is all I know about it. Looks like a spacious 86 feet.
That 86' looks more like a 100'. 85' is definitely in the upper end for the two of us. I will singlehand my 65' now and have even docked in a 15-20kn breeze in a shared slip with my side of the slip downwind from the slip finger. It wasn't easy and thrusters don't help much in that kind of breeze (though I do cheat since I have a wireless yacht controller!).
That 85 looks very big it does look like a 100’ plus. Please correct me if I am wrong but a 85' tri-deck must surely be top heavy. It looks like a nice boat.
As I understand it, she just has a raised wheelhouse. More or less a copy of the Johnson 87 by Bill Dixon; http://www.johnsonyachts.com/home.html
Thanks AMG if you look at the Van Dam Nordia 26LX it looks very similar to the Johnson Yachts . The one thing i noticed on the Johnson Yacht is that it has only one anchor. For a boat that size a person would think it would have 2 anchors. The anchor does look small for the size of the boat. Just somthing small i noticed.
The Nordia and the Johnson ave an entrely different concept. The Johnson seems to be a fiberglass modified deep V and the Nordia is a semi-displacement Alustar. Since the Nordia is about 12 tons lighter, saving weight on the Johnson may not be a bad idea. But back to the topic. Goplay needs a boat! Production yachts: Fairline Squadron 78 Drettman Elegance 82 Debirs 82 RPH LX (Egyptian bargain, but short on storage) Dominator 75 (still under development but promissing) Aicon 85 Fly Maiora 24S Cantieri di Pisa Akhir 85 Lazzara 84 fly Conam 75 Wide body (weird!) Technomar Nadara 26 Fly Canados 80 Royal Denship 85 Fly Astondoa 82 GLX Admiral 25 Semi custom Mulder 68 convertible (a little short but still one of the best looking yachts ever) Moonen 84 (just because of the great name, but a little slow ) A little bit of study material for the weekend
Thanks Mov-it I am a big supporter of Dutch boats due to the quality. Looking at your list above there are only a few that i would choose from when it comes to quality and good stability and they are Moonen, Mulder, Royal Denship and Maiora . Unfortunately the Moonen 84 is a displacement yacht and yes she does go slow but i enjoy it when the weather is good. Fairline is a nice day boat, not a boat to do some serious cruising and lacks storage. Elegance not for me thanks, a lot of boat for the price but not very good in turbulent seas and they still have some gel coat problems. Debirs needs a couple years more experience in boat building as the quality and engineering is not even close to the competitors. On the rest I don’t have to much personal experience.