Quote:
Originally Posted by lsbrodsky
As usual, John makes some good points. The one point that I forgot about is fuel capacity. For longer cruising, I have always carried a couple of jerry jugs of diesel, which puts me up at the capacity of the std keel. I consider that a small trade-off for the peace of mind of less draft. But, either way, if you were going to cross oceans in a 31, you would need jerry jugs.
In the end, you have to be realistic about what kind of sailing you are really going to do. I think I made the right choice because when I bought Asylum, I had no idea I would end up living on Pamlico Sound. I have seen people sell their boats after they moved here because the draft they had on Long Island Sound, just wouldn't work here.
Larry
ASYLUM
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That's a good point, Larry. As I understand it, the original owner of our boat
was from Long Island -- which I suppose accounts for his decision to go with the standard draft.
When we purchased our boat, we had a choice between two used models, one shoal, one standard draft. It was a real quandary at the time -- but now having sailed the boat for six seasons on the Bay, I have no regrets.
As for tankage, the reality is that for how we have used the boat, we would not have been limited in any way by the smaller fuel tank (although we could sure use a larger holding tank!
). And for island hopping in the Bahamas, I feel the smaller tank supplemented by jugs would be more than adequate. But I think for serious voyaging the larger tank would be preferable.