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

Phil,

I agree with all you've said, my only point being, since this is
Passagemaking Under Power, that should be the focus, not adding Power to
Sailboats, which I believe was the direction of some of the discussion.

How can we differentiate the two?  Perhaps someone can tell us a distinction
that would clearly define a Powered Passagemaking vessel with sail as a
backup or assist as opposed to a sailboat that's augmenting it's voyage with
diesel power?

Perhaps this would be a good way:  The platform must have sufficient range
to complete a 2,500 mile ocean passage under power alone.  Is that
distinction enough.

Maybe I'm too biased on this.  I'm not long in the job here anyway, as an
alternative administrator has stepped up, so I'll have a lot less time in
the next few months.  The only reason I've been so available the past few
days is my wife is home recovering from surgery.  I have a dozen products
waiting for installation on the boat and it's killing me! Got to run!

Thanks, Scott PUP List Admin.