MC 29 trip to Seattle
On the weekend my wife and I delivered the MC29 to Seattle for the upcoming
Seattle Floating Boat Show in Lake Union.
We left Mosquito Creek marina at 4:15 PM Saturday, rather late for this time
of year, as it gets dark around 7 and we don't run at night due to much
debris, mainly logs, in the waters. By 6:30 PM we were tied up in Bedwell
Harbour at North Pender Island, a distance of some 50 miles. We used less
than half the fuel in our rather small tank. Had a great evening and met a
gentleman from Nebraska cruising on an MC30 charter boat. With the 2 boats
side by side he observed the that the MC20 seemed roomier despite smaller
overall dimension. He particularly like the wide side decks and easy access
to the bow, a weak spot on the 30.
The next morning we left at 7 AM for Anacortes. For more than a hour we
cruised southeast into the rising sun without seeing another boat of any
kind. By the time we got near Anacortes there were a lot of boats about. Not
much wind and generally smooth seas allowed us to cruise in relaxed fashion
at 21 mph (3000 RPM) where the fuel flow meter indicated 5.3 GPH. My wife
sat beside me on the wide helm seat and helped watch for logs. We saw quite
a few, as well as clumps of loose kelp. The only rough bits were ferry wakes
and Bayliner wakes (the 32 and 38 foot models make bigger wakes than the
ferries!).
We got too Anacortes at about 9:30 AM and took only a few minutes to clear
customs. We than waited a long time, idling the engine and jilling around as
we waited for a space to open at the busy fuel dock. Bought 26.9 gallons of
diesel, which is now only slightly cheaper in the US than in Canada.
Next we cut through the Swinomish channel, a picturesque waterway which
passes through the lovely village of La Conner. This is mainly slow bell, as
there are lots of docks and moored boats in the channel. We observed that
our wake was much smaller than those from Grand Banks and similar trawlers
we encountered in the channel, although we were cruising a bit faster.
Once clear of the channel, back up to 3000 RPM and held that all the way to
Shilshole Marine in Seattle, arriving about 2PM. The engine never missed a
beat, and the ride was quiet and smooth. Total running time for the 150 mile
trip was about 8 hours.
Kind Regards,
HYPERLINK "mailto:designer@aviadesign.com"Grahame Shannon
HYPERLINK "http://www.aviadesign.com/"Avia Design Group Inc.
4884 Skyline Drive
North Vancouver, BC
V7R 3J3 Canada
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Good day, Grahame.
Would you care to comment on the comfort
of the vessel in waves; i.e., roll and pitch?
My impression from the manufacturer's video
(in what was reported to be a fairly mild sea state)
is that the ride might be rather uncomfortable.
D C "Mac" Macdonald
m/v Another Adventure
Grand Lake - Oklahoma
----Original Message Follows----
From: "Grahame Shannon" designer@aviadesign.com
Reply-To: Power Catamaran List power-catamaran@lists.samurai.com
To: "'Power Catamaran List'" power-catamaran@lists.samurai.com
Subject: [PCW] MC 29 trip to Seattle
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:20:27 -0700
On the weekend my wife and I delivered the MC29 to Seattle for the upcoming
Seattle Floating Boat Show in Lake Union.
We left Mosquito Creek marina at 4:15 PM Saturday, rather late for this time
of year, as it gets dark around 7 and we don't run at night due to much
debris, mainly logs, in the waters. By 6:30 PM we were tied up in Bedwell
Harbour at North Pender Island, a distance of some 50 miles. We used less
than half the fuel in our rather small tank. Had a great evening and met a
gentleman from Nebraska cruising on an MC30 charter boat. With the 2 boats
side by side he observed the that the MC20 seemed roomier despite smaller
overall dimension. He particularly like the wide side decks and easy access
to the bow, a weak spot on the 30.
The next morning we left at 7 AM for Anacortes. For more than a hour we
cruised southeast into the rising sun without seeing another boat of any
kind. By the time we got near Anacortes there were a lot of boats about. Not
much wind and generally smooth seas allowed us to cruise in relaxed fashion
at 21 mph (3000 RPM) where the fuel flow meter indicated 5.3 GPH. My wife
sat beside me on the wide helm seat and helped watch for logs. We saw quite
a few, as well as clumps of loose kelp. The only rough bits were ferry wakes
and Bayliner wakes (the 32 and 38 foot models make bigger wakes than the
ferries!).
We got too Anacortes at about 9:30 AM and took only a few minutes to clear
customs. We than waited a long time, idling the engine and jilling around as
we waited for a space to open at the busy fuel dock. Bought 26.9 gallons of
diesel, which is now only slightly cheaper in the US than in Canada.
Next we cut through the Swinomish channel, a picturesque waterway which
passes through the lovely village of La Conner. This is mainly slow bell, as
there are lots of docks and moored boats in the channel. We observed that
our wake was much smaller than those from Grand Banks and similar trawlers
we encountered in the channel, although we were cruising a bit faster.
Once clear of the channel, back up to 3000 RPM and held that all the way to
Shilshole Marine in Seattle, arriving about 2PM. The engine never missed a
beat, and the ride was quiet and smooth. Total running time for the 150 mile
trip was about 8 hours.
Kind Regards,
HYPERLINK "mailto:designer@aviadesign.com"Grahame Shannon
HYPERLINK "http://www.aviadesign.com/"Avia Design Group Inc.
4884 Skyline Drive
North Vancouver, BC
V7R 3J3 Canada
D C "Mac" Macdonald
Would you care to comment on the comfort
of the vessel in waves; i.e., roll and pitch?
My impression from the manufacturer's video
(in what was reported to be a fairly mild sea state)
is that the ride might be rather uncomfortable.
I'll let Grahame provide his own answer about roll and pitch during
the run from Vancouver to Seattle but when I was out in the same boat
for a couple of hours in relatively calm conditions in Strait of
Georgia, the ride was smooth and comfortable and the boat felt great
in fast turns.
Surfing the big wake of a ferry had us whooping for joy.
I'll have to take another look at the video to see if I can figure
out what you guys are going on about.
It is a small and light boat, so it may seem lively to some because
it sure doesn't plod through the water. The Motorcat 29 feels like a
Miata would in comparison to a Chevy Biscayne.
"Delightful" is the single word I would use to describe the Motorcat
best. For a small boat, the interior arrangement is amazingly
spacious and nicely fitted out. Next to it, the TomCat would look
truly unfinished while a Glacier Bay or ProKat might seem somewhat
basic.
--Georgs
Georgs Kolesnikovs
Power Catamaran World
http://www.powercatamaranworld.com