Sailboats take to the wind as gas prices soar

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Tom Morrison, owner of Morrison North Star Marine, the only gas dock on Seattle's Lake Union, said he's seeing boat owners get much more conscious of how much they're spending for fuel, and more mindful about operating their boats more efficiently. He's now charging $3.24 a gallon for marine gasoline, while diesel is close behind at $2.89 a gallon.

"I used to sell more gas, now I'm selling way more diesel," he said. "Some people are retrofitting their boats, manufacturers are putting diesels in smaller boats now."

Diesels power vessels far more efficiently while lasting longer between overhauls, although the initial installation price is higher. Chet Craig, a broker for Adventure Yachts Inc. in Seattle, estimated a 40-foot gasoline-powered cabin cruiser will burn 15 to 18 gallons an hour at speed, while a diesel will burn only 10.

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"That's quite a difference," he said, adding that he's finding gas-powered boats above 40 feet are "really difficult to sell; they burn a lot of fuel."

Robbie Robinson, president of Signature Yachts Inc. in Seattle, which primarily sells sailboats, said he's also been having unusual trouble unloading the gas-powered cabin cruisers that people bring to trade for sailboats.

"The gas-powered boats are sitting quietly, not being sold," he said.

Higher priced fuel also is causing owners to run their boats at slower and more efficient speeds, rather than push them to their full speed capacity.

Boats in general are much more efficient at what's called "hull speed," which is a function of their length. Many large cabin cruisers are equipped with dual engines that can push them beyond hull speed, but fuel consumption then drops precipitously.

Ray Rairdon, owner of Ray Rairdon Yacht Sales Inc., estimates a large vessel may burn 2 gallons to 4 gallons of fuel per mile at high speed, but about a gallon a mile at a slower 10 knots.

"A lot of the boats have very large engines running 300 to 400 horsepower," he said. "Instead of hurrying to get there, they're slowing down and enjoying the scenery along the way."

Large sailboats are pure displacement hulls, and when under power they're very efficient, using less than a gallon an hour, Robinson said. He said his company, which primarily sells sailboats, is having a "gangbuster year" with customers trading in power craft and leaving with sailboats. He said he's moving the trade-in powerboats out at a discount, and making his money from sailboat sales.

"We're not converting powerboat to sailboat people; we're taking people who were already predisposed," he said. "They had been thinking about sailing in the past, and this is just enough motivation."

Another way yacht owners are saving fuel money is by not traveling as far, observers report.

Owners are reducing trips into Canadian waters, where fuel is even more expensive than here, and also avoiding crossing the border, which has become more difficult and time-consuming with tightened security.

Even when they're staying in Washington waters, large-boat owners are staying closer to home or spending more time in one place, observers suggest.

"I don't think people are going as far this year; they're taking one big trip instead of two and three, and they're staying around home," said gas dock operator Morrison.

With long-term projections that fuel prices will keep climbing as world petroleum reserves dwindle, Windworks CEO Gross said he thinks the shift toward sail is just beginning.

"Assuming fuel costs will continue to escalate, I would assume this trend will become even stronger," he said.

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