Boat Ponderings

What is a boat? What makes a boat, a boat? What makes it well designed? What is the most important things for a boat to have?

For me, it needs to sail. It needs to float, and to be able to move. It needs to be able to move me. Move me to other places. New scenery. Travel. Adventures. Sights unseen.

It was a bit of a surprise to find out how slow boats actually are. All boats, really. It's not that you cannot sail around the world at 80km/h if you really want to, it's just that it will cost you a shitload of money.

Sailboats sail at around 4-8 knots, depending on type and size. The slimmer it is, the longer the boat, the higher the sail and the deeper the keel, the faster it is. But such construction also means high tension and shockloads, meaning more material strength is required, meaning again, high cost. And also a wider hull means more stowage and living room. Catamarans will go faster, 10-15 knots, but then again double hulls mean more materials used and more surface to maintain. So. The common monohull goes 4-8 knots in most conditions.

What is 4-8 knots? 4-8 knots is around 8-16 km/h. I can ride my -bike- faster than that. Boats are slow.

Compared to a car or train ride, they are a horrific means of transportion. And they are heavily weather-dependent too. Will you come to my birthday? Sure, as long as there's a suitable easterly two days in advance, otherwise I'll be doing some sail mending. Have you considered moving your birthday a bit? To some day with a better potential for easterlies? No? Well. See you next birthday. Maybe.

So why go sailing at all? Well. For one thing, while boats are slow, they do not require much in the way off energy to do their thing. They sail with the wind. They can do that 24/7.