The Buzzards Bay Blog No 4: The Value of Speed

Submitted by Russell Hunt on Wed, 03/30/2011 - 4:19pm

 We build fast cruising boats.  The Buzzards Bay 34, when optioned with a pair of 300 HP outboards (our maximum horsepower option for this hull) has been clocked at 43.35 MPH by Boating Magazine, test No 2575.  This is considered fast by cruising boat standards, but high top speeds are not something we focus on or really care about.  They are more of a fringe benefit.  What we care a great deal about, what we stay up late at night tinkering and thinking about, is maximizing comfort and efficiency at cruising speeds between 15 and 30 knot’s.  Why this speed range?  Why not 7 to 15 knot’s like that of semi-displacement mono-hulls?  Our simple answer is it’s too slow.  For all of you trawler and sail boater’s out there with white knuckles already starting to show, release your grip on the mouse and let me explain.  

Operating a Buzzards Bay is kind of a unique experience.  Imagine walking into a fully enclosable pilot house with all of the visibility and ventilation you could ever want.  You will start the engines and often find yourself looking at the gauges just to know they are running because the engines are so quiet.  Imagine a helm station that has excellent ergonomics, with adjustable seating that lets you stand at the helm, or sit while affording an easy reach to all the controls and electronics.  Now lets cast off and get underway.  As your speed picks up past 7 knot’s, to 10-11- then 12 knots, the trim angle remains virtually unchanged. No bow in the sky and no high resistance, just a steady direct speed increase at every throttle setting.  Now you’re traveling at 18 knot’s and your visibility is the same as it was at the dock. There is no wind noise, barely any water noise, and the four-stroke outboards are humming along a distant murmur. The fine catamaran bows are simply ignoring the 1 to 2’ chop that’s out there, and if you weren’t glancing at the GPS speed on the chart plotter affirming 18 knot’s (20+ mph), you would swear you were going 8 maybe 10 knots. That’s right, 20 mph in a Buzzards Bay 34 feels slow.  It’s a comfortable pace you could easily keep up for 10 or 12 hours.  Still, you bring the throttles even higher, finally settling on 25 knot’s (29 mph), not out of any discomfort, but simply balancing fuel efficiency with your desire to get to your destination quickly.  It’s quite hard to fully grasp unless you’ve sea-trialed a Buzzards Bay 34 with us, but the capability for cruising comfort even offers a relaxed 30 knots.  

A fast cruising boat can be a real asset.  To us, the most obvious advantage is that you can cover much more ground in a shorter time at 20+ knots than typical trawler speeds.  

Side Note: It has been our experience to acknowledge that most owners of a semi-displacement craft will find themselves operating in displacement mode most of the time. These boats that have a top speed of around 15- 16 knots, end up cruising between 7 and 10 knot’s simply because they pay the penalty of high fuel burn. To a lesser degree, the comparably greater noise and trim levels at higher speeds are uncomfortable in these boats.  It is interesting to note that the Buzzards Bay 34 traveling typically achieves the same fuel efficiency level at 15 to 18 knots as she does at 7 to 8 knots.

At the top is a chart covering SE Florida and Bahamas.  The blue rings show the capable cruising ground available when traveling at 18 knots for 2 hours (inner ring), as well as 6 hours respectively (outer ring).  The red rings show the cruising ground available when traveling at 8 knots for 2 hours (inner ring), as well as 6 hours respectively (outer ring). Home port is shown as Port Everglades.  

 Quite a difference isn’t it?  If a Buzzards Bay 34 traveling at 18 knot’s and a typical trawler traveling at 8 knots both departed Port Everglades at 0700 hours, the Buzzards bay 34 would arrive at Grand Bahamas Isle a little before 1130 hours, just in time for lunch. At this time the trawler is not even half way to Grand Bahamas Isle, not arriving until 1430 hours  (That’s a 4.25 hour trip versus 9.5 hour trip). 

“Why are we all in such a hurry these days?” is a question you may be asking yourself, “I boat to relax”. Good point. And we think you would agree with us that it’s more relaxing on a Buzzards Bay 34 traveling at 18 knots, smooth and quiet, compared to a trawler going 8 knot’s for several reasons…  
First and most importantly is safety:  At 18 knot’s you only need a 4.25 hour weather window to cross to the Bahamas.  At 8 knot trawler speed you need 9.5 hours.  Let’s not forget that if needed, the Buzzards Bay 34 can shrink that required weather window to about 2.5 hours by simply speeding up to 30 knots.  When you’re out in the open ocean, it’s nice to have options.  In a trawler traveling along at 8 knots you are committed to whatever Mother Nature throws at you during that 9.5 hour crossing.  If the weather turns nasty, there is not much for you to do other than prepare for the worst and hope for the best.    
Speed can help you relax as well.  18 knot speed allows you to sleep in an extra 2 hours, make your departure at 0900 and arrive at the Bahamas by 1:30 pm, still a full 3 hours ahead of the 8 knot trawler that left 2 hours before you.  How’s that for relaxation?

Speed isn’t just an asset on longer cruises.  Can you imagine what kind of impact 20 + knot cruise speeds can have on your boating weekend if you were previously limited to sail boat or trawler speeds?  The entire Chesapeake is roughly 160nm from top to bottom.  At 20 knots, a Buzzards Bay can navigate all of Chesapeake Bay in about 8 hours.  Leaving after sun up, getting back to the dock before sun down.  All of a sudden, the entire Chesapeake is made available to you…in a weekend.  

There are a lot of fast boats out there.  There are also a lot of comfortable boats out there.  What the Buzzards Bay 34 does so nicely, so uniquely, is to combine a high level of cruising comfort with relaxed and fast cruise speeds.  To achieve all this, along with great fuel efficiency and a shallow draft is simply unavailable anywhere else.   This is what we mean when we say Buzzards Bay Cats are Beyond Ordinary Limits.  

Sincerely,
Russell Hunt, President
Buzzards Bay Cats