Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

plenty of time to go anywhere in a trawler.
However, the round hulls are extremely seaworthy
(though some are “rolly” in beam seas), and
displacement speeds are very fuel-efficient. This
is the reason that many long-distance travelers
choose trawlers. Equipped with a small diesel
inboard, some can travel over 1,000 miles between
refueling. Lengths range from about 28 to 50 feet,
with prices from $100,000 to $500,000.
Houseboats are the camper-trailers of the watery
world—slow, unlovely, and unexciting, but with all
the comforts of home for those who do most of
their boating in protected waters. And they’re
amazingly affordable.
Chapter 1: Welcome to the Wet and Wonderful World of Boating!
Boater-ese
Planing hulls have flattened
sections on the aft bottom
that allow these boats to rise
near the surface of the water,
reducing drag and increasing
speed. Displacement hulls have
rounded bottoms and chines that
prevent these boats from reaching
plane. This makes them
slower than planing hulls.
Many houseboats ride atop a pair of aluminum cylinders known as pontoons, although
some models have fiberglass, aluminum, or steel vee hulls. Lengths range from 25 to more
than 100 feet. Power is usually an outboard of 30 to 100 horses, although the larger rigs
have inboard power. Prices range from $25,000 to $400,000. You get actual conventional
rooms aboard—kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms, all on
one level. Houseboats feel like a home ashore, but you can take a swim off the back porch.
Bet You Didn’t Know
The largest boat-owners’ association in the world is BOAT U.S., which frequently lobbies
for boating causes in Washington. The association offers special insurance packages
and maintains its own mail-order catalog. It also offers websites for the computer
literate: Type www.boatus.com to get a menu. Their address is 880 S. Pickett Street,
Alexandria, VA 22304; 703-461-2864.
Houseboats Without the House: Pontoon and Deck-Type Boats
Pontoon boats and deck-type boats feature couches, dinettes, sinks, refrigerators, and usually
portable marine toilets, but no sleeping areas and no permanent roof. Weather protection
is usually from a convertible top known as a Bimini. It’s tall enough to stand
under, but with no side panels to prevent air circulation. A pontoon with a front deck for
fishing is shown in the following photo.
Pontoon boats ride on the same sort of aluminum cylinders as many houseboats. They
can be powered by motors as small as 10 horsepower but rarely more than 60 horsepower,
and they’re cheap to buy and operate. Because of the great amount of floor space and
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