The Case for Slow
by Kevin Morris 29 Apr 2019 07:00 PDT
Boat throttle © slowboat.com
Fast cruising boats are all the rage these days. Pod drives, planing hulls, powerful twin turbo diesels, and even giant supercharged outboards deliver copious quantities of cruising knots to boaters with deep pockets and a need to Get There Now.
Modern cruisers don't have time to wait around, apparently. They've got people to see and places to be – and if a few hundred horsepower can lop several hours off that time-in-transit, pour in the diesel (or gas)!
There are plenty of good reasons to go fast in a cruising boat. Tides and currents wait for no man (or woman); and if you can sleep in, eat your omelette, sip your cappuccino, take a leisurely shower, and still show up at the rapids in time for slack, well – life must be tough for those slow-boating trawler types. In fact, who needs slack? If you can beat a six knot current and still make double-digit headway, why wait for slack at all? Strap into your captain's chair, push the throttle balls to the firewall, and shove some serious water out of your path.
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