how many miles per day do you like to travel?

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DuckDogTitus

New member
I was toying around with the idea of an Olympia to San Juans trip for fun. I figure Oly to Friday Harbor, then maybe to Succia is about 170 miles give or take. three days seems best (each way) so you can make strategic fuel and marina/pub hopping stops. that may be overkill, i mean if the weather and boat cooperated you could probably kill the whole trip in 1 day, but what fun is that?
 
For us just driving the boat fast to get from A to B isn't much fun so we'd probably make it at least a 3 day trip each way. On the other hand, if your planned "fun" cruising area is the San Juans then just getting there faster would leave more time to explore them. In that case you could get to Friday Harbor in 2 long days. A long day for us is in the 60 NM range, say from Friday Harbor to Nanaimo. A more normal cruising day is 10-30 miles.
 
A lot depends on where you are, and who you travel with, but normally we travel 40 to 60 miles a day. We have done close to a hundred but did not stop anywhere in between the start and the end of day. South Florida has a lot of no wake or manatee zones which help make you enjoy the scenery and can affect your mileage totals for a given day. Sometimes traveling with other boats limits covering ground either because of a chop or it's a Ranger Tug that does not want to put the whip to their diesel engine. I have learned from traveling with more civilized people than myself that dropping the hook for lunch and taking a break to have a sandwich or salad makes for a more relaxed and enjoyable overall day. Take my advice I won't be using it :D
D.D.
 
To be honest as much as I love my CDory, a large ranger is kind of my "someday" dream boat. I know i'll be moving slower then... right now I tend to move pretty much as fast as i can when I'm just covering ground. I find 18 knots to seemingly be my average. my fastest in pristine conditions was like 24.

We did Swantown to Boston Harbor, to drop crab pots, to the City of Allyn city dock for lunch, back to Jarrel Cove, and back to Swantown in a day. that was a pretty full day and around 70 miles I think.

you know, some people hike the Pacific Crest Trail over many years. they pick a stretch and do that each summer until they have completed the whole thing. maybe I'd be wise to break the trip up.

I've come to know some south sound, and some north sound. I need to spend more time in that area cruising from south seattle to north whidbey!
 
I think the day I went

Pt Defiance > Bainbridge (eagle harbor for lunch) > back to Pt Defiance (along the west side of Vashon, completing a circle) was about 60 miles. so yeah, that 40-60 mile max distance you mention seems like the comfortable max for sure the more I think about it.
 
When we go out for 3-day weekends in Prince William Sound, we typically log somewhere around 150-200 miles - give or take - including putzing around setting/pulling shrimp pots, fishing, and general gunkholing. My wife prefers 'being there' over 'getting there'. So, we cruise at whatever speed gets us there the fastest while still maintaining decent ride quality. Actual miles traveled 'getting there' is usually in the 40- to 70-mile range - so... 2-3 hours of travel at cruising speed is fairly typical for any given day.
 
OK good stuff. seems I am kind of on the same page with everyones comfortable maxes.

the 10-30 miles of course would be a safer bet to for the unknown that comes with boating and weather. especially in new waters.
 
The longest day I've done in the C-Dory is about 160nm...from Klemtu, BC to Prince Rupert with a stop at Bishop Bay Hot Springs. We cruised at ~16 knots.

The day before we'd run 150nm from Port Hardy to Klemtu, also at around 16 knots.

These are looong days. It's not the hours that are so tiring...it's the noise, the vibration, the constant watch for logs. And 150+ nm days typically mean starting out before the fuel dock opens and finishing after it closes, so a stop for fuel is required sometime in the middle.

I really enjoy 30-50nm days...normally can leave the dock/anchorage early in the morning and be at the next stop by early afternoon.
 
As many as the wife and kid can bear or none at all. It really depends on conditions but I would put hours on it instead of miles. like Sam says the noise and vibration is a bigger factor for us. About 4-6 hours on plane is plenty for us (60-90 kn miles on plane for us now) and although we have never gone more than about 3 hours at a stretch at 5 knots, I think we may be able to endure 6-10 hours of that pretty well. In Aurelia the 25, we would do 100+ mile days pretty regularly at 17-22 knots.

If it was just me, I would say as many miles/hours as it takes to get me somewhere I want to be.
 
The least amount of miles to get there as possible. This for us usually means the most direct route with the least amount of stops required. While this may be a departure from many who like to stop to see the sights or visit ports along the way, we mostly see them at 20 MPH as we pass through.

I would probably spend more time cruising at hull speed if we had an autopilot system and could just focus on logs instead of grasping the wheel for hours on end.

To answer the question: 40-80 miles in a day
 
We've done a long day of 85 miles at Lake Powell. Our normal cruising is 0-20 miles. We want to get a flavour of the areas we visit and we need to stay a bit. Friday Harbor is worth a week for example. Jones Island a couple days easy. One can blast on thru but to "see" what's there we find we need to hang out a bit. I try for short runs in good weather. When we require a longer hop like Georgia Strait, we do it in 10 knots or less wind, 15-18 knots boat speed Bose headsets and Jimmy Buffet on. These boats can do the miles but we slow down to savour the ride. George and Carolyn
 
I just depends on where I'm going and how long I have and whats to do when we get there. I have spent many 12 hour or more days on my boat fishing and not covered 5 miles. I have made several 100 mile days and enjoy them. I enjoy driving the boat. I get bored if I don't have something to do that requires my attention. Driving at 5 knots AND not fishing, bird watching, photo taking would drive be even more crazy then I am. I could sit on anchor for days if I have something to do, but just looking out the window is not something to do. Even when I work I have 3 to 5 things going at once or I get bored.

WE have little time to boat in our lives right now so when we get time We have to get and go. I cruise the 27 at 25 mph for the most part. I think that if we are headed some where we like to travel 3 to 4 hours then take a dog walk and eat something then go for another 3 to 4 hours. So if its flat that's 100 miles per run. If we are not traveling I like to troll for about the same 3 to 4 hours with a break in between when Susan is on board.


There is no right answer other then what you like to do. If I could afford it I would get a go faster and head up north at 50 mph and enjoy driving the boat. Driving boats cars bikes and planes are very enjoyable activities for a lot of people. Driving even a slow car at the edge of what it can handle is a great joy.
 
We have done several 90 - 100 mile days, but those are very rare for us. Part of what we enjoy about boating in being immersed in the experience. Interstate Highways are made for making miles... being on the water is a completely different experience. We had fun in the Erie Canal, going less than 10 miles in any given day. Or, running the ICW to get somewhere at our high cruise speed.

Nice thing about a boat that does well at displacement speed and a higher cruise speed. Every now and again, I look at a trawler and think, "The extra space would be nice," but it would be hard to give up the flexibility the C-Dory offers.
 
I had never really thought about how far we go--because it varies so much. However, an 80 mile day would be a long one for us in the C Dory 22 or 25. Average is closer to 30 to 40 miles. With the Tom Cat, I did several 200 mile days, and it was comfortable. One time I got home almost as fast as my wife did, when she drove back from Apalachicola, and I took the boat. But the Tom Cat is comfortable in many conditions at 30 knots..
 
My halibut hole with the big hogs is a 90 mile round trip out of Seward. I don't do it if it isn't easy as it is in the open North Gulf of Alaska Coast and miles away from any out of the weather anchorage. I used to get weird looks out there in the CD 22 as most of the boats out that way are 30-40 foot charters. They go a LOT faster......especially when rough.
 
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