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Science Fair Project: Should I Buy A Sailboat or a Powerboat? by Mort Barish Word count: 838 words Tens of thousands of people are going to buy a boat this year, and many of them are confused about what kind of boat to buy. This could be a good research project for science fair. The answer to the dilemma can be found by asking yourself several really important questions. The first question to ask yourself is “do I want to sail really fast”? A sailboat is one of the slowest forms of transportation anywhere. The average small sailboat on the average day will give you about five miles an hour. So if you go for a five hour sail, you will be lucky to cover about 25 miles. You can’t water ski at this rate and you won’t kick up much of a wake. You won’t cover long distances in a short period of time at only five miles an hour. If it is speed that you want, go for power. Get all of this research organized for your science fair project. Yes it is true that the new America’s Cup sailboat racing machines will hit 30 or 40 miles an hour, but these boats cost millions of dollars, need large crews, and are only for multi-millionaire sportsmen. If you are an ordinary citizen with limited funds and want to enjoy the water, these boats are not for you. The next question to ask yourself concerns itself with the kind of water travel you want to do. If you are a retired couple and want to cruise to foreign lands, across the sea for really long passages, then you must consider a sail boat. There are many reasons for this. The most important factor is fuel. The average cruising power boat, about 35 to 40 feet long can only carry limited fuel. Perhaps enough to get you 500 miles more or less. If you want to cross an ocean, this won’t help you very much. You will get 500 miles offshore and then what do you do? You need a sailboat for this kind of life style. The sailboat will take you across the Atlantic, or down to the Caribbean with little or no fuel. Perhaps only a gallon or two to get in and out of the harbor. There are other reasons to have a sailboat for extended cruising. The sailboat is inherently safer than a power boat in rough seas. If a power boat gets knocked over due to heavy seas or rough weather, there is no way to get the boat back upright again. If sailboat gets knocked over, it will come right back up again, due to the large keel and heavy ballast. Expenses are another thing. On a power boat you can expect to go for about an hour on 3 gallons of fuel. If you average 8 miles an hour, it will cost you about $13.00 per hour for fuel or about $1.50 a mile. If you cross the Atlantic, the fuel costs will be about $5,000. In a sailboat you won’t have hardly any costs for fuel. But if you want to race around the water, go waterskiing, and get to the next port in a hurry, then you want a powerboat. Another factor to consider is that powerboats smell from diesel or gas, are noisy and there is always vibration and never any real quiet. If you live on a sailboat, the only thing you hear are the sounds of the wind and the water. And another aspect that most people do not consider, is that in the world of power boating, you are always in an upright position, all day, every day. When you sail, your world is at an angle, usually about 15 degrees. A sailboat does not sail upright during most points of sail, but at an angle of heel. After a while you do not even realize that you are spending your days at a different angle then you are used to. It is incredible to understand that after a long time at sea, and you get off your boat, you cannot stand up. Your body is so used to being at an angle that your equilibrium has adjusted to this new environment and when you try to stand you will continue to fall down, until your body readjusts to the land and you get your sea legs back. Good luck and good hunting for the right sailboat for you, and don’t forget to do some more research for your science fair project. If you do a science fair project on this subject, you can set up an imaginary trip, and perhaps interview a number of people to find out what they would do if they were going to buy a boat. You can make your hypothesis before the interviews and then see whether or not your hypothesis is correct. For more information about over 300 interesting science fair projects, you are invited to visit http://www.terimore.com ####
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