Reddit reviews Voyaging Under Power, 4th Edition

If you plan on using something other than a sailboat, then read Beebe's book: Voyaging Under Power

Okay, so /u/pho_king_fast was on the money with Trawler Forum.

Here you go...

But before you go there, in order to not get totally flamed, figure out some things first. Notably...

1. How much money do you have to spend on the actual cruising itself. Go fast boats can cruise at 15-30 knots while completely munching fuel and full displacement trawlers sip it, but cruise at between 6 and 8 knots.
   
   
2. Where are you going to be going and how long are you going to be away from land? Are we talking day cruising along the coasts? Great loop cruising? Or are you going to make an Atlantic passage?
   
   
3. What is the level of comfort you desire? Do you need TV and hot showers or can you live with less amenities? Can you deal with 4-8 ft seas without stabilizers or do you need a comfortable ride?
   
   
4. Are you going to live aboard all year around? Or just a few months here and there?
   
   
5. What's your experience with fixing stuff? Can you handle oil changes and basic engine maintenance?
   
   
6. What's your comfort level with the sea? Do you need to feel like you're in a tank or are you willing to trust your boat and be the weakest link in the chain?
   
   In the end, you're looking for the same things. You need to start off with a solid boat. A good solid hull that's in great shape. Steel or fiberglass that isn't blistered and doesn't have a bunch of wonky through hulls. Like sailboats, a lot of people use powerboats as live aboard boats and as such treat them poorly and ignore the sea worthiness of them. So pay attention to homemade fixes and alterations. Make sure the wiring is marine wiring and hasn't been "fixed" by the owner. You'll obviously need to get a survey eventually, but you can simply look at the state of things and get an idea if anything is obviously botched.
   
   Most, not all, but most diesel motors require major rebuilds between 6K and 10K hours depending on the make/model and age. That's pretty much re-powering at that point so it gets expensive.
   
   But really, powerboats are just like sailboats. They need to float, first and foremost.
   
   The bible of motor yachts seems to be Voyaging under Power by Robert Beebe and revised by Dennis Umstot, now in it's 4th edition. That could help you on the subject if you're a reader.
   
   Here's the book on Amazon
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   Sound like I'm about where you're at I think. A few years away from leaving the land and getting on the boat. I think we'll end up on a trawler. Most likely either a Kadey-Krogen 44-48 or the Nordhavn 46. They seem like the most capable/dependable boats for what we think we need. Cruise at 6-8knots, 3600nm range @ 6.5 kn, both built well and both have stood the test of time. Solid hulls that are constantly making huge passages. Amazingly, they seem to hold their value over time and they look pretty good too. (after the initial depreciation anyways)
   
   Anyways, good luck!