I have boating terminology on the brain - perhaps because I have been living on our little Aqua RV. As part of my feeble (and somewhat unsuccessful) effort to learn how to operate Das Boot, I've had many tutorials and discourses, as of late, on the engines, their optimum speed, care and feeding. Capt. SO has tried to be patient with me as I learn, forget, re-learn, re-forget.......ad nauseam......how to warm up and cool down the engines by putting the transmission into neutral so the rpms can be raised without Das Boot moving forward. I'm certain that my inability to understand and remember the mechanics of this process must be vexing to Capt. SO, to say the least.
As another "chapter" of my boat learnin', I am spending more time behind the wheel as Capt. SO endeavors to teach me how to operate Das Boot in the event that there was an emergency and I had to take the helm. My "comfort" speed is just slightly faster than eight knots, which, if you know anything about power boats, is true displacement speed - or - about the speed of a turtle on steroids. At displacement, I can mange to navigate through rougher water, multiple boats, PWC's and boats pulling skiers or tubers (No, not potato tubers.) without throwing up my hands and covering my eyes.......not a positive trait for someone at the helm. I have learned that there is a nether-world for planing hull boats (at least ours) that is between 900 and 1599 rpms. At this range, our planing hull boat simply pushes water, creating a huge wake, and taking fuel efficiency into toilet territory. Unfortunately, for this helm novice, the range of 900 to 1599 rpms is right in my comfort zone. However, I am becoming more comfortable at 1800 rpms, which, for our Aqua RV, is about 19 to 20 knots. This speed puts the bow down and enables Das Boot to slice through the water, rather than plow through the water. This is a speed that I could safely navigate at, in an emergency, and get Das Boot back to a place of refuge.
But.....yes, there is a but.....I like displacement speed - both for the Aqua RV and life, in general. Displacement speed is like slow and steady, organized and methodical, safe and secure. I do understand that, by moving faster, one does not have to sacrifice safety, security, organization or methodicism (my word). With proper training and preparation, life can go by at tortoise speed or at a Road-Runner pace, but sometimes, displacement speed just feels better, does it not? There may be days when I have to plow through the hours at a speed between 900 and 1599 rpms but, when my head hits the pillow at night, I'll know that my efficiency was compromised. I think the best solution is a day when there is a little of both displacement and planing-hull speeds. Time to take it slow and time to push the throttles forward and move at 2400 rpms. "For everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season, turn, turn, turn........."
My coffee is gone. Time to move those throttles forward.
Ancora imparo
