it is set at this time, to filter out the impatient and annoying.
10 hrs means people can build a decent house, gather a good supply of materials, build a good looking boat and make friends.
If poeple would be able to amke a boat within 3 hours, noone would travel very far and the entire area around spawn etc would be littered by ugly boats from people that come on to just sail for a bit.
the money:lag ratio is irrelevant also.
the server is not funded purely by player count and never for a moment assume it is, donators help with contributions to server running, but in no way would this server decline if there were to be no donators at all!