David Tyler wrote:
Going by the sailboat data, she's rather narrow, and of shoal draught and light displacement. I think she should be considered as a 50/50 motor sailor, which would not be inappropriate for a young family crew and the light wind conditions inside Vancouver Island in summer. I think I'd want a functioning diesel, for that kind of scenario. I agree that the rudder looks a bit marginal, but with a well balanced rig, and an end plate, it could be OK.
The beam is decided by the interest in making it a trailer sailor. More compromises than can be imagined in this boat.The diesel has many good things going for it, less fuel for distance, longer lasting too. However, it has one big downside for me, weight. The engine adds 1000 pounds which also means one trailer class up too. The extra weight would be welcome for stability though. So, as I say, I will set the engine aside for now (unless it just runs maybe) and use the OB bracket with my little 8 HP for now. It will be good enough to get us to "Tree Island" at least.(whydoestheeditorshallowmyspaces?)
I think in the circumstances I'd go for a low AR split junk, to keep the heeling moment low when sailing upwind and the sheet loads and helm loads low when sailing downwind, and not worry too much about going for the last ounce of windward performance. She won't stand up to much canvas in a fresh breeze, and there's nothing that goes to windward as well as a good diesel in a light breeze.
Being of light displacement, I think a simple open plan interior is called for, and it would be right to think of her as a simple family camping boat for exploring the sheltered waters of the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound.
I hadn't thought low AR but it does make sense (a reefed high AR is a low AR after all). Less heeling as an introduction to sailing is a good idea too, we do not need to go fast or far, there are so many places to go in this area and only a few we have visited. Not having to spend time setting up a camp site gives us much more wiggle room.
I am also thinking open interior. I do not need an enclosed head or fore cabin. I do need a dinette and the cook area is one of the few parts still intact. I have both a porta-potti and a luggable loo, either of which will fit under the fore peck cutout. The one thing we will need is a mast step and I would like to figure placement of that before finalizing my layout. The sole has been ripped out just above keel for a few feet and the power boat ancestry is apparent in that the space under the sole is foam filled for flotation. So I will have to clean that out to put a mast step in.
As you can tell from earlier comments, I would like to keep this trailerable, so the mast needs some sort of easy take down option (again Low AR helps). I think I need to know both where the mast will be and how high before I worry about that.