Stavanger, Wednesday

All my sailboats have had outboard engines only. I have found that boats with a square transom and short overhang ( like Malena) worked very well, even in some chop. It would have worked even better if it had been mounted at the centreline. Double-enders are not so easy to fit with an ob. engine. The engine tends to get drowned by waves and therefor needs a kind of box around it to deflect the side-waves and the rising sternwave. I can see the point in having an ob. well in these boats.

 

 

When I bought Johanna, still with a dead diesel engine on board, I was a bit sceptical to fitting her with an outboard, because of her semi-long overhang. However, it has turned out to be a success. The engine, with hi-thrust propeller and extra long leg, pushes us to hull-speed (6.3kts) on flat water, and I have measured the consumption to 0.5l/NM at 5.8kts. I don’t say that the outboard on Johanna will handle offshore conditions in much wind, but at least the propeller stays well in the water when we are hit by stern-waves from ships. The only time the propeller cavitates, is if I turn the boat sharply at speed.

 

 

My advice is to put quite some effort into the designing and constructing of the outboard bracket. To me, the ideal one slides up and down on long rails. With a 2 to 4-part purchase the engine’s vertical position can then be adjusted under way to fit the conditions. This would even let one have an offset-mounted engine and motorsail on any tack. The engine should definitely have the extra-long leg (25”?) and a hi-trust propeller. Yamaha makes some good ones.

 

 

I have only motorsailed Johanna once, close-hauled, but was surprised how well it went. The three sail panels in use added a knot to the speed. No cavitation, despite heeling quite a bit in the gusts.

 

 

Cheers, Arne

Gary, thanks for your kind comments on mag 64, which all of those who either wrote material for it or helped it on its way will much appreciate.

Graham - a nice piece of forum moderation. If you're not careful you'll find yourself 'volunteered' to help moderate of one of these fora :-)

Gary King wrote (in another forum):
Hey Graham, we faced 25kt building to 30kt on the nose and short, steep chop yesterday, 2.5kts average. 6 hrs to go 6Nm as the crow flies. Pitching in the seas wipes any speed and caused tacking angles (on GPS) of 135˚! We spent the final hour motorsailing, but with a 6hp motor only 3kts, but enabled 20˚ off the wind which helped a lot. Otherwise it would have been 7 hrs to go 6nm...

Hi Gary, if you were going to cruise the coast extensively, you might find your outboard too small and the lack of fuel range frustrating, unless you were very patient!  However, once you sail offshore it won't matter, and the outboard will be quite adequate to help you in through reef passes and harbour entrances etc.  I sailed for 10 years with an outboard on the transom and had about a 50 NM range, assuming the sea was flat enough to use the motor.  You learn to be cautious and sail the boat defensively, it makes you a good seaman I guess.

I love having a diesel now (except when it needs repairs).  It has transformed my coastal passagemaking.  Besides the efficiency of the three-bladed prop, giving me 5 knots to windward when motorsailing at 2000rpm, I also have a much extended fuel range of about  100 hours.  That equates to between 300 - 500 NM depending on sea-state.  However, when I go offshore again, I won't sail any differently than I always did.  Once I am clear of the land, I'll just wait for the wind.  I might use the motor to get in at the end of the passage too, if becalmed or in deteriorating weather.

Nonetheless, motorsailing with the junk rig, for those who have a taste for it, is one of the highlights of cruising with this rig, as I wrote in some detail in my recent article in JRA Newsletter 64.  (Anyone reading this who is not a member will find the magazine alone well worth the cost of membership!).  It is probably the most efficient motorsailing rig the world has ever seen.