Cutting a hole in the slug - the practical side

And that or course is why you cannot better an inboard engine
with a deep low down prop
that never comes out of the water
Do not underestimate the problem if in a heavy sea
When the outboard prop comes out of the water every wave and screams itself to possible destruction
and provides no thrust just when you NEED it most!
 
And that or course is why you cannot better an inboard engine
with a deep low down prop
that never comes out of the water
Do not underestimate the problem if in a heavy sea
When the outboard prop comes out of the water every wave and screams itself to possible destruction
and provides no thrust just when you NEED it most!

True, but with my outboard in a well, the distance between where the original I/B prop was and where the O/B prop sits, isn't far.

Not once has my prop been ventilating.
 
Please don't do it, Dylan. You'll regret it and the economics don't stack up either.
Well option
Decent outboard - £600
GRP materials - £100
Lost sailing time - ????
Refurb option
Remove engine - £0 (DIY)
Refurb gearbox - £500 (2 days professional @ £250)
Replace engine - £0 (DIY)
Lost sailing time - 7 days
 
book.jpg


:D
 
but...

Please don't do it, Dylan. You'll regret it and the economics don't stack up either.
Well option
Decent outboard - £600
GRP materials - £100
Lost sailing time - ????
Refurb option
Remove engine - £0 (DIY)
Refurb gearbox - £500 (2 days professional @ £250)
Replace engine - £0 (DIY)
Lost sailing time - 7 days

the beast has given me a financial and logistical kicking again and again

an inboard can hit you with a bill for a simple job that would cover the cost of a new outboard.
 
Dylan, hanging an OB in a well just aft of the helm is gonna wreak havoc with the sound quality of your at-the-helm narration.

Because I am a douchey bully, I have to ask- is you disdain of inboard engines based on the finicky nature of yours, or is the engine's recalcitrance a result of your disdain? Mate, you've been rebuilding the engine on the instalment plan since you set off on your quixotic counter-clockwise quest. But it seems all of the maintenance has been reactive instead of proactive, leading to more repair, more frustration, more cost, more time lost.

You really think you are going to treat a beat-to-**** spotty outboard (who are we kidding, DW, you're not gonna buy the best one you find, but the cheapest one you find, so we alreayd know how this is going to go) any better?
Figure out why it is stuck in gear (likely the linkage got bent or out of adjustment when you installed the motor mounts- easy fix), RandRandR the head and injector, and keep going. It is work you can do yourself (easier to work on than a Seagull) with two screwdrivers a hammer and a wrench or three for less than the cost of a dodgy O/B.


Oh, and diesel stink can be largely eliminated by washing down the exterior of the engine, INCLUDING all of the fuel lines, (when one bleeds to system, fuel always seems to travel along the outside of the pipes and hoses) then really giving the bilge a good scrubbing with bleach.

I feel your pain when it comes to tight access, brother Winter:
whiskeyjackspring2010003.jpg
 
you make a good point Mr Jones

you make some very perceptive remarks

and I am sure that the ratio of sailing to maintenance is entirely out of balance in some people's minds

I do tend to sail now and fix later

but then on my journey around the UK I have met some blokes who are still tinkering away in the boat yards in July

I am happy to tell you that I have been following the maintenance schedule on the beast since I got it

and to its credit it has always started - apart from when nit has had fuel supply problems

water in the tank when the fuel nicking scrotes left the top off and a cruddy filter


but.... generally shots an old bloke on his knees shoving plastic pipes into orifices and sucking black sump oil out and sucking black into plastic containers does not make the final cut

the gear actuator broke the second day I took the boat out

could not get any replacement parts because the whole thing had been home built by the previous owner

it is a long story but he wanted to reverse the gears

The cutlass gland was age and fishing gear - my fault for not replacing it before it broke and for going anywhere along our coasts where fishermen set their yacht traps out (everywhere).

The stuck in forwards is my fault for using a modern oil rather than digging around for an old style oil for the old style gear box - although I am told that had the cones not been worn and rdged then I would have got away with it

the engine mounts..... well that was 50 years of wear and tear and rubber fatigue

proper replacements just do not exist -so we had to make some from discovery parts

the shaft coupling breaking up was my fault for going up a shallow river and encountering a submerged supermarket trolly

the electrics are 50 years old, the dynastart is 50 years old - it is all either 50 years old or of 60 or 70 year old designs

think of the sorts of cars there were around at the time and ask yourself if you would set off on a 20,000 mile journey in one

the engine is no longer supported by the manufacters- or anyone at all come to that


I agree your installation is tight - but not as tight as the slug

in fact I think that you have room for some of these in your engine room

 
think of the sorts of cars there were around at the time and ask yourself if you would set off on a 20,000 mile journey in one
Ah, but you aren't going on a 20,000 mile journey- you are taking a series of 20-50 mile trips, which any 50 year old car is entirely capable of doing... with a bit of maintenance.

Frankly, based on your Mac 26 instigation, and your Bataan Death march approach to maintaining the Beast, I think you have always wanted an O/B, you crave an O/B, you love O/Bs, your loo is likely racked with back issues of "O/B Monthly" with the pages stuck together. You, sir, are a closet MoBo Maven.

You really should start a poll on this, dylan, because the anecdotal evidence is decidedly don't ditch the donk.
 
Oh and regarding your hand-wringing regarding the age of the donk and it's attendant components:

Renee Russo is 57:
rene-russo.jpg

I'd hit it.

Marg Helgenberger is 53;

marg+h.jpg

I'd hit it.
Posh Spice is only 38:

Victoria-Beckham544.jpg

Er, not so much.

The moral is, it ain't age, but the quality of the components and their care that determines longevity and reliability.
 
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