Engine well in a Centaur - possible?

[AngusMcDoon]

I definately considered chopping a well into mine and moving the rudder to the transom when i found out my lump was dead but couldn't figure out how you charged the electrics so my question is how do you charge the boats electrics with only an outboard for power?

The sailboat outboards come with a charging output. It is not as much as from an equivalent sized inboard. Typically it will be 5 to 10 Amps. So, the electricity supply is solved by...

1) Use an outboard with a charging capability
2) Get an additional source, like a solar panel
3) Limit consumption - LED lights and compressor coolbox for example.

I have 6A output from the engine, a 30W solar panel as my source, and for consumers I have a full range of ST60 instruments, tiller pilot, chart plotter, all LED lights for interior and navigation, heater for use when on shore power or the engine is running, Waeco compressor coolbox, VHF, AIS, entertainment radio. I use a 9 hour battery life netbook which I only charge when the engine is on, I have shorepower, or it's sunny. If I want to run the heating off grid then the engine on tickover will keep pace with the consumption and is barely audible inside.

In 10 years of this setup I have never had battery voltage drop to an uncomfortable level. My batteries lasted 9 years before needing replacement, so they were obviously not suffering from their use.

 

[NUTMEG]

I have kept silent on this thread, but feel compelled to chip in. Dylan, much as I am a fan of yours I feel I have to speak a home truth or two. When we met in Norfolk (we donated a genny pole to the Seawych fund, whatever happened to that by the way?) you were using a bit of string to change gear.

There were other things to but memory fails so I will remain silent on those, suffice to say, the slugs engine suffered from nothing more than long term neglect. Rather than accepting that sometimes you have to invest a few quid I had the impression that you were a make do and mend sort of chap. A mate of mine just rebuilt a Volvo in his Centaur. It cost him £2500 for parts, the labour was all his own, as he said, it should be good for another 25 or 30 years.

Like me you are an ex agricultural engineer, I would be more than happy renovating an old, simple, marine engine, what puts you off doing the same mate (genuine question)? Indeed I plan to lift Nutmegs engine this autumn and take it home for a spruce up.

Rambling a bit, sorry. But point is a well maintained marine diesel, in a hull it was designed for must be as near perfect as possible. Boat designers know a thing or two after all.

 

[contessaman]

I read these threads and it's clear the 'inboard supporters' really don't get the fear that you (and I/some others) feel.... it's like we talk past each other..... may be it's just easier to say "I like an outboard engine in a well as much as you like an inboard engine, neither of us understands why the other feels that way, so why don't we just accept everyone is different"....

Fair enough. I was going to comment a 'why on earth' here but everyone is entitled to their own opinion... I have the fear for outboards. distant childhood memories of being on grandads caprice trying to get back in to harbour in a nasty chop. prop out of water most of time. then engine conked. dad pulling at the recoil furiously, out with the easy start. nothing. drop anchor to avoid being swept past by tide. everyone terrified. luckily a centaur was also entering harbour and gave us a tow. the relentless thud thud thud of its diesel plus the effortless ability with which it hauled the convoy through the nasty bristol channel chop and into the lock was something to behold.

mind over matter. any engine is just a lump of metal. doesnt matter how big. whip it out. take it apart. fix it. show it who's boss. I talk to my perkins. I have also punched it ( i lost), kicked it and swore at it. but when it comes to the crunch we take good care of each other.

In the book, fastnet force10, there is an account of a rescue performed by a frenchman in his S&S 36 at the height of the storm, he recovered the entire crew of a sinking yacht - all under the power of his inboard engine

 

[contessaman]

replace the diesel with a good 2 stroke dolpin 12 hp, petrol, no gearbox only weighs 60 lds easy to put in and easy to get out !

and thats good because.....? surely laurent giles designed the boat to have the weight of the volvo in it?

 

[rogerball0]

Hi Angus

I genuinely didn't know outboards provided that kind of capacity, it was that ignorance that pushed me towards the inboard option. Like alot of things on my project; 'i'll know for next time'

cheers

 

[langstonelayabout]

The answer is an A22. Voluminous luxurious interior and solves all your problems. You can pick one up on Ebay for about a grand. You don't want a Centaur really.

Fabulous. I really wasn't expecting this

When it comes to 26' and an outboard, have you thought of the North 26's design?

This lift keel beauty is a stretched E-Boat (yes, you like it already!) complete with a lifting keel, but the best bit is that they have a outboard well at the FRONT of the cockpit, complete with a feature to lift the outboard vertically and 'bomb bay' doors to shut off the well at the lower end, allowing the water to flow smoothly past.

And yes, I did nearly buy one...

 

[penfold]

Exactly; it's designed to take an outboard and accommodate it. Constructing something similar on a Centaur will require a large amount of trial and error, or great skill in creative design problem solving; simply creating a well is just the start.

 

[William_H]

High Dylan. Just to give you some ideas on what has been done around here.
Firstly a friend with Spirit 28 heavy fin keel. he had a single cylinder diesel that gave trouble. He put a bracket on the back with an outboard. No regrets apparently. No desire to fix the old diesel.
Another friend has a 32ft Whiting racing type yacht. It has a little outboard on a piece of wood right at the back of the sugar scoop stern. Apparently OK for ocean racing.
Yet another frined has a triton 24. This came with a cut out in the port stern locker for an o/b. He put a bracket on the back for preference. So that he could raise the o/b when sailing.
One type I have seen here has a cut out in the transom and a false transom to mount the o/b on such that it can tilt back and up. This needs a rudder through hull forward of the o/b or twin transom mounted rudders would be another option. i think your present boat may be similar to this. All the above mentioned boats a fin keel. You never see a twin keel or bilge keel here.
My own boat has an adjustable height o/b bracket with 6 of Mrs Johnsons best horses. However as I can go from season to season without using her. it doesn't count.
good luck olewill

 

[josephmoore]

I had a loooong chat with a friend the other night as we were sat in the pub eating dinner, looking out the window at the broads yacht we'd been sailing all weekend with its ubiquitous Yanmar 1GM10. He's an engineer by profession and an experienced boat builder and sailor, so I listen to his opinions on such matters. We discussed the pros and cons of outboards vs inboards, the costs and the performance. I have a Hurley 22 powered by an old 8hp 2-stroke, he has a 30-something foot gaffer which he is putting a Beta diesel into and we both have experience of a multitude of different boats.

Here's my current thinking on the matter:

- A diesel will win the noise contest any day. My old 2-stroke is so loud I can't hear what the chap on the boat I'm trying to raft up to is saying. I consider that a bit dangerous.

- My 2-stroke is rubbish on fuel. Maybe a gallon an hour or more at full revs. This is just how the engine is - it's old and tired. A friend has a new 4-stroke and it sips fuel as a good diesel would and is a delight. I have a 2003 Tohatsu derivative (Mercury in this case) 2-stroke and it's a vast improvement, but a short shaft so no use on my Hurley.

- One of the biggest deciding factors in which engine my friend chose for his gaffer was whether or not that engine would have a long life span. Not necessarily the engine itself, but in a few decades when it needed a rebuild would there still be spares available for it? This is the key I think, after all what ultimately killed The Beast. Granted, it's a hard thing to predict.

- Outboards are essentially consumable items. They're built light and designed to run hard for however many hundreds of hours, then be replaced. A proper diesel is designed heavily and can be rebuilt properly.

- Fit the right size engine for a boat and work it hard. Don't be tempted to fit a huge engine which never stretches its legs. It'll coke up and wear out sooner. A friend of ours has a large bill to testify this.

So, for my boat (22' long and 2 tons) an outboard is the obvious answer, but I'd suggest its at the edge of where a diesel would be useful. I can't sail in very light winds and the outboard feels a little too whizzy for the hull.