Halcyon 23

[jeffjan2]

Hi. Just just bought a halcyon 23. There is no engine but it has an outboard bracket which would be best. Internal engine or outboard.? Also starting a major overhaul to get ready for next season. Anyone with a halcyon 23 please get in touch.

 

[scozzy]

Welcome Jeff

I also have a halcyon 23 triple keeler, great boats that are built like a tank.I have a yanmar 1gm10 which is perfectly adequate, thinking about a bracket myself as a back up.I have a mariner 4hp 2 str outboard which will fit the bill although if you planned on using outboard as primary source of power besides sails I'd say 6-8hp better without too much weight hanging off transom

 

[jnonauta]

My Halcyon 23 has a Petter AB1W inboard diesel which, I think, is rated at 5.5 bhp. It seems perfectly adequate, if a bit noisy, and might grunt a bit if expected to drive the boat to windward against a strong wind and head sea. It is an auxiliary after all!

 

[chris-s]

Last season I helped some young lads in Falmouth get an old Halcyon back in the water. The inboard was long gone so they fitted an outboard, Tohatsu 6hp extra long sail drive, it worked great for them.

 

[V1701]

Congrats & welcome. An inboard would be considered by most to be better - for lots of reasons from diesel being less flammable than petrol & easier to get hold of in marinas, would have an alternator to charge batteries & power instruments, work much better in choppy sea where outboard propeller can come out of the water when boat pitches BUT it would be a lot more difficult and way more expensive, even if you managed to find a good second hand Yanmar 1GM or Beta 10/14, say. Even then the cost would exceed what you paid for the boat and you wouldn't recoup it when you sell the boat...

 

[Tiger Moth]

I'm dithering over which boat to buy at present and in the course of investigations found this website: Boat Sales in Dorchester | Marine Enterprises Ltd |
I have no knowledge of them but they have a good range of inboard diesels.
V1701 is quite right in all he says, you won't get your money back on a diesel if you sell quickly so the answer is to keep the boat a long time and get a lot of use from it. If you're solely a fair-weather sailor then a 5hp outboard would save you a fair amount.
Do tell what you decide on.

 

[Stemar]

Some things make no sense from a financial point of view, but are well worth doing from a practical one because you enjoy the benefits long after you've forgotten the initial wallet pain.

I think my decision point would be whether or not there's a prop shaft for an inboard, as fitting one has to be right. I could do most things, but that isn't something I'd want to undertake, and I think paying someone would be prohibitively expensive. If it's there, the rest of an inboard installation is pretty straightforward.

 

[Minerva]

I'm all for using man-maths to justify silly purchases, but paying to put a diesel into a Halcyon 23? That's just daft. The boat will presumably be worth <£2k as is. To put a diesel in, will likely cost at the very least £6k and will add zilch onto the resale value.

If it were me, I'd take the £8k (capital cost of boat and re-engine costs) and buy a better boat with inboard Or spend £500 on a second hand 4/5hp outboard and be happy with the boat as is.

 

[scozzy]

Does it still have propeller, prop shaft etc in situ or all missing? Outboard sensible option cash wise but PITA with Halcyon stern/transom set up as it's a fair old reach back over everything including mainsheet "horse" set up to mount/remove and operate,will have to be mounted to one side as well so not much use in a chop from excess cavitation etc....not sure about 6k to fit another, few on apolloduck.com just now for less than 2k so if it's got everything else in situ(tank?) and you plan on keeping her for a while it's maybe not too crazy an idea.....like us all,it depends on how you intend to use it