Katie L/Minstrel under power - eight outboards in eight hours

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

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www.keepturningleft.co.uk
I spent a day with the boys from PBO testing eight five hp outboards

top speed, acceleration, bollard pull, electrical output

had a great day messing with boats and outboards



I was really curious to know how the boat would perform given its slightly weird back end



Honda sent a short shaft rather than a long shaft - there is one point at which you can see it producing a lot of froth - but amazingly it performed surprisingly well both on the dynamic and under way tests

we had Katie L going at 5.9 knots with some of the engines

It was a wonderful excericise to help me decide what I am going to buy to replace the Yamaha

the feature will be published in the summer edition of PBO - due out June 21

One thing that amazed me was the lack of consistency with the way four strokes can be laid down

Dylan
 
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Watch out Dylan - you'll have to start shouting at yourself for speeding soon! :) From about 4:20 onwards you're really shifting.

Pete
 
5.9 knots

I think the fastest they got out of the hull was 5.9 knots

it was burying the stern pretty badly

water was coming in through the cockpit drain - but that is just a hole cut through to the outboard well

you could put a plug the hole and push the hull a bit harder - let it bury the stern a little

As a former Sonata owner I know that David Thomas has drawn some fairly slippery hulls

So I know that the boat motors well in flat water and sails well in light winds

The short shaft Honda was not producing much froth at 4 knots

so I am otpimistic that most of my sailing will be done with the little Honda 2.3

that way it will be up in the hull out of the way of bits of coastline

yet still available for a bit of a push now and again

Dylan



so far - so good.
 
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dylanwinter said:
you could put a plug the hole and push the hull a bit harder - let it bury the stern a little
Click to expand...

...or get someone to sit at the bow to keep it level. Assuming it's never going to plane, that's presumably faster than tipping up.

Discussing maximum speed under power with Dylan, well I never :D

Pete
 
Maybe I've got this wrong, but isn't your new boat a twin keel rather than a drop keel?

Cos' there ain't much risk of a twin keel prop hitting anything, even when aground. Even in deep mud, the mud isn't going to do more harm than sea water unless you try to run the prop while it is in the mud.

I just don't understand why you feel the need to keep the prop high. Sure, it's no disadvantage to have it high in that tunnel, but I don't actually see any real advantage either. :confused:
 
stub keels

Searush said:
Maybe I've got this wrong, but isn't your new boat a twin keel rather than a drop keel?

Cos' there ain't much risk of a twin keel prop hitting anything, even when aground. Even in deep mud, the mud isn't going to do more harm than sea water unless you try to run the prop while it is in the mud.

I just don't understand why you feel the need to keep the prop high. Sure, it's no disadvantage to have it high in that tunnel, but I don't actually see any real advantage either. :confused:
Click to expand...

the hunter has two small stub keels that just keep the bottom of the hull clear of the ground

so the boat draws less than a foot

the engine leg is really vulnerable - although even with a long shaft it can be raised almost clear

here is the film of the well and the bottom of the boat

you can see the little stub keels




good plan for putting some-one on the bow to keep it down

but I usually sail alone

but there would be so many more tests you could do


Dylan
 
Do we have to wait until 21st June to find out which outboard you'll go for then?

BTW Dylan, I use your 'perpetual motion' solar powered outboard diagram (from a couple of years ago) with my students when teaching conservation of energy. It always generates a lively discussion. Thanks!
 
the answer is... probabaly have to wait

KAL said:
Do we have to wait until 21st June to find out which outboard you'll go for then?

BTW Dylan, I use your 'perpetual motion' solar powered outboard diagram (from a couple of years ago) with my students when teaching conservation of energy. It always generates a lively discussion. Thanks!
Click to expand...

buying an outboard is a big decision

and I don't actually know the figures

I do know which sounded quietest, smoothest and which one started first pull

but that could have been because it was a well prepped engine with the right prop

as for the diagram

that was Salty John - he does great cartoons

amazed he has not been picked up by one of the sailing magazines

Dylan
 
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Excellent work as usual D, I particularly like the shot from the camera left running above the lake!

Did i notice at one point a blow lamp being used to heat a spark plug? Was one of the engines a bit reluctant to start then?
M
 
aha

WindermereColvic said:
Excellent work as usual D, I particularly like the shot from the camera left running above the lake!

Did i notice at one point a blow lamp being used to heat a spark plug? Was one of the engines a bit reluctant to start then?
M
Click to expand...

at this stage I cannot confirm (nor deny) what you think (or do not think) you saw on the film

If I were to reveal to you which outboard(s) needed some heat to help them start I would feel morally obliged to slaughter at least one of these puppies

 
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dylanwinter said:
buying an outboard is a big decision

and I don't actually know the figures

I do know which sounded quietest, smoothest and which one started first pull

but that could have been because it was a well prepped engine with the right prop

as for the diagram

that was Salty John - he does great cartoons

amazed he has not been picked up by one of the sailing magazines

Dylan
Click to expand...

In that case I owe you both a debt of gratitude.

Wonder if one of the OBs tested was Chinese?

K
 
two of them

KAL said:
In that case I owe you both a debt of gratitude.

Wonder if one of the OBs tested was Chinese?

K
Click to expand...

two of them might have been chinese

darn it

got to slaughter another puppy now



Incidentally the puppies have been named after leading forumites

there is Lakey, Chrusty, Sheadie, Daka, Searush, Vic and Seajet

I am assuming the new owners will be using different names

Dylan
 
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You nearly made a Hideas mistake there! Oops! Gosh, my spelling seems to be deteriorating...Parsun me...

I think Searush is a wonderful name for a dog. That's what ours used to do every time we took it to the beach.
 
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KAL said:
You nearly made a Hideas mistake there! Oops! Gosh, my spelling seems to be deteriorating...Parsun me...

I think Searush is a wonderful name for a dog. That's what ours used to do every time we took it to the beach.
Click to expand...

Woof, woof,







SPLASH!:D

BTW our Fudge doesn't seem to like water much, we're hoping she will learn in time if we are patient with her.
 
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