My Sailing Dinghy has got to have an engine, now which one?

Here's another vote for sticking to the oars. We never carried an outboard around when we were dinghy sailing, even though there was one in the garage. Indeed in the Mirror we didn't usually take the oars, just a paddle (the Wayfarer had oars, tucked up under the side decks). I don't remember using either oars or paddle much, if at all - a dinghy will sail in much less wind than many yachts.

I think you're bringing big-boat habits with you to a place they don't belong.

Pete
 
My advice is to use the O/B you already have ( unless it is abroad ) and treat yourself to a new set of sails or similar or buy S/H Mariner 2HP they weigh 10 kilos and can survive a ducking.The one proviso is if you havnt the skill to mantain or repair the mechanics then a small repair may make it a write off but even a nonrunner can probably get you most of your money back.
 
I've watched the torqeedo video and it certainly is impressive although i assume also expensive. My only concern is the 12 mile range as you can't just tip a can of fuel into it. However, on a sunny day, you can motor indefinitely.
 
Just in case you didn't know, Mainbrayce in Alderney sell new Tohatsu 2-strokes like the one you have.
And you can always set the outboard in gear with the friction locked, and motor-row, you will save petrol and amaze watchers on shore with your great strength!
 
ghostlymoron said:
I've watched the torqeedo video and it certainly is impressive although i assume also expensive. My only concern is the 12 mile range as you can't just tip a can of fuel into it. However, on a sunny day, you can motor indefinitely.
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What is she....Ent? GP? Albacore? More modern?

You don't need an engine on a decent 14 foot sailing dinghy.

IMHO, of course, (as a Graduate sailor).
 
single said:
So how do you get home if the wind dies?
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Oars. It has to be oars. I was scorned repeatedly this summer, for drilling rowlock-sockets into the gunwales of a racing dinghy...the club-commodore was thoroughly embarrassed...

...but at such time as the determined purist racers are left utterly becalmed in the tide, I'll calmly start rowing and gradually get wherever I was going. No noise, no excessive weight, no maintenance, no winterising worries...no fuel cost, no probability of theft, and personally, I'll be fitter for the exercise. No contest.

Not that I disapprove of engines where they belong, and I'm a big fan of electric motors on boats, if they can prove themselves. :)
 
Well, of course, there's always Seagulls! Can be thrown in a locker any way up you please (as long as the fuel cap is screwed down and the carburettor is empty!), can be immersed and recovered perfectly well, basically indestructible. And they have propellors designed for moving sailing boats. :cool:

Actually, I'm with those who are saying stick with oars. On a 14' dinghy, the weight and storage of an outboard and fuel (don't forget the fuel!) is going to impact the sailing performance, I'd have thought. And even 2.5 HP is far more than needed to move the boat at a reasonable speed; we're looking at a lightweight, slippery hull (even if it's built like a Wayfarer, it's still light by outboard standards). I'd suggest getting a decent pair of oars, making a good, strong adjustable footrest if there isn't one already and make sure the rowlocks are correctly positioned for your height and length of arm. With good rowing technique, you'll move as fast as an outboard would take you, and if it's all set up properly, you can keep it up forever - you should be using your back and leg muscles, not your arms. If your arms ache after rowing any distance, then you're doing it wrong.

We're talking about a "get you home if the wind dies" option, so you won't be rowing in choppy water - if the water's choppy, then you'll probably sail faster than either motor or rowing will handle.
 
Umm...what's the fixation with Seagulls, gents? Or is it a joke I haven't understood? When they were still available new, I distinctly remember they were perpetually cursed for being wretchedly temperamental. That intense frustration seems to have been forgotten in retrospect, like all the wet weeks in summers of the past.

I had the use of a little Yamaha 2hp one summer 30 years ago...it was extremely handy and never failed. Are the 2-stroke outboards which are still available new overseas, just old stock, or is the UK subject to laws which the rest of the world ignores?
 
Channel Islands not in the EU, no problem, not old stock. No connection etc, Jerry
ps I have a Tohatsu 3.5, in fact I have 2, top motors.
 
dancrane said:
Are the 2-stroke outboards which are still available new overseas, just old stock, or is the UK subject to laws which the rest of the world ignores?
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It's an EU directive, so all the EU countries should have similar laws but places outside (including the Channel Islands) won't.

Pete
 
I'm looking for a good excuse to modify a strimmer and make a little inboard engine setup in a kayak or a dinghy. Why not try that?
 
jerrytug said:
Channel Islands not in the EU, no problem, not old stock...
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So, these lightweight little noise-boxes are effectively still being built and legally supplied to anyone who wants one enough to order from the Channel Islands? Not exactly prohibitive, is it? I wonder what was the point of banning their sale in mainland Europe...it sounds like anyone who really wants one, can have one.

Minn said:
You'll have to part my Seagull from my cold dead hands, Dan. It has never misbehaved, unlike my friends' more expensive Hondas, etc.
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Fair enough...I'm honestly glad you've found it good. I wonder why I had the impression that most owners maintained a deep loathing for theirs, and were forever wishing that Seagull models would catch up with the Japanese equivalents' reliability. Wasn't diminishing brand-loyalty ultimately the reason behind the company's demise?

I have friends with 2-stroke scooters, and while I recognise the passion they feel for their machines, their noise & acrid smoke in my vicinity is something I find...well, horrible...

...so while (in principle) I'm glad it's still possible to source 2-strokes, I'm not sorry that European law has largely strangled their availability.

I still say 'oars'.
 
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