Outboard motor not strong enough on Lake Windermere

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jag22

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My son and I had a very scary moment yesterday whilst out on Winderemere. We got trapped out on the lake in very strong winds gusting heavily. We were motoring back with no sails up but the engine wasn't strong enough to cope and we were unable to maintain course. In the end we were blown off course, hit another boat which was on it's swinging morning, but managed to cleat onto it, before gathering ourselves and going full power over the last 100 m to the marina entrance which is then much more sheltered. All in all it put me off a bit.

We have a 6HP outboard, does this seem to be strong enough for the lake, or should we have not been out in the first place? What does everyone think?
 
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6hp should be ok. Is the prop clean and un-dinged, and deep enough to provide continuous thrust as the boat pitches ?

Did you try "tacking" up wind under power, as that might reduce the impact of the waves which will otherwise slow down a light boat.

All part of the boaty learning curve, but you got there in the end, so your decisions and actions worked. Well done.
 
mmm, could have a point there. It might not have been because the bracket kept 'jumping' up almost out of the water when I was changing into reverse gear and trying to avoid colliding with stationary boats.
 
sarabande said:
6hp should be ok. Is the prop clean and un-dinged, and deep enough to provide continuous thrust as the boat pitches ?

Did you try "tacking" up wind under power, as that might reduce the impact of the waves which will otherwise slow down a light boat.

All part of the boaty learning curve, but you got there in the end, so your decisions and actions worked. Well done.
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Thanks, yes it is part of the learning curve and each time I take her out I seem to learn something new. We got back in the end but it was really stressful. I got off and said never again, but today I am putting it into perspective
 
jag22 said:
It's a 6hp on a Jaguar 22. Just didn't feel strong enough.
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Following on from post #3 above, one thought - did you have the drop keel down? The reason I ask is that the one time I have problems with my Medina was when I was motoring with the centreplate up and it just did just as you describe. Dropped the plate and all was well.
 
sarabande said:
Did you try "tacking" up wind under power, as that might reduce the impact of the waves which will otherwise slow down a light boat.
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I agree, motoring head to wind is often not the easiest or quickest way to get to windward. 'Motorsailing' at about 30/40 degrees off the wind is frequently the easier option and usually gives a better degree of directional control.
 
davewarburton said:
Following on from post #3 above, one thought - did you have the drop keel down? The reason I ask is that the one time I have problems with my Medina was when I was motoring with the centreplate up and it just did just as you describe. Dropped the plate and all was well.
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I had the keel up. Perhaps this was why we had no directional control.
 
I've had up to 19ft yachts on the lake with up to 5hp motors. I've never had to use full power. The point about the keel being properly down is a good one. (I see your post about having it up now. No need to ever pull your keel up on the lake)

I take it you are steering with the rudder and the motor is locked-off. Sometimes when it's gusty steering using the motor's tiller is more effective as you are thrusting against the yaw the wind induces. The rudder is merely trying to change the boat's direction using the boat's speed.
When you have a strong headwind the actual boat speed in the water may be too slow to give good steerage. There's no current on Windermere so hitting chop and motoring against the wind you may only be doing a couple of knots.
The other problem is that the wind swings so violently when it's gusty, so you are aware of making constant steering corrections. This makes steering with the motor much more immediate than trying to catch the wind shifts using the rudder.

Another thing may be that the prop hub has failed and the rubber cush drive is slipping. You wouldn't notive in benign conditions, but when you need more ooomph it's not delivered, although the engine revs will rise.
 
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6hp is more than enough power. The difficulty you have with an outboard is making use of the power to move the boat. The prop has to be deep enough in the water at all times, so a long shaft is normal as that keeps the power head high enough to reach. The props normally fitted are designed for higher speed operation so do not produce thrust at low speeds. Most manufacturers offer a finer pitch "sailing" prop. Hanging the engine on a bracket means it is not in the best position to stay in the water if the boat is pitching. Swing down brackets are better because they keep the engine closest to the transom. They should be mounted so that the top of the board is 20" above the static waterline (for a long shaft motor) and be secure when down. Small, lightweight, flat bottomed boats get blown around a lot, made worse if the keel is up and there is windage such as dodgers, hoods, sail covers etc.

So, you need to look at how you can minimise the negative aspects of your setup. Some things are easy to deal with like dropping the keel a bit. Check the installation of the outboard and the prop as getting these right makes the biggest difference.

You have to recognise, however that there is a limit to the sort of conditions the boat can cope with, so avoiding those is a good idea and understanding the limitations helps you deal with them.
 
davewarburton said:
Following on from post #3 above, one thought - did you have the drop keel down? The reason I ask is that the one time I have problems with my Medina was when I was motoring with the centreplate up and it just did just as you describe. Dropped the plate and all was well.
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This sounds like a really good candidate for the reason... No centreboard means you'd be doing the equivalent of trying to balance a pencil upright on the end of your finger! :-)

Or otherwise, maybe your engine isn't producing the power/thrust that it ought to be...
 
+1 for needing some keel down when under power!
Makes all maneuvering so much less stressful.
+1 for ensuring outboard is deep enough to get a grip - and locked down so reverse works.
+1 for rethinking your reaction to abandon sailing. Anyone who hasn't had similarly stressful moments with their yacht is either lying or has never untied from the pontoons!
Persevere and you will have some wonderful days sailing.

My trailer yacht is a shocker to maneuver under motor with no centre board down as so there is so much windage with mast and superstructure.
Do you have a high thrust propeller for your outboard? Its like engaging low gear in a car really. Not more speed but more thrust into waves and wind and also in reverse as they are designed to minimise aeration due to the exhaust gases.
cheers



.
 
I agree with all of the above comments. Personally when coming up to my pontoon on the river Thames in up to 5 kn of current, I raise the rudder and raise the centreboard. This reduces drag dramatically.

A high thrust propeller for your engine would likely be a very good investment for your displacement hull boat. From my Yamaha it costs under £100. This type of propeller gives much less slip in the conditions that you have described. I would much prefer to have a 6HP engine with the correct propeller, than an 8 or even 9.9 HP engine with the wrong propeller. You would not choose to drive your car in the wrong gear!
 
He had his keel up.
Let's wait until he has had another go in a blow with the keel down. No point in spending £100 on a prop when it isn't the significant cause of the problem.
 
In my boat if I have the keel right up its very hard to steer a straight line unless going downwind. Went into Bembridge with a couple of feet left so raised the keel and had to steer at 45 degress to the direction I wanted to go due to the crosswind and it was really hard to maintain a course as the wind was not steady.

As soon as you go off to one side with no keel you will sideslip horribly as you try and correct.
 
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