outboard motors

[tel1]

some of you may of read my previous post, but everyone is talking about the same thing. engines!

im thinking of buying a snapdragon 26, its cheap but has no inboard engine. can people please give me there experiances on inboards and outboards. it may sound naive but im buying a sailboat to sail, i will never be in a rush to go anywhere as i am a person of leisure. please bear that in mind when leaveing me your experiances!

thanks

 

[DavidTav]

I purchased my boat about 3 years ago and the diesel inboard turned out to be no good. My boat is smaller than the one you are considering and the new diesel engine fitted with all the bits that are required cost over £5k - an outboard is cheaper however my friend with a Jaguar 25 has great difficulty with the chop we have in the Thames estuary and would love an inboard. He has an almost new long shaft 10hp outboard. It is a buyers market out there and if I bought another boat I would make sure it has a very good inboard engine.

 

[Otter]

Outboards great:
1. Cheap to replace
2. Very reliable and easy to fix yourself
3. Can be started by hand
4. Cheap to service
5. Take off the boat for major work
6. Light weight
7. Can be used to steer the boat
8. Cheap to buy second hand from a reputable dealer (there are so many 'ifs' with a 'rebuilt' diesel)
9. Tolerant of short runs in and out of a marina


Inboards great:
1. More economical
2. Fuel is a lot less volatile
3. Last longer if well maintained
4. More grunt at low revs
5. Propwash over rudder aids manoeuvring
6. Particularly well suited to long runs
7. More grunt through bad weather


Neither is better, just depends which items from the list you most want.

 

[freebird1]

Even with a 'sailing' boat, don't under estimate how much motoring you may end up doing. I sail a lot, but still clock up the hours getting in and out of harbours, marinas, berthing, too little wind, tide gates etc.

 

[graham]

most of the plusses and minuses have been covered very well by Simon When the tax concession goes from marine diesel outboards will be more attractive,

I have an 8 hp 4 stroke ob on my Coronado 25 ,it has lifted out of the water now and then in rough seas but never a real problem.It does make manouvering in marinas more difficult you dont have the same power at slow speed or the prop wash over the rudder.

I now have a massive stowage locker where the inboard was and never get any diesel smell in the boat,

A boat without an inboard will be more difficult to sell,largely due to peoples prejudices,I prefer having an outboard on average,When its lifted theres zero drag from the prop etc.If it needs maintenance you can take it home or to a mechanic.

 

[roly_voya]

I agree on a 26ft an inboard is not always ideal. The only real downside I found to running on a outboard was fuel cost/storage but this has largley been taken care of by more efficien 4st, I was on thirsty 2st. Lack of electrical power. Would be tempted to carry a small suitcase genset as well to charge batteries. Lack of reverse/breakes is an issue in marinas with transom mounted engines. This is not such a problem with a well mount which is probably ideal if you have the space. You do definatly see better performance under sail not only because you are not dragging the prop around but also the rudder cutout causes significant drag. It deffinatly seams that the spaller the boat the more you notice paracitic drag from the prop.
The only proviso I would have is to aviod any boat with a wide flat transome section, you need sweet traditional lines aft otherwise you will have probelms with the prop lifting and loosing grip in a chop. Never know it to be a broblem on the likes of folkboats, drascombs etc. The otherpiont is to ensure the price is right. Inboards have such a dominance that anything without one is a dayboat not a cruiser and priced accordingly. I think this is unfair to some exellent little boats but could be to your advantage when buying.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Which is best, oranges or apples?

Many years ago I bought an old Vivacity (20 feet) and the first thing that I bought for her was a 4.8hp long shaft Tomoz outboard. It was Ok as far as power goes and it was so economical that it only needed a whiff of petrol. No problems there.

The real problem was the hassle of lifting it from the dinghy onto the bracket and back again. Timing had to be precise and I had to be ever watchful of the wake that some idiots would create with their runabouts. Propeller lifting out was also a problem in choppy seas, as was the smell of the fuel.

After two seasons I installed a single cylinder marine diesel - totally different boat! Just as economical (6 hours trolling on one gallon), it also kept my batteries charged, no lifting, added weight low down in the boat, no problems with the prop or with wires getting wet. No problems with spanners going for a swim. It could punch through waves when necessary but handling was such that the boat could dance its way through crowded moorings.

When I sold the boat, the buyer wanted to 'save' some money and asked me to remove the inboard; he chose to go the outboard way. The following year - when someone 'borrowed the O/B and forgot to bring it back' - he claimed from the insurance and bought himself an inboard...

I don't know how young you are; remember that it is not just the weight of the O/B but also the manhandling of an unwieldy object in conditions that are not always very stable.

This is my experience; this is what worked for me. Your call.

 

[moody1]

Simon just about covered it.
There are a couple of points though : Do not do as most and buy a standard long-shaft outboard. They are usually all revs, not thrust which is what you are looking for. There are plenty of outboards termed Sailpower / Saildrives such as the Mercury 7.5 + 9.9 outboards with sail based gearbox ratios fitted. They drive the boat much better and are more economical than the standard version. (As we found out there is no need to go the 4st route, look through second-hand adverts or dealers selling of serviced 2nd hand 2st's).
But the biggest downside is the weight of them. So make sure the engine is securely locked to the mount.

I find it amusing that so many are pushing you to get your cheque book out and fit an inboard. We survived with an outboard on various boats and actually found that with some small additions were able to use the outboard to steer / thrust the boat in direction we wanted, while tiller fixed amidships. That included on transom hung bracket.

 

[jenku]

[ QUOTE ]

The only proviso I would have is to aviod any boat with a wide flat transome section, you need sweet traditional lines aft otherwise you will have probelms with the prop lifting and loosing grip in a chop. Never know it to be a broblem on the likes of folkboats, drascombs etc. The otherpiont is to ensure the price is right. Inboards have such a dominance that anything without one is a dayboat not a cruiser and priced accordingly. I think this is unfair to some exellent little boats but could be to your advantage when buying.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure if I can agree here. I had a folkboat once which did have problems with the prop coming out of the water in choppy conditions. I believe the problem has more to do with the boat's lenght than the shape of the transom. Especially long narrow designs with much overhang (and these are traditional designs...) do suffer from this problem. Short bulky tubs don't suffer from it as much.

 

[William_H]

My vote is for outboard. My boat is smaller at 21ft and a trailer sailer though I keep it on a mooring. It goes very well with O/b. I have a bracket where I can adjust the height of the o/b while running by about 10 inches so even in lumpy sea it will stay in the water. (it is a long shaft.)
But reality is I havn't had the o/b on the boat for several years. I can sail anywhere given a wise assessment of the winds. There is great joy in not having the weight smell et of the o/b. Other times I have kept it inside where an i/b might fit and hoist it out for use when wind drops.
Granted tides where you are might dictate more use of motor so it all depends..... olewill

 

[Stemar]

"its cheap but has no inboard engine"

Cause and effect, to my mind. Snapdragons have many qualities, but sailing to windward isn't one of them. You will need that engine quite a bit.

I've used my dinghy outboard on my Snappy 24, and it pushes it along fine in smooth water, but is damn all good when things start to get unpleasant.

A 26 is quite a lot bigger and heavier, so you'll want a fair bit of grunt, a long shaft and the right prop. The OB with the boat may provide all this. In that case, I wouldn't let the lack of an inboard diesel scare you off if everything else is right, but IMHO, on that boat an OB will always be second best by some way.

 

[Leighb]

If you can get a Seagull Kingfisher, the last model they made, it is a first rate pushing engine for a sailing boat. Big slow revving prop and plenty of grunt to cope with headwinds. It has forward neutral and reverse unlike earlier Seagulls.

I had one on my one design for 10 years or so until some local toe-rag stole it /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

It pushed her along at a fair clip, and towing 2 others hardly seemed to make any difference.