when will these keels be ready to fall off

ghostlymoron said:
Why only a centaur?
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because there are lots of them about

Britains most popular yacht

they are tough sea boats

lots of old sails available

brilliant advice from people who know about keels and rudders

if it works with this Centaur then it will work on every Centaur

this is my legacy to sailing - it is very nearly charity work

D
 
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When I last visited the shed at Kippford Slipway on the Solway there were several Centaurs laid up and appeared to have been in the shed for several years. It might be worth an enquiry.
 
dylanwinter said:
because there are lots of them about

Britains most popular yacht

they are tough sea boats

lots of old sails available

brilliant advice from people who know about keels and rudders

if it works with this Centaur then it will work on every Centaur

this is my legacy to sailing - it is very nearly charity work

D
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It is not a legacy to sailing, Dylan.

It is simply one man's illogical fear of inboard engines.

Your condition is akin to someone who's first dat turned out to be a ladyboy & now refuses to ever date a girl again.

Sure you had a bad experience with the Slug's innards, but it was a 40-50 year old engine, what else could you expect? And isn't it sorted now with the new owner?

Simply buy a Centaur with a more recent engine installation, there will be plenty of them around. Then you get safe fuel, quiet engine, less vibration, loads of 12v power, warmth in the winter (could even install running hot water if you wanted), total reliability & better propulsion even in choppy conditions. It's a no-brainer to 99% of your readers & all other yotties, there are very few who prefer an o/b to an i/b.

BTW I have had an o/b & was delighted to get my i/b powered boat - even when it was just an old MD2b. I am even more delighted since I installed a 3ym30 as it is quieter, smoother, totally reliable, more powerful & seems to use less fuel. What on earth is there not to like?

Benefit of o/b = dusty bilges & no drag of prop when sailing. That doesn't even start to outweigh the disadvantages of flat batteries carried home for charging, petrol carried aboard & having to be decanted afloat, noise, prop coming out of water, hand starting, lifting engine in/out of water, mixing 2stroke, unreliable ignition systems, plug cleaning, etc.
 
Searush said:
It is not a legacy to sailing, Dylan.

It is simply one man's illogical fear of inboard engines.

Your condition is akin to someone who's first dat turned out to be a ladyboy & now refuses to ever date a girl again.

Sure you had a bad experience with the Slug's innards, but it was a 40-50 year old engine, what else could you expect? And isn't it sorted now with the new owner?

Simply buy a Centaur with a more recent engine installation, there will be plenty of them around. Then you get safe fuel, quiet engine, less vibration, loads of 12v power, warmth in the winter (could even install running hot water if you wanted), total reliability & better propulsion even in choppy conditions. It's a no-brainer to 99% of your readers & all other yotties, there are very few who prefer an o/b to an i/b.

BTW I have had an o/b & was delighted to get my i/b powered boat - even when it was just an old MD2b. I am even more delighted since I installed a 3ym30 as it is quieter, smoother, totally reliable, more powerful & seems to use less fuel. What on earth is there not to like?

Benefit of o/b = dusty bilges & no drag of prop when sailing. That doesn't even start to outweigh the disadvantages of flat batteries carried home for charging, petrol carried aboard & having to be decanted afloat, noise, prop coming out of water, hand starting, lifting engine in/out of water, mixing 2stroke, unreliable ignition systems, plug cleaning, etc.
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Whilst I'm totally in agreement with you over the advantages of inboard over outboard, your summary at the end of your post contains some inaccuracies.
1. No drag when sailing. Only if you're prepared to lift 42kg of outboard every time.
2. Prop coming out of water. This shouldn't happen if the OB is in a well
3. Unreliable ignition systems. Modern OBs (note the lack of apostrophe) don't suffer from ignition problems (allegedly)
4. Mixing 2 stroke. Dylan's (note correct use of apostrophe) planning to use a 4 stroke

However 'lifting engine in/out' would kill the project for me.

P.S. surely an outboard on the back (as on the photo of the Sabre) would be SO much simpler. Engine wells are surely only suitable for little boats.
 
Back to the origianl question of keels falling off. I don't have any experience of bilge keel /twin keel boat but I can see that there would be a lot of sideways strain on the keels whn sitting on the mud or worse when lifting and bouncing on the bottom.
It occured to me looking at the photo and asking when they will fall off that perhaps they should be cut off. replace the ballast with lead under floor. The cut a hole in the middle and fit a lifting centre board and case like a dinghy. This would give the capability of a really shallow draft. You would need to fit a swing up or lift rudder so that you could have a deep rudder for sailing. The original stumps for the bilge keels would be very effective for grounding the boat.
Well no more daft idea than cutting a hole for an outboard. olewill
 
aha

William_H said:
Back to the origianl question of keels falling off. I don't have any experience of bilge keel /twin keel boat but I can see that there would be a lot of sideways strain on the keels whn sitting on the mud or worse when lifting and bouncing on the bottom.
It occured to me looking at the photo and asking when they will fall off that perhaps they should be cut off. replace the ballast with lead under floor. The cut a hole in the middle and fit a lifting centre board and case like a dinghy. This would give the capability of a really shallow draft. You would need to fit a swing up or lift rudder so that you could have a deep rudder for sailing. The original stumps for the bilge keels would be very effective for grounding the boat.
Well no more daft idea than cutting a hole for an outboard. olewill
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you have just described Katie L

and she is perfect....

but too small for four and a dog

just to pick up a few previous points

the outboard will be permanently down - apart from when I leave the boat so I will not be lifting 40 kg in and out of the water all day

it has a wonderful charging coil and leds do not need much power so I am no longer worried about enough elelctricity - I was before I got the 6hp sailpro but this summer has taught me that a combination of charhing coil and occasionalshore power is plenty

I have two car batteries on board - one is old and big the other is small and new

the outboard prop will not come out of the water in rough weather - the prop is as deep in the water as an inboard

modern four strokes are economical and reliable - no lads, they really are very different from the old seagulls

Their life expectancy is much, much longer than any of you give them credit for

and... irony does not work in forums so I really do not think this plan is my legacy to sailing

all it is, is a way of getting a boat big enough to get four adults and a labrador to the Orkney and maybe Shetland.

if the Welly Centaur is impossible to sell afterwards then it will not owe me a penny

D
 
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Regarding resale value. On plan A, the modified centaur will be worth very little after your year's cruising although the nearly new OB will be worth say £1500. Plan B, buy suitable boat with decent engine sell after 12months, no depreciation you've only lost the cost of financing the purchase. Much better but not such a good story!
 
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Borrow money to go sailing

ghostlymoron said:
Regarding resale value. On plan A, the modified centaur will be worth very little after your year's cruising although the nearly new OB will be worth say £1500. Plan B, buy suitable boat with decent engine sell after 12months, no drepreceation you've only lost the cost of financing the purchase. Much better but not such a good story!
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one of the things my dad told me was to never sail on borrowed money

over the years his wisdom has been very valuable to me


as plan A - the Welly Centaur option - stands I could lose £1500 plus a sheet of ply, a plastic pipe and some decent hardwood used for the transom


the rest is labour - three blokes have already offered a day each

so that is a good reason for tracking down the Centaur I am after in the Solent

I stand to lose £500 on the engine - although I do not need the engine yet as I can do some harbour trials using my existing 6hp

the other option is to buy a good voyage ready well found boat

I could buy one tommorrow if money were no obstacle

If I buy a decent Centaur with a top spec engine - £10,000

I might sell it for what I got for it

but on the other hand it is going to get a summer and two winters of some pretty hard wear.

I could easily lose £1500 on it

So getting my money back is a long shot unless I am very careful and avoid all scottish harbour walls

this is ;possible but would be an utter waste of a journey around Scotland

I have skin in the game both ways

but I have less money tied up in the Welly Centaur

my risk is just over £1500 - which I currently have in the bank

although I am hoping that I can find one for much less than £1500


I do not have the remaining £8,500 to buy the nice boat.

I would have to borrow it

as we all know money has never been a universal measuring stick


You can tell that by reading these forums or walking around a marina anywhere in the UK

for me the thick end of 10K is a lot of money

For other people it is a new suit of sails

or a car upgrade

- what to one man is £8,500 of extra debt would have another man's father pinwheeling in his urn

back to Chuck Pain and his treatise on perceived value


Dylan
 
dylanwinter said:
I heartily concur

so, does that mean you are offering to baby sit Maggie for the summer

Brilliant

D
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Assuming Maggie is the dog you could always leave a crew member to look after at home, that would reduce space by one crew & a dog
if maggie is a young child then then leave her at home with a child minder would mean 2 crew & the dog dumped
no need for the centaur
Now that is lateral thinking!!!
Problem solved - no fear of water sloshing up your well hole then!!!:cool:

All in jest of course ( except the bit about shooting the dog!!!)
 
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