will this actually work

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

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Buckingham
www.keepturningleft.co.uk
one of the things about the Minstrel is that not only does it have an outboard in a well but it is designed to work with a short shaft engine that does not actually stick out the bottom of the boat.

This miracle of design is achieved by a sort of prop sized tunnel thing that stretches right back to where the centre plate drops out of the bottom of the hull

the idea is that this tunnel thingy not only helps to keep the hull rigid but means that the engine prop is running in a sort of duct

I have never seen this done before and had no idea the boat had such a thing until I looked under the boat

I understand that most owners find that a long shft sticking clear of the bottom the boat into clear flow works better but is slightly more vulnerable. That also allows you to vector the engine. Vectoring a short shaft in the tunnel will achieve very little

I put a defunct two hp honda into position to see what it looks like

I assume it will just agitate a load of water and kick it white out the back of the boat

but I might be wrong

I can not wait to find out

will this ever work?

I hope I have explained what it looks like

I did make a short film

it is on a page on a website

no link

Dylan
 
I expect the motor boat boys will know better than us.

I think 'tunnels' is the term used for power boats that have this. The boats can be used in much less depth than normal and are protected when taking the ground.

I would think that this option would work very well for your type of sailing with, perhaps, a small loss in performance.
 
cripes

LONG_KEELER said:
I expect the motor boat boys will know better than us.

I think 'tunnels' is the term used for power boats that have this. The boats can be used in much less depth than normal and are protected when taking the ground.

I would think that this option would work very well for your type of sailing with, perhaps, a small loss in performance.
Click to expand...

you mean I have bought a Mobo

I shall have to start muttering dark things about myself as I go past
 
that is the one

jerram said:
Hi Dylan have a look at the photo link to a Watson life boat prop tunnel



http://www.nelsonsboats.co.uk/boatphotos/88/E653B6BD-2C2B-4B79-BFA4E8837F624273.jpg
Click to expand...



very much like that

thanks for posting the image

only just the one tunnel on Katie

maybe it will work

the good thing is that it keeps the prop out of the way of the lobster pots that have done for me three times so far this journey

in the film you can see that jonly the very tip of the outboard skeg sticks out beneath the bottom of the boat

getting more optimistic now

Dylan
 
Last edited:
dylanwinter said:
one of the things about the Minstrel is that not only does it have an outboard in a well but it is designed to work with a short shaft engine that does not actually stick out the bottom of the boat.

This miracle of design is achieved by a sort of prop sized tunnel thing that stretches right back to where the centre plate drops out of the bottom of the hull

the idea is that this tunnel thingy not only helps to keep the hull rigid but means that the engine prop is running in a sort of duct

I have never seen this done before and had no idea the boat had such a thing until I looked under the boat

I understand that most owners find that a long shft sticking clear of the bottom the boat into clear flow works better but is slightly more vulnerable. That also allows you to vector the engine. Vectoring a short shaft in the tunnel will achieve very little

I put a defunct two hp honda into position to see what it looks like

I assume it will just agitate a load of water and kick it white out the back of the boat

but I might be wrong

I can not wait to find out

will this ever work?

I hope I have explained what it looks like

I did make a short film

it is on a page on a website

no link

Dylan
Click to expand...




One ton per HP is the going rate i think i read :)
 
minstrel-stern.jpg


is it a bit like this one?
 
You said it yourself, the stern looks like a lifeboat. All the RNLI's beach-launched boats have the props in tunnels, I believe (except the newest one which I think is jet-drive) and if it's good enough for them...

Pete
 
provided the water squirted OUT by the prop does not exceed the ability of the tunnel to coax water IN, then all should be well (geddit ?).


PS. So really you have bought a mobo catamaran ?
 
I fear

sarabande said:
provided the water squirted OUT by the prop does not exceed the ability of the tunnel to coax water IN, then all should be well (geddit ?).


PS. So really you have bought a mobo catamaran ?
Click to expand...

I fear I have bought just that

some indication of the success, or otherwise, of the tunnel is that I beleive that most Minstrel and Liberty owners use long shaft outboards

and if tunnels were all that brilliant then you would see more of them

however, we shall see

I do know that the previous owner tried his 2hp mariner on it and said it was fine - but the engine has no reverse

the honda can turn around in the tunnel so I may have reverse

Dylan
 
this was the man

Twister_Ken said:
Was that the Gunn behind Gunn and Moore cricket bats?

In which case, rather than Katie Hell, you could call her 'Willow'.
Click to expand...


I admire the eccentricity of the name choice it does seem a bit weird


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gunn

I do know that I would get really bored with sansering the same question asgain and again

all posed by Cricket fans

Cricket enthusiasts are nice enough blokes of course - nothing against them at all

quiet, unnasuming sorts in my experience.

If it is to be named after a man then I think it should be a sailor rather than a circketer

How about "Ted Heath"

- he was always one of my heros

I can remember at the time thinking - he is a sailor - must be a nice bloke

Dylan
 
can't

SimonA said:
Nice looking boat Dylan but get it in the water where it belongs.
Click to expand...

I have got the Humber and the Tyne to do

7 knot tides

- so I would rather be in a boat I know and one that can take a few knocks and scrapes as I intend taking it a fair way inland along some of those big freight routes

there will be a lot of bottom bashing and lock crashing

The gunter rig has not been used for 15 years so it needs a bit of fettling

I have no four stroke outboard - part from the tiny Honda

no cooker

no reliable electrical supply

no sink

no lights

the boat as been primarily used for day sailing in and around Poole Harbour

So I have no idea when the boats will be swapping over

not that soon is all I can say

The slug is for sale..... £1500 and it is yours ... which should just about cover the costs of a new outboard and an origo

so I shall carry on sailing the slug until some-one buys it

no pressure

Dylan
 
dylanwinter said:
The slug is for sale..... £1500 and it is yours ... which should just about cover the costs of a new outboard and an origo
Click to expand...

Bargain! I don't think my mrs would be too happy if I bought the slug, I already have 2 boats - sailing dinghy at home and old river mobo in marina. I enjoyed the day out on the slug though.
 
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