Question about previous engine posts

[Jo]

I was watching the discussion of replacing an engine and gawking at the prices for these. Would it be possible to use an outboard and only have to install an outboard mounting bracket on the transom? I am just curious if this has been done or attempted and what tradeoffs there would be. Outboards are cheap is why I even ask.

Jo



Jo@e.net

[Larry DeMers]

Depends on the size of your boat of course. But an outboard is not a very good auxilliary to a sailboat usually, because the shaft/prop comes out of the water in larger waves, causing cavitation of the prop. Outboards require gas which is explosive, and hard to store safely. Outboards are hard to turn from the cockpit without some kind of remote steering lashup. etc.etc.
Outboards belong -in general, on a bassboat, not a sail-boat.
Now there are sizes of sailboats where the outboard is the only game in town, short of canoe paddles, so there would be no alternative there. But where there is an alternative, outboards are clearly not the best choice.

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30

I was watching the discussion of replacing an engine and gawking at the prices for these. Would it be possible to use an outboard and only have to install an outboard mounting bracket on the transom? I am just curious if this has been done or attempted and what tradeoffs there would be. Outboards are cheap is why I even ask.

Jo

demers@sgi.com

[Neil Gordon]

>>Now there are sizes of sailboats where the outboard is the only game in town, short of canoe paddles, ...<<

FYI, in Massachusetts, a paddle is a legally required piece of equipment for recreational vessels. The oars on the dinghy keep me in compliance, but I'd sure hate having to row LIQUIDITY!!!

Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com