Can I exclusively motor a sailboat

[gulfbreez]

Hello,

I have owned about 5 powerboats over the years,

I now have a passion of semi living aboard a sailboat yacht , not all year round but for days at a time. I dont know how to sail, but willing to learn abit.

My question is ,Can I exclusively motor a sailboat until I learn how to sail ? Where I will keep the boat is just near an inlet in West wales UK, I dont plan to stray far a field, just cruise a few miles offshore, drop anchor here and there and so forth, be out at sea for a couple of days then return to the harbor.

The boat is a 26 ft Kingfisher, with a 10 hp Bukh diesel.

[a64pilot]

They motor just fine, and many do so for days at a time.
Wind doesn't always blow, and sometimes you want to move when there is no wind.
I believe most sailboats are faster when there is a good wind than motoring and often more comfortable under sail than when motoring, to say nothing of the fuel burned and to me it's the noise of the motor I dislike.
From a motoring perspective, they are much more maneuverable than a single screw power boat, but also have a lot more inertia, so it is a little different docking, but not much really.
Your power boat experience will be valuable

Once you start sailing, you will be enamored with it I believe, and it's not all that hard really. A real art of course to eek every bit of performance of course, but to just sail around and have fun, you'll be doing that the first day

[iancoombe]

Yes you can

[iancoombe]

But I believe after a while you won't want to

[skipmac]

Hi Gulgbreez and welcome to the forum,

As others have said, yes you can motor a sailboat as much or as little as you like. However a sailboat without sails can get a bit uncomfortable if the waves pick up. Waves beam on to the boat will generally cause a sailboat to roll back and forth but with sails up that motion is significantly reduced.

If you already have a boating background then the sailing part, at least to learn the basics, is quite simple. You could learn the basics of how to raise, lower and adjust the sails in a day.

[rwidman]

As others have posted, yes you can, up to the amount of fuel the boat carries.

[Reefmagnet]

Be aware that a sailboat without it's sails up in any sort of sea will roll like a pig in mud. Pretty sure you'll be strongly considering moving your learning to sail milestones a lot closer to the present at that time.

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[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, gulfbreez.

[gulfbreez]

Thanks for all your replies, yes I do intend to learn the basics at first

by the way what is the fuel consumption of a 10 hp Bukh at normal cruise speed

[vjm]

Absolutely. Lord knows enough people use their engines for a large percentage of their onboard time. Do keep in mind your tankage restrictions when planning a passage. Most sailboats don't have the capacity that power boats do.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Or you could get a Gulfstar and exclusively sail a motorboat...

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by gulfbreez

Thanks for all your replies, yes I do intend to learn the basics at first

by the way what is the fuel consumption of a 10 hp Bukh at normal cruise speed

They don't burn much per hour (although thirsty by some standards), but you don't travel as far either. It will also vary based on cleanliness of the prop, hull and a few other factors. You'd probably be looking around 8 to 12 nm per gallon at a rough estimate.

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[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by gulfbreez

Thanks for all your replies, yes I do intend to learn the basics at first

by the way what is the fuel consumption of a 10 hp Bukh at normal cruise speed

I'd throw a guess out there of a liter per hour? You do a consumption check is the only way to know, fill it up, keep track of hours on motor till close to empty, fill it up

[gulfbreez]

Thanks for your help,



The boat im interested in buying like I said is a 1970s 26 Kingfisher , I have already seen the boat, its in Good condition,sound hull,just needs some cosmetic work here and there, tons of extras, 10Hp Bukh engine, runs good. Also Comes with back outboard bracket ,and a tender. its 1,500 British pounds or about $2,000

The Guy wants to sell because he is tired of paying for high slip fees and doesn't use it as much as he thought he would, however I have a place to keep it moored elsewhere for 150.00 per year,

Is this boat a good deal? Any advise?

[valhalla360]

On the US east coast, I would say upwards of 90% of all miles done by sailboats are under power.

Until you get into offshore passages, it makes more sense to motor most of the time if you are actually traveling from one destination to another (day sails are a different matter).