Selecting an outboard - blasphemy, I know

[CamWrenRoo]

Alright, so...
My husband and I just purchased our first boat - a Tartan 34c Yawl. It's a bit rough, but has incredible potential. The inboard diesel is theoretically beyond repair, and the visible hardware for the prop shaft is quite corroded. It does not seem like a good idea to mess with installing a new outboard while it is in the water. The inboard has been removed.
We need to travel about 140 miles north on the ICW to get it to the marina we plan to dry dock at. With a bit of rigging adjustment, it will be sailable, but the ICW does not seem like the place to try out engineless sailing for the first time.
So - we are planning on building a temporary wood rack off the back of the transom, and installing a long shaft outboard in order to safely navigate the ICW.
How big of an outboard do we need? I'm thinking a 15 hp is the minimum...
What do you folks think?
And, does anyone have prior experience or ideas on how the heck to make a rack to mount it on? The transom is about 4.5 ft above the waterline, so even a long shaft will not reach without some serious jury rigging... We need to install it without drilling any holes into the hull... Worse case scenario - If we did need to drill holes, we could always patch them later, right?
Thank you!!!

[Shrew]

They make a short shaft at 15". There is a 20" and a 25" Long Shaft. With 4.5 (54") Ft. from transom to water, how are you going to start, shift [Fwd, N, Rev] and throttle?

Are you also going to install a remote shift/throttle setup as well?

I don't see how this is going to work without drilling holes.

[CamWrenRoo]

Thank you for your response! We are thinking about reaching over the side to control the throttle, while using the boat's rudder to steer... Not ideal, but I figure we should be able to reach from the aft end of the cockpit. I have not seen many used 25 inch shaft outboards out there.

[nautical62]

When the Inboard cratered on my 26 Centaur in the Bahamas, I sailed it back to the U.S. and bought a 3.5 HP outboard and bracket to motor it up the Okechobee water way. Even at 2/3 throttle that moved me along a 3.5 knots but that did not include fighting any notable wind or current.

Eventually I bought a 10 hp outboard which I used for several years, reaching off the back to control it. I used that on the ICW and Bahamas, usually at 2/3 throttle. That boat has about half the displacement as yours. I added an extension to the gear shift, for easier access.

Obviously an extra long shaft would be ideal for your Tartan, but I would also consider your long term plans. If you wish to use a 15 hp on your dinghy later, you may wish to get a short shaft instead, knowing there's little wave action in the ICW.

A couple thoughts on mounting: Mount a bracket, later remove it but keep the holes filled with through bolts and washers. That way you can always throw the bracket back on if your inboard ever fails. On one boat, I lashed a board across the folded swim ladder that could hold an outboard if need be.

Currents can swift under some ICW bridges so pay attending to how the tides are affecting currents and plan accordingly.

If I were on a boat of that displacement needing to move it up the ICW, I'd probably go with a 15 HP. short shaft for later dingy use Many don't weigh much more than a 10HP. (again paying attention to current, wind and wave action)

[a64pilot]

I think I would tie my dinghy alongside before I'd try to build some sort of scaffold to hold an OB.
Or buy an older skiff with the idea of selling it once you get there, and I'd only plan on 25 or so miles a day.
If you weren't 100% in protected waters, I'd say you were nuts.
You do have Sea Tow don't you?

[CamWrenRoo]

Thank you for all of the great ideas! I think we will go ahead with the long shaft 15 hp, with the intention of selling it after we complete our trip to our marina.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I think I would tie my dinghy alongside before I'd try to build some sort of scaffold to hold an OB.

I'd agree with this. I don't want to be drilling a bunch of holes in my transom for a temporary fix, and I don't think there is ANY way that you are going to be able to make a solid enough mount without drilling holes.

[Ungvar]

I like A64's idea. Hip tow with an inflatable. In fair conditions you should be able to steer with the dinghy alone. Don't leave the dock if it is or will be windy (unless you're confident you can sail).

130 miles is a long way for this kind of travel, but the bracket idea just sounds kind of messy to me.

Sent from my XP7700 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[guyrj33]

I think the hip tow with your dinghy tied alongside is the best idea.
you could buy a nice inflatable with a 10hp engine and plan on keeping it for cruising. Or you could buy something like a 13' Whaler with a 25-35hp engine and sell it when you've finished your trip.
As an experiment I was able to move our Pearson 10M 12,500 lbs at a couple of knots using our 8' Zodiac with 2.5hp motor tied alongside.

[SVTwilight]

Congratulations on the new boat. Love those old Tartans! I think I might opt to have it hauled there. If it is rough as your say, are you certain it is seaworthy? Do the nav instruments work? Do the bilge pumps work? What happens when the outboard fails, and they almost always do, at the worst possible moment? The trip would likely take 4 or more days during which time a LOT could happen. Enjoy the process of restoring her!

[Scaramanga F25]

As you will be needing a dinghy anyway, I would aft quarter hip push (hip tow) with an inflatable and a 10-15 hp short shaft outboard.
Steer from yacht one person in dink when throttle or shift needs adjustment.

[seasick]

Wait for a system that promises two or more days of southerlies and sail it north. Side tying a skiff alongside makes way more sense than cobbling together an outboard bracket. Look for another vessel heading the same direction and offer to pay for their fuel if they tow you.

[Southern Star]

IMO, installing a folding bracket for a 15 HP outboard on the transom would be vastly preferable to attempting the ICW using an inflatable to push/pull it through. Firstly, the latter option will be far more taxing as it will require two people at all times - one on the inflatable, another on the Tartan. This is to say nothing, of course, of the increased difficulty in docking in close quarters, or even handling the inevitable wakes from large power boats.

While a 15 HP short shaft would have an increased tendancy to cavitate in rough conditions over a long-shaft, you would obviously be attempting to avoid rough conditions and a 15 HP short-shaft would be ideal for later use on a 10 foot RIB. You could leave the bracket on the boat after repowering and in a pinch, it would enable you to use what will become the engine for your RIB as a back-up should the diesel fail.

Brad

[Schrewsburyduo]

Either of the approaches would work - ideally build a transom platform and buy an older sail master (evinrude or johnson) 15 hp 25 inch shaft. You could pick one for about $800-$1000 and then use another $200 -$300 for a tuneup including carburetor rebuild.

Alternatively, the dinghy tow would also work. I wouldn't use anything below 15 hp however which would then dictate the size dinghy you would need to buy....

Also I second what was said about waiting for a southerly wind for 2 days and you can do it - just watch your tides because some of the currents can be really bad... I was once stuck at Rock Hall for 12 hours beating into 30 knot north wind, 6 foot steep waves and a 3.5 knot current from the north. You don't want to be stuck in such a circumstance without the ability to punch using the motor... If you are timing it well you can either sail all the way or motor slowly and use the incoming tide currents to push you one tide at a time. It sure would beat hauling it. If you need to do it timing the weather I would then wait until end of May when the weather there gets settled.

[NorthCoastJoe]

A folding bracket is only 4 holes for the bolts, so that should not be a big deal to cover up later.
To extend the shift lever I would use a piece of aluminium box tubing from Home Depot held on with 2 bolts with lock nuts, drilled through the shift bracket.
For the throttle a piece of PVC pipe and one pin drilled through the pipe and throttle handle to hold it in place, any slop in the fitting can be taken up using wooden shim shingles. You can buy it all at Home Depot, not counting the folding bracket.
I have one built like that I use on my MacGregor 25.
If it works well you might not go back to the inboard.