Swapping outboard motor, good idea/bad idea

[MIRELOS]

is this the beginning of a romance?

[Chuck Hawley]

Sorry for the thread drift, but I agree with the previous forum member who mentioned the high-thrust version of the engine. At the very least, she should consider the propeller with the least pitch that can be fitted to the engine. The other possibility is a four bladed prop in lieu of the more common OEM three blade prop.

I realize that she owns the engine she owns, but a different prop could make this combination more optimized for her use.

Chuck

PS: And bless you for helping her. That's what makes the world go 'round.

[SV_Harbinger]

Mirelos ... No... No it's not, just me being me and helping someone out. Though I did get a good chuckle and almost spilt my coffee..

[SV_Harbinger]

Chuck, I'm not sure exactly what engine it is but from looking at it couldn't tell you much beside Tohatsu 9.8 long shaft, it does have a 4 blade on there though, but I'm not sure if Tohatsu; 1 makes a high thrust version or 2 if they did what special markings they would have, if any.

[NorthCoastJoe]

Try going to the local High School, I am sure you could get a few guys there to help. Bring a pizza, most guys would help just to help out.

[saillr]

I can't believe you guys, especially Hamburking. I guess he has nothing to do.
You are not inventing the wheel. The idea is fine and thats the way it is done.
Just use the the boom with the main halyard and do it.

[thruska]

Originally Posted by saillr

I can't believe you guys, especially Hamburking. I guess he has nothing to do.
You are not inventing the wheel. The idea is fine and thats the way it is done.
Just use the the boom with the main halyard and do it.

All that having been said...,
Why all the freeking drama ?
Are you telling us neither of you have an able bodied friend to swap these for her ?
You guys obviously have some people skills .
Call a church ! You will be swamped with help !...
You only need a strong backed person for a half hour, you provide the directions ...
Is her (bad?) outboard up for grabs ?
Exactly what Harbor are you crossing ?
Can you do the crossing before the Saturday event?
Does she have Seatow ?

[44'cruisingcat]

Your topping lift really shouldn't break lifting a 9.9 outboard. There's fishing line that could lift it.

[Madehn]

I don't normally negative post but shame on the folks that said things along the lines of "she needed to become self sufficient etc"-- being a part of a community is helping when people need help. Helping is different from doing it for someone - people learn by seeing and participating with others, Good for you in helping her out. i used the same system to lift out 5 8D batteries out of my engine room and to the side decks recently-- use the main halyard to take some of the strain even though your topping lift can probably handle it-- go slow and talk about each move before you do it- Thanks again for being a good neighbor.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Chuck Hawley

Sorry for the thread drift, but I agree with the previous forum member who mentioned the high-thrust version of the engine. At the very least, she should consider the propeller with the least pitch that can be fitted to the engine. The other possibility is a four bladed prop in lieu of the more common OEM three blade prop.

I realize that she owns the engine she owns, but a different prop could make this combination more optimized for her use.

Chuck

It's a Cal 22 that weighs barely 2000 lbs

Any little old outboard will work fine with a standard prop.

I have a 5 hp 4 stroke Mercury on my 6600 lb Bristol 27 and it does fine with a standard prop

I've used it countless times to motor across 20 miles of open bay with ocean waves mixing in

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by SV_Harbinger

[...]
The plan.
Since both boats are tied next to each other with maybe a 4' gap between them, raft her boat to mine (she can do the leg work, pun intended) and use my boom, a spare main sheet coupled to a sling, and the topping lift, to lift the old outboard off, swing it across my cockpit and drop it into a dock cart, then reverse the process to put the new outboard on.
[...]

Your plan sounds pretty, ehm, sound, Mr Harbinger.


We could only hope the lady is aware of the steep learning curve ahead of her: Buying a boat without a stepped mast nor a working engine yet knowing that she needs to move it very soon?

Must've been a real steal...

You can also point her to this forum, LOL. Had she laid out her idea of buying this hole in the water we would've sorted her out in no time, I reckon. In which case she might have ended up crewing for you first which brings us full circle to the hint of romance.

[MIRELOS]

just kidding, always help the others, it's the correct way to live

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by hamburking

Although quite strong, your topping lift was designed to hold up the empty boom...not a 9.9 engine. Whatever may be the weakest link in your topping lift...maybe something at the top of your mast...could fail under the load. Imagine the boom dropping suddenly. Maybe it drops into the water. Maybe it drops onto your boat...smash. Maybe it drops onto your other (good) leg!

As a sailor, especially a solo sailor, I do everything possible to mitigate risk. I see plenty of risk in your plan.

I appreciate your kindness in wanting to help a fellow sailor. But you also must be careful not to enable someone by helping too much. Will you be there when her engine stops halfway across the bay?

Perhaps she would have been better off with a smaller engine. Or maybe she needs to find herself some muscle for hire.

A better plan might be to return the new 9.9 and replace it with a pair of honda 2.3 outboards that she could easily manage herself.

Being self sufficient doesn't mean being big and strong. It means being smart. Jessica Watson is living proof. So is my own daughter.

Other possible solutions:
- Tow her across with your boat, or your dinghy.
- Ask the fine people who sold her the new engine to help...they made some $ off her, and are accustomed to working with outboards...who better to ask?
- Hire a nice young man with big muscles...a teenager might appreciate $20 for the task.
- Warp her boat over to a service dock that has a proper (self serve) crane.

When I had to remove the Honda 100 (9.8hp) from the back of my boat, I backed it into my slip, just inches from the main dock where I sat on the edge... I hugged the engine while one of my kids undid the already loosened transom clamps. Then I just leaned back with the outboard, and rolled away from the edge.

FWIW, I had no car, so I built a flatbed bike trailer specifically to move the outboard. Sorry, no pics, but the guys at the outboard repair shop were pretty impressed.

I think if your topping lift can't handle a 100lb outboard, you have bigger issues. even 1/4" double braid has a breaking strength of over 2000lbs. Even accounting for UV damage that should be well strong enough. using 2 smaller outboards just adds unneeded complexity.

[SV_Harbinger]

Well the swap went well, took about 20 minutes, all fingers, toes, and limbs present and accounted for.

Thank you to everyone for the constructive feedback. Concerning the Cal the boat is complete, (besides the engine anyway) everything is there and most of it is new or next to new (within the last 2 years) I know the previous owners as well and was a steal (sold because of a rather nasty divorce) the mast was dropped in Aug because the PO had a plan to transport the boat to CT but that never happened.

The yard where she's going is pretty good place, same place I go, stepping/unstepping $200 (or was last time I dropped my mast) so come spring shouldn't be any issues with the mast.

As far as sailing experience, she does have a couple of seasons worth, and was able to figure out my rigging well enough that when I said to grab the main halyard that was all I had to say, none of the "no not that one, the blue one" stuff...

In regards to the old outboard its pretty shot, at the very least I know it has next to no compression..

[thruska]

Good job ! Has the weather window remained agreeable?
Will she do the crossing with another person aboard?
Hopefully you guys trsted the outboard at the dock ?