Does anyone sail now or have sailed before without a motor

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by Rorzech

What did they do without engines in the days of sailing two hundred cannon galleons and no tide tables GPS's or reliable charts ??? Hundreds of years without motors and they made it back and forth most of the time .

I'm not sure the OP has space on-board for 200crew! ;-)

Sent from mTalk

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Rorzech

What did they do without engines in the days of sailing two hundred cannon galleons and no tide tables GPS's or reliable charts ??? Hundreds of years without motors and they made it back and forth most of the time .

Well, one thing they did NOT do was single hand them through narrow cuts and into tiny marinas, filled with shiny and kinda fragile yachts owned by litigious jerks.

All the talk about the days gone by is quite romantic, but hardly applicable to the OP's situation.

Jim

[belizesailor]

Early in my sailing career I worked for a charter company that ran a fleet of marginally maintained old boats. It was frustrating at the time, because nothing worked, things broke every trip, and engines died often. But, it was good experience as I had to routinely make entrances back into the marina with a dead engine.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Early in my sailing career I worked for a charter company that ran a fleet of marginally maintained old boats. It was frustrating at the time, because nothing worked, things broke every trip, and engines died often. But, it was good experience as I had to routinely make entrances back into the marina with a dead engine.

Sure its a good experience but really no practical on a cruising boat as I have learned.

I sailed 15 years on beach cats without engines.

Most folks might think ok you sail away from the beach and come back, but where I sailed on the Gulf Coast in the 90's and 2000's we raced many 30-100 mile races each year.

This is great for a single event here and there but for every day, I'd want an engine especially coming thru passes or inlets.

I passed an old guy coming in Pensacola Pass back in the day on my 6.0 Nacra flying a hull at maybe 15 knots and was wondering why he had is dinghy motor running.

He was pulling the dinghy with his really old sailboat.

Now I know why after owning an old cruising boat for a few years and sailing thru narrow inlets and passes with strong current.

High performance racing boats can sail pretty much where they want if there's any decent breeze at all, but not so with a heavy old cruising sailboat in tight quarters

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Rorzech

What did they do without engines in the days of sailing two hundred cannon galleons and no tide tables GPS's or reliable charts ??? Hundreds of years without motors and they made it back and forth most of the time .

That's when there were no boats around with engines. Alternatively:



https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationallibrarynz_commons/3056547339

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Rorzech

What did they do without engines in the days of sailing two hundred cannon galleons and no tide tables GPS's or reliable charts ???

Lack of tide tables are easy to figure out. Simple observation solves that one. As for what they did with those big engineless ships, two things: firstly, mostly they didn't come close to shore. They anchored out and sent skiffs in. And otherwise, they would get towed in by the raft of skiffs. Row! Row! Row!

[Steadman Uhlich]

This video shows what the Jupiter (Florida) Inlet entrance can be like, with strong current flowing out, rough water from opposing wind, and the relatively narrow entrance between jetties.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvQqyRmV-28

Here is another way of seeing it, as a power boat goes out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBOzQoQuuA0

[JPA Cate]

Good one, Steady, good idea!

Imagine arriving there after 30 hrs. with no rest, because you had too much traffic to sleep. Yuck!

Ann

[alansmith]

An adventure you seek? I think u will gain great experience. The main thing is planning way ahead of the moment u r in. What u didn't foresee will be your learning experiences. I think it sounds interesting. Wish u good luck. Good luck with your new location. BTW... might get a bit warm in a steel boat...

[Rumbottle]

I've sailed thousands of miles without an engine. It can be inconvenient at times (sitting becalmed, a few miles from your destination). However this is not a problem. I would suggest that you confirm with your Insurance Underwriters (or broker) that they have no objections to you sailing without a working engine.
If your yacht is not fitted with an engine it's not a problem.
If your engine fails on passage it's not a problem.
However if you sail with an engine, knowing it's not working, and a problem arises which results in damage or loss, you may have problems.

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by Estrellita

Pictures. ...

What a beauty! That rudder doesn't have much area low down where it counts, similar to my first small yacht (which had a crook engine most of the time) and sometimes she would fail to tack at the worst possible moment. But it sounds as though you know where you're going and what to expect when you get there. Anchoring out in a sheltered rode is so much easier that docking when engineless, so if that's your plan I don't see much difficulty. Bon voyage!

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Hene

Based on this experience, if you are going to wait until November, it would be a good use of your time to get the mizzen boom back on and the mizzen working. It won't be particularly helpful to you on passage, but will be invaluable maneuvering when you get there, especially if you have enough wind to take down the main.

Strapped in, the mizzen will keep the boat headed into the wind while you drop that big anchor. If you need to sail off the hook, you can tie the mizzen boom over to a shroud to shove the boat onto the tack you will want when the anchor comes up (sail stop and slip knot). This is very handy in a crowded anchorage! We did practice this a lot in our early years, and at first I liked to have the engine (if it was working) ticking over in neutral as a security blanket, but after a while I was happy to skip the engine. My late husband liked to get up early and sail out of an anchorage on a morning offshore breeze singlehanded, adding the main or the engine later, depending on the wind.

This is excellant advice.

[Cherod]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Someone said it was brave. To be crass, I would classify it more as stupid. Why people encourage ill conceived ideas is beyond me.

I think something similar was said about the Portuguese fishermen when the shrinking violets said the world was flat , braver men do braver things . Go for it and let us all know when you get there .

[Menlim3]

we have a 45 foot yacht . also had motor problems. decided to install an outboard to the transom until we fix the inboard. enough to get in and out of the marina on a windy day. peace of mind too. can also be used on a new dinghy when we get one....

[SailingFan]

I have spent only months at a time about four or five times in the Florida keys, and it was on smaller vessels than that of the OP. That said, there are some things to remember about the Florida Keys.

First, the tidal flow is not like anything you normally would expect along the Eastern US coast. The tide between the Gulf and the Atlantic is significant, and when the Atlantic tide is coming West, the Gulf fills rapidly. When it moves back out, the Gulf turns largely into a mud flat. Don't get stuck on the Western side in that vessel when the tide turns, or you may find out how far she can heel before filling from the side.

Second, if you strike a coral head or related structure in the Keys with your vessel, the fine can amount to more than it costs to have someone ELSE fix your engine. Consider that and act appropriately.

Third, there are tons of marine service locations in the Florida Keys, and they have a season where "rich" tourists and fishermen come in to play. And you can bet that THEY charge appropriately.

Fourth, there are a lot of restricted areas where you cannot just anchor and wait for the tide to ebb or flow. See number 2 above, then think about what you are going to do if your arrival and the tidal movement are not in agreement with your charts.

Fifth, what did sailors do in the past without GPS, engines, etc? The Keys are literally LITTERED with wrecks, as is the Florida coast. There is a reason so many sailors did not make it home. As someone else here once posted, "it is not the depth of the ocean that gets you, it is the little pointy bits around the edges" (or words to that effect - GREAT line IMHO).

You ask how you can harm someone else? You are in a steel boat that you want to use to visit an area that is crawling with fiberglass or wood vessels, and those vessels cost TONS more than the one you are moving in many cases. Some even have speed boats and jet ski's in garages on their fantails, just for when the rich and famous want to have a day out on the water. You run into one of those, and your little vacation is over. I considered that fully as I was trying to needle my way into a St. Augustine marina after Speed Week completed, and they told me "go around to H slips, three rows back, turn to port, and then go five slips in, hard to port again, and you are there!" That was one narrow-azzed maze, and my boat cost less than the chip in a gelcoat job had I nailed one of those other vessels (many could have legally been called ships) as I crept my way along - with an outboard - and tried to keep the rapidly accellerating current from pushing me into them all along the way. These folks around here would just love to sue the snot out of someone who damaged their high-dollar vessel. Even just a little damage can be tremendous, let alone the environmental costs the State will definitely nail you with should they discover even a slight sheen near your vessel or a leaky head discharge within coastal or inland waters.

There are many things you may want to consider, especially tidal forces, because along the Florida coast, if you are around the inlets and the ICW at all, you are going to be dealing with them. If you are along the Gulf Stream, you are going to be dealing with temperature gradients of the water that time of year, and if you are between the Stream and the coast, things can get pretty interesting as you move farther and farther South. We also recently had a good hurricane (Matthew), so those charts you have may not have all the latest bars, flats, and as you will discover, hazard markers currently installed that the charts claim are there. Some are just in the wrong place now, but some are actually gone, and some obstructions have moved, while others have been newly "deposited" and an engine means you can make some last minute adjustments. Not so with sail alone for that keel form in shallow and winding waters between coral heads in the Keys.

Just a few thoughts from someone who has lived here a bit... Do as you like of course.