Will it have enough power?

[gulfbreez]

Hi,

Today I went to go look at a 26 foot 1969 macwester, you know the kind. The ones that have the keels without the keel bolts.

The owner told me that the engine is a Yanmar GM1, he did not know the HP, (even though he owned it for 10years) I saw a book he had on board that said 3400 rpm, 6.5 HP, then he told me he thinks its 10 HP. Would anyone know what a Yanmar MD1 would be in HP? Also, if it is a small 6.5 to 10 HP engine, what kind of speed could I get out of that? Im not looking to win races. But I dont want something so slow that it just about moves. My friends took me and 3 others out in his little 12 foot boat one day with a 4 hp outboard, and we just about got moving, so how is a 6.5 to 10 HP engine gonna move a 3,000 kg boat with maybe 4-5 people on board?

[a64pilot]

A sea trial will tell, however if you put a 20 HP on it, your still going to be restricted to hull speed, which may only be about 5 kts or so anyway.
Bigger than needed engines often just waste fuel, money, add weight and take up more room than correctly sized engines.

I would be way more concerned about condition than HP myself

[denverd0n]

It will move the boat just fine in calm water, not trying to buck into a strong wind and/or current. In other words, for getting into and out of a marina, it will work. If you expect to motor all the time, at full hull speed, in any kind of sea conditions, then you need more motor. But then, it is a sailboat..

[gulfbreez]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

A sea trial will tell, however if you put a 20 HP on it, your still going to be restricted to hull speed, which may only be about 5 kts or so anyway.
Bigger than needed engines often just waste fuel, money, add weight and take up more room than correctly sized engines.

I would be way more concerned about condition than HP myself

Im located in the UK, the boat is on the hard, and its a big deal just to have a sea trial just like that because of huge tides, bad weather, and expensive lift in and recover charges, the boat is abit rough in condition, not really worth all that trouble. Its much easier to do things in Florida when it comes to boating.

[gulfbreez]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

It will move the boat just fine in calm water, not trying to buck into a strong wind and/or current. In other words, for getting into and out of a marina, it will work. If you expect to motor all the time, at full hull speed, in any kind of sea conditions, then you need more motor. But then, it is a sailboat..

I think your right, im looking for a cruiser, something I can motor most of the time. And where I am in the UK the currents and tides can get strong.

[hobopacket]

I would say but a motorboat. Not trying to be rude, but he'll if you notice all the time. Why deal with the mast and rigging.

[denverd0n]

Have to agree with hobopacket. Sounds to me like a motor boat would serve your needs a lot better than a sailboat. Quite certainly better than a sailboat with a minimally-sized engine.

[Dave22q]

The Yanmar GM1 is 6.5. The CM1-10 is 9 hp. Both are probably rather small for this boat. The only MD-1 I found is an old Vovo single cylinder rated at 7.5, again too small. If you will be spending a lot of time in strong winds and currents I would not want to be underpowered. Any of these motors will probably move the boat but slowly!

[grantmc]

I have had a 26 footer with an old Yanmar YSE8 (8hp). Went fine in all sea states and winds. In good running order the engine delivers plenty of power.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by grantmc

I have had a 26 footer with an old Yanmar YSE8 (8hp). Went fine in all sea states and winds. In good running order the engine delivers plenty of power.

Diesels have torque, lots of it. It is what it takes to get things moving so the small horsepower number may not be that relevant.

[Djarraluda]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

Diesels have torque, lots of it. It is what it takes to get things moving so the small horsepower number may not be that relevant.

It is probably more dependant on the prop.
My old Compass was fine with YSE8, but the 3 bladed 12inch prop in an aperture was susceptible to growth.
Keep the prop clean and all was good, let it foul even moderately and you noticed the power loss as so little was clear of the deadwood.
Roger

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by Djarraluda

It is probably more dependant on the prop.
My old Compass was fine with YSE8, but the 3 bladed 12inch prop in an aperture was susceptible to growth.
Keep the prop clean and all was good, let it foul even moderately and you noticed the power loss as so little was clear of the deadwood.
Roger

Well sure, prop has to be matched to the engine no matter how much power.

[iGrf]

Our previous boat was a dufour 1800, 25ft with a 40 year old 6HP bmw engine which worked great (untill the cylinder head cracked but that's a different story).

Even with a not so efficient 2 blade folding prop it worked great, without wind it achieved hull speed. Normal cruising speed at 75% throttle would be around 4 knots.

So I wouldn't worry too much about it and hoist those sails !

[denverd0n]

A Dufour 1800 has a displacement of less than 4k lbs. A Macwester 26 has a displacement of almost 7k lbs. There is a HUGE difference!

Someone else mentioned that they had a 26 foot boat and that it was fine with an 8 hp engine. Since they didn't specify what kind of 26 foot boat it was, again, this could be a case of a HUGE difference.

You have to compare apples to apples. There are a lot of very low-displacement boats out there in the 24-28 foot range. There are also some very high-displacement boats in that range. You cannot compare them; most especially not in terms of the hp needed to effectively move them. Displacement is THE major factor in determining how much horsepower is required to reach hull speed!

[Pete7]

Gulfbrez, having spent a lifetime diving around the Welsh Coast I don't think this boat is going to suit you with that engine and the cost of replacing the engine with 20hp is going to be excessive compared to the value of the boat.

So unless its in mint condition and exceptionally cheap and you are happy to take your time waiting for the tides perhaps move on.

Don't know what sort of budget you have, but if motoring most of the time then how about a motor sailer, say Fisher Freeward:

Fisher Freeward 25 for sale UK, Fisher boats for sale, Fisher used boat sales, Fisher Sailing Yachts For Sale Fisher Freeward 25 - Apollo Duck

BTW the Macwester 26 wasn't the greatest sailing yacht, has zero value and will be very difficult to move on in the future.

Pete