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Old 11-05-2018, 10:14   #16
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

Once you select an outboard you need to considr your fuel storage capacity and how much range that gives you. I sure would not attempt an ocean crossing with less than 500 or 1000 NM of fuel.
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Old 11-05-2018, 10:26   #17
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

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Once you select an outboard you need to considr your fuel storage capacity and how much range that gives you. I sure would not attempt an ocean crossing with less than 500 or 1000 NM of fuel.
No one on a small sailboat (with an outboard auxiliary engine) would ever want to carry a lot of fuel/gas onboard, but I can go about 20 miles in open water on maybe a gallon and a quarter of gas with my 5 hp 4 stroke outboard so with two 5 gallon jerry cans, my normal 2.5 gallon plastic container, the 3 gallon external tank and the 40 oz integral tank on the engine the range would be about 300 miles plus

Like I said before, it's best if you have a few years experience sailing without an engine if you plan to sail long distance with an outboard as your auxiliary

You still have to select your route carefully. Many use the equatorial trade winds.

This Contessa 26 crossed the ocean with what looks to be an outboard mainly for moving the boat in and out of marinas etc. You can see what looks to be a 4 hp outboard at about the 3:11 mark in the video below

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Old 11-05-2018, 12:23   #18
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

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...Like I said before, it's best if you have a few years experience sailing without an engine if you plan to sail long distance with an outboard as your auxiliary... You can see what looks to be a 4 hp outboard at about the 3:11 mark in the video below...
Agreed.
Interesting they kept the ob on the transom in mid ocean. I crossed the Tasman with a 10hp ob but we stowed it below soon as we cleared the breakwater. 10 hp was about the absolute limit for manhandling back out through the companionway though and re-mounting over the stern.
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Old 11-05-2018, 12:52   #19
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Re: Circumnavigation with only and outboard.

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Dont.. DONT go sail drive.. worst thing ever created.

Speaking as someone who has sailed them.. go for the ob.
What is wrong with a sail drive?
Is it a general warning about them or are some ok and other brands bad?
Is it just sail drives on cats and tris that are crud or same issues with mono?

I'm not trying to pull your chain boatie.
I see many boats with them and at some stage in the near future will be getting a new mono, so will know to look past boats with them.

Thanks heaps, and if you're concerned about putting your thoughts down publicly I'd appreciate a PM.
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Old 11-05-2018, 13:32   #20
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Re: Circumnavigation with only and outboard.

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What is wrong with a sail drive? ...
I think many would offer the same warning as Boatman. Imagine having an ob permanently attached through the bottom of your boat, so there's no way to access it for routine maintenance without a haul-out and no way to raise it out of the brine when not in use - how long would it last?
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Old 11-05-2018, 14:46   #21
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

Shane Acton circumnavigated in Shrimpy, a 18 ft. plywood Sloop with an outboard.
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Old 11-05-2018, 15:04   #22
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

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Shane Acton circumnavigated in Shrimpy, a 18 ft. plywood Sloop with an outboard.


I don’t think he had one to start with, and the one he did get did not last long.
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Old 11-05-2018, 15:28   #23
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pirate Re: Circumnavigation with only and outboard.

Quote:
Originally Posted by grantmc View Post
What is wrong with a sail drive?
Is it a general warning about them or are some ok and other brands bad?
Is it just sail drives on cats and tris that are crud or same issues with mono?

I'm not trying to pull your chain boatie.
I see many boats with them and at some stage in the near future will be getting a new mono, so will know to look past boats with them.

Thanks heaps, and if you're concerned about putting your thoughts down publicly I'd appreciate a PM.
When have I ever worried about shooting my mouth off..
I dislike the idea of that big a hole in the bottom of my boat.. the gaskets can get a leak and when they do it can be bad.. maintenance is a pain.. to me its an liability for boats on long passages far from land.
Give me a shaft drive any day.. tiny hole easily stopped if it leaks, or easily dealt with by the bilge pump if left alone.
Its a personal thing for me.. some folks only buy boats with encapsulated keels coz they don't trust keel bolts.. I am the same about sail drive's.
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Old 11-05-2018, 16:02   #24
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

grantmc:

The saildrives are a convenience for whoever builds the boat, not for the owner. When an engine rebuild is required, you're stuck on the hard unless you have fabricated a safe plug for it--and it has to be huge, and well gasketed, so it's a big thing to also carry around, although fairly flat, just hull curve. Then, there's the inefficiencies of Z drives. Such things are marketed to appeal to purchasers, but shaft drives are always preferable, easier to deal with as Boatie suggested, if they leak, more efficient, too. Less dissimilar metals problems, too.

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Old 11-05-2018, 16:21   #25
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

One thing to consider is battery charging. Even small diesels can run decent sized alternators, whereas a lot of the smaller outboards put out no (or virtually no) DC charging current at all.

Obviously plenty of other ways to charge batts and so maybe you've considered that, but if not should factor that in.

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Old 11-05-2018, 16:31   #26
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

I had the same issue with our Triton 24 yacht due to an expanding family (Only 2 kids, we have a TV so there is something else to do at night!). I removed the Yanmar 1gm and put an outboard on the transom. The worst thing I ever did, fuel consumption went way up and the noise was terrible compared to the diesel engine. I am not much of a sailor and instead of trying to sail everywhere it is just easier sometimes to motorsail and get to the next anchorage so the kids could go ashore and play.
The heavenly twins does not look like a speed demon and I can imagine there might be times when one of those Yanmars ticking over might just help get you to an anchorage quicker. Not saying the outboard cannot do it but I would assume the fuel consumption would be higher and the cockpit noise worse?
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Old 11-05-2018, 22:38   #27
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Re: Circumnavigation with only and outboard.

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Hello Philip. Interesting question.

Generally, boats suitable for bluewater cruising are constructed with inboards (or saildrives), so it would be difficult to find a suitable boat.

I would be concerned about the reliability of a stern-mounted outboard in extremely heavy seas, where motoring is sometimes necessary, because of the possibility that the motor could be flooded above the air intake.

Then again there are some circumnavigations completed in boats that have no motor at all. @boat_alexandria has been cruising in this fashion for quite some time. I do not know if he has completed a circumnavigaiton.
Dont forget the Pardys. They made all travels without an engine and I think they circumvented 4x (?)
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Old 12-05-2018, 04:38   #28
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

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Originally Posted by Fore and Aft View Post
I had the same issue with our Triton 24 yacht due to an expanding family (Only 2 kids, we have a TV so there is something else to do at night!). I removed the Yanmar 1gm and put an outboard on the transom. The worst thing I ever did, fuel consumption went way up and the noise was terrible compared to the diesel engine. I am not much of a sailor and instead of trying to sail everywhere it is just easier sometimes to motorsail and get to the next anchorage so the kids could go ashore and play.
The heavenly twins does not look like a speed demon and I can imagine there might be times when one of those Yanmars ticking over might just help get you to an anchorage quicker. Not saying the outboard cannot do it but I would assume the fuel consumption would be higher and the cockpit noise worse?
Cheers
Sounds like you were using an old two stroke.

The new 4 stoke outboards are quiet running engines (especially Nissan) and are comparable to a diesel in fuel economy.

It's best to stay with an outboard of 9.9 hp or less. I use a 5 hp 4 stroke on my 6600 lb Bristol 27 that weighs 57 lbs and has a 25" shaft
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Old 12-05-2018, 04:52   #29
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pirate Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

Sorry but have to smile.. anything less than 15hp for a rib is ridiculous for most here.. but 9hp is perfect for a boat weighing 2500kgs onloaded.. with two waterlines to push.
A 15hp would be a permanant fix inthe well.. no need to lift in and out so weight is somewhat irrelevant.. especially as two inboards are being removed.
A 9 you will be pushing near max revs to make decent headway.. a 15 you will need less.. so economy will balance out.
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Old 12-05-2018, 05:12   #30
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Re: Circumnavigation with only an outboard.

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Sorry but have to smile.. anything less than 15hp for a rib is ridiculous for most here.. but 9hp is perfect for a boat weighing 2500kgs onloaded.. with two waterlines to push.
A 15hp would be a permanant fix inthe well.. no need to lift in and out so weight is somewhat irrelevant.. especially as two inboards are being removed.
A 9 you will be pushing near max revs to make decent headway.. a 15 you will need less.. so economy will balance out.
A 5 or 6 hp works great on small monohulls. A 15 hp is too heavy. Another cool thing about the smaller outboards is that you don't need a starter battery. Actually for most any outboard up to say 65 hp.

Mine is on the stern others have theirs in the well. I put mine on the stern because I didn't want another hole in the hull.

James Baldwin, atomvoyages.com, has a 6 hp outboard in the well on his Pearson Triton 28 which displaces 8400 lbs. He has circumnavigated twice. Once with a 4 hp when it ran or was still on the boat. I believe it got stolen which may be why his outboard is now in the well.

In calm water, I can cruise along at about 5 knots. I never run the engine more than about 3/4 throttle (usually 1/2 throttle)
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