1) I am not a fair weather sailor, and I do not find cavitation to be
much of a problem, even in bad weather. I have seen many outboard
installations that mounted the bracket and the motor too high. Garelick
makes a LOT of models, and gives all dimensions including range of
travel. Careful planning affects the outcome of any project. Speedy
little whizzy props on regular long shaft outboards may have more of an
issue with cavitation. My prop rarely comes out of the water, except in
very active following seas, and since it is spinning slower, it doesn't
cause the motor to rev to to the moon when it does.
2) Practicality can often trump aesthetics. I would rather see an
outboard on a sailboat than SeaRay style stainless steel handrails
glaring in the sun. I could see aesthetics of an outboard possibly
being an issue on a Hinckley B-40, but not on a C&C 27.
3) The entire effort to reinforce the transom consists of a 3/4 inch
plywood backing plate and fender washers, and a 1 inch thick pad on the
exterior made of either starboard or plywood. I changed the original
plywood for Starboard so I would never have to worry about deterioration
again in my lifetime. The outboard and bracket weighs probably less than
half what any inboard weighs, so motion and balance is not adversly
affected. She sits on her lines.
4) WHAT outboard you pick makes all the difference. My 4 stroke Yamaha
is as reliable as my car. The high thrust option gives me the TYPE of
thrust a sailboat needs to be efficient. Small, frantically fast
propellers may be fine for speed boats, but displacement hulls want low
end grunt, which means a huge, slow spinning prop. No cavitation is just
one of the benefits. Fuel efficiancy is another. If you like sailing in
light air, you are much better off with the prop OUT OF THE WATER, and
not dragging down your forward progress. Tie a small bucket on a rope
and toss it overboard while doing 3 or 4 knots, and get an idea of what
that underwater anchor is doing to sailing performance. There is a
reason why the outboard version of the boat has a lower PHRF rating than
the inboard. Oh, yes, the C&C 27 was available new with either an
inboard or and outboard. Arguments about it being designed only for an
inboard are ill informed. My C&C 27 came from the factory with an outboard.
5) Raising and lowering. I have a small 4-1 vang with 1/4 inch line,
between the outboard and the stern rail. My diminuative wife can easily
raise the motor with one hand while drinking a cup of coffee with the
other hand. The supposed difficulty of operating the controls has
likewise been greatly exaggerated. Modern outboards have the gearshift,
throttle and kill switch mounted on the long tiller within easy reach
without hanging over the stern to reach them. Being able to use the
outboard as a stern thruster or to pivot the boat on it's axis is a nice
benefit. I can turn around in a fairway without a series of backing
maneuvers. I just turn the outboard to one side, and around I spin.
6) I used to obsess about having enough electricity. Between the
outboard and a 20 watt solar panel with a genasun controller (MUST be
genasun) and 2 AGM group 27 batteries, I never seem to go below 75%
charge no matter what I do. I run a full compliment of VHF, 2
gps/chartplotters, Depth, wind, and often RADAR. It's just not a
problem. While the boat is at reast, the solar panel charges that last
5-10% of capacity that no alternator ever charges.
I agree that this is probably about a $4k conversion, all in, if you do
it yourself. You will have brand new everything.
Bill Bina
On 8/5/2014 2:26 AM, Paul and Darlene Clarke via CnC-List wrote:
First of all, thanks to everyone for your input. Much appreciated.
I've not posted very often, but have lurked for years, and I respect
the voices of the familiar.
I sail out of Vancouver, British Columbia, and most of the cruising we
do is local, in the summer. We have islands right in our back yard
(so, my home waters are totally protected), or we will cross Georgia
Strait (20-25 nautical miles) to get to the very protected Gulf
Islands on the east side of Vancouver Island. Last year we went north
up Georgia Strait for 50 or 60 miles to Pender Harbour and crossed to
Texada Island and back over 10 days or so. I've sailed and raced since
I was a teen, and this part of the world, in the summer anyway, is
usually pretty "Pacific". In general, we're /looking/ for breeze in
the summer, not trying to shelter from too much (although that can
happen, of course, in which case you hole up for a day or three and
conduct scientific experiments on the efficacy of various single malt
whiskeys); I bought a North light air gennaker the year we bought the
boat, and thank goodness I did, because it's seen lots of use here in
the Pacific SouthWest (as we Canadians refer to it); crossing the
Strait is similar to coastal sailing where the C & C hull proves again
and again it is very sea kindly. I have only used the engine because
there is zero wind, hence little or no waves. When there is breeze, we
sail! And of course, motoring into most slips is required.
What led me to ask about outboards is that /every/ year for the last
5, we have departed on summer vacations and ended up being stranded
somewhere with Atomic 4 issues. Spinning around in circles at the whim
of the tidal currents in zero wind with wife and kids aboard is not
fun. I've sat at distant docks twice for several days trying to
troubleshoot/ wait for a mechanic. I'm not a mechanic, and it is
increasingly hard to find mechanics that are familiar with this older
design. I guess I was thinking a 40+ year old engine, even one that is
being regularly maintained, has more surprises up its sleeve than I am
used to. If it wasn't for the Moyer web site, I'd be completely in the
dark. The issues around its ignition coil alone has mystified better
men than me, as the long-as-your-arm threads on the Moyer Marine forum
devoted just to this one issue would attest. I think I'm on coil # 5,
and have plumbed the depths of 2 qualified mechanics over the years,
and the problems just won't get solved.
Three years ago I had to rely on the goodwill of a fellow boater to
tow us in after sitting 2 miles off our holiday destination as the sun
was setting in zero wind. Two years ago after spending days with a
mechanic, the engine died again, and I had to push my C & C home using
my Avon with a 4 hp kicker. This year... well, notwithstanding
tune-ups, mechanic time, etc., running it at the dock weekly, the
engine lasted an hour into our first day before announcing it had had
enough. Started again later, as it often does, but not quite the
reliability I had in mind. We sailed onto our anchorage that
afternoon, and the next day sailed off the hook, but I can't sail into
my home slip.
I can see why a newly rebuilt engine has appeal, but we're not
wealthy, so spending up to 10 K on a new engine, installed, would be
more than the boat is worth, and not something we can afford.
The downsides of an outboard as I gather from your collective
responses are:
1) cavitation in waves which means not sufficient oomph in a seaway if
you have to get anywhere under engine.
2) not pretty
3) not in the original design
4) not cheap (just less expensive than the alternative)
5) can be annoying hanging over the transom raising/lowering the
transom mounting bracket
6) might not supply enough electricity to run house lights/VHF/GPS etc
needs (true? would this be an issue?)
I have to admit, those are a lot of negatives. Food for thought for my
wife and I.
Again, your thoughts are much appreciated.
-Paul
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