"Sailing with motor attached"

woodbark

Member
Is there anything I should be aware of when sailing with a motor attached and does it affect the handling/balance of the boat when under sail power?

Part of my fun includes sailing out of a river to get to the lake, so the motor is a necessary evil :(

At 10mph it takes 20mins to 1/2 hour to get out. I also have to go under a bridge, so no mast stepping before this point. Motor is a Suzuki 4hp, 2 stroke with integral gas tank as well as hook up for a separate tank. Mounting is the standard C14 bracket.

Thanks
George - Hull#4042
 
I have never sailed with a motor on the capri. Common sense tells me that on a starboard tack you will be heeling more than you would normally. I am curious how you are going to step the mast.
 
@kylehousley, thank you for the reply! ....and yes I'm also curious about the mast stepping situation. There are several spots after the bridge where it's possible to beach the boat so we'll see how that works out. The motor is a 2 cycle .... not heavy 25lbs maybe, it just looks odd in the back there. My other option is to tow it out and just tie up the tow boat and go sailing!
 
Hi George,
Welcome to the forum!

I'm like you in that I have to use a motor to get out. Mine is electric and both the motor and battery are hung off opposite sides of the stern, so even if the C-14 is a little aft heavy by 50 lbs., it doesn't heel to one side more than the other. I'm used to it and sailing is still great, but if launching was any more of a hassle, I would look for another place to put in.

Jim
 
How do you fasten down the battery?

What has been found succesful to fasten down the Trolling motor battery in case of capsizing?
 
What has been found succesful to fasten down the Trolling motor battery in case of capsizing?

I use a plastic battery box bolted to the stern. It has a strap which holds the top on so the battery can't fall out even if the boat goes upside down (turtles). It looks a little weird hanging off the stern but it offsets the motor weight - they're both about 25 lbs - and all the wires stay out of the cockpit.
 
I don't have a motor, but apparently one of the previous owners of my boat did.

When I bought it, there was a motor bracket bolted onto the boat, which extended the motor back about 8". The reason for the bracket was obvious when you see the scars in my tiller. I guess the lesson is either get a motor bracket or make sure your tiller is up while you are motoring...
 
Does your motor mount screw onto the transom or just drop over the top and use weight to keep it in place?
 
"Motor vibration"

I went sailing today ......1st time out with the boat. As I previously mentioned, my motor is mounted on the std factory mount, It's a "Suzuki 4hp, 2stroke" and it took about 40 mins of noise and vibration to get out to the river mouth. ANY SUGGESTIONS ON CONTROLLING VIBRATION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED, I'm considering a re-design of the wooden mounting pad to incorporate some sort of rubber dampening. I have some ideas but would rather not try to "re-invent the wheel" .... if something already exists!

I also like the electric alternative ...JGM if you read this; what thrust is your motor rated for and what sort of range can I expect with this system?
 
Hey George,
I have a Minn Kota Riptide with 36" shaft and 40 lbs of thrust. At full throttle and with my size battery, the numbers say I can only use it for 45 minutes without recharge. That's plenty for me in that I only have to exit the marina to get into open water. With 40 minutes travel each way, you might be stuck with gas propulsion. :(

Here's a source for vibration isolators but I'm thinking it won't satisfy the problem in the long run. A lot of people here love their Honda 2HP outboards which I suspect is a lot quieter and more vibration free than your Suzuki. That's just a guess on my part. Regardless, let us know what ends up working, OK?

Jim
 
George, is there any change that vibration is due to an imbalance (in the prop) that you could correct? Probably not, if it is a two cycle engine -- but worth a try!
 
As a follow on to the question of how long the electric will last, I have a 34LB thrust Minkota electric and a full size series 40 battery. We took it out with a meter and went for two hours on motor only and never got below 11 volts. In fact by the time we got back home it had recovered to 11.7 volts.

Smooth and quiet I like the electric.
 
"Motor vibration options"

My thanks to everyone for your great contributions and based on these, I think my options are as follows:
1) Improve on the motor mount; in fact I believe this a must regardless of what type of motive power I use. I have a few ideas and will definitely keep you posted on how I implement them.

2) Fine tune the Suzuki including the prop etc. as Ed suggested.

3) "Get a Honda 2hp", (without a doubt the best little 4 stroke available).

4) "Go electric". This option really excites me ......it takes care of vibration, noise and all the other nuisance that come with combustion engines. I would just have to get the best "power pack" to take care of the range.

So that's where I'm at! Please feel free to comment!
 
My thanks to everyone for your great contributions and based on these, I think my options are as follows:
1) Improve on the motor mount; in fact I believe this a must regardless of what type of motive power I use. I have a few ideas and will definitely keep you posted on how I implement them.

2) Fine tune the Suzuki including the prop etc. as Ed suggested.

3) "Get a Honda 2hp", (without a doubt the best little 4 stroke available).

4) "Go electric". This option really excites me ......it takes care of vibration, noise and all the other nuisance that come with combustion engines. I would just have to get the best "power pack" to take care of the range.

So that's where I'm at! Please feel free to comment!

My vote is for number 4. I have a small battery to match the weight of the motor but there is no reason not to get a larger battery or even an extra one for the trip back in. The combination of battery and electric motor is good for the environment, your wallet, and a lot easier on the ears. Sometimes while using the trolling motor, it's so quiet, it's hard to tell if it's running or not. :)

That said, I wouldn't get a much smaller motor. When there is no wind, any size motor is fine but if you're bucking a strong headwind, you'll definitely want something with some power.

Good luck!
Jim
 
Thanks Jim, I absolutely love the idea, it all makes total sense; this by the way was my wife's suggestion as well.

I already have batteries, so I'm off to BassPro for a motor; 40 to 50lb thrust sounds like the sensible choice and may actually consume less batt power, although rayhas has tested a 35Lb and seems very satisfied with the results. I've read some reviews on the Prowler and all seem favourable.

The cuddy hole may be a good battery stowage area? I'm thinking a shallow battery tray with standard hold-down similar to an automotive application. The tray would have to be glued down for obvious reasons.
____________________
George__ hull #4042
 
Outboard Motor

I have my 3.5 Toshiba on starboard side. I raise it up on tilt when sailiing. I have had my traveler get caught on the motor during a tack. I use a motor mount that is not adjustable and I have had to lower the motor down so not to come out if I move forward during motoring.

Ron Carter
Grove, OK
 
The cuddy hole may be a good battery stowage area? I'm thinking a shallow battery tray with standard hold-down similar to an automotive application. The tray would have to be glued down for obvious reasons.
____________________
George__ hull #4042

Hey George,
As I mentioned earlier, my battery is hung off the transom so I can't help you with any first-hand knowledge about the cuddy hole, but lots of others have put their batteries there with good success. If I remember correctly, they fish the wires under one of the seats and then out through a hole in the transom.

I also think one of those battery trays with a strap should work OK if you can get it glued down securely. We have one of those trays in the 17' runabout and when it's choppy, the boat gets tossed around quite a bit and the battery stays in place just fine. Have you got a digital camera? I'm sure everyone would like some pictures if you can swing it, especially if you change your mind and through-bolt that tray to the bottom of your hull! ;)

Jim
 
I have my 3.5 Toshiba on starboard side. I raise it up on tilt when sailiing. I have had my traveler get caught on the motor during a tack. I use a motor mount that is not adjustable and I have had to lower the motor down so not to come out if I move forward during motoring.

Ron Carter
Grove, OK

I'm a little confused about how your motor is mounted. Does your motor mount on the transom or does it hang stern of the transom? My boat came with a mount which places the motor about 8" behind the transom. This seems to work pretty well in avoiding the mainsheet. Then again, perhaps it helps that I've removed the pulley and attached the end of the sheet to the middle of the traveler rope, so it's more of a bridle than a traveler now.

Jim
 
Most certainly Jim, I already have quite a few pics, will post when I get back on Mon. I will be sharing my motor mount improvements as well.
Great & safe sailing w/end to all!
_____________________
George #4042.
 
Outboard Placement

Jim,

I have mine on a bracket which puts the motor out about 8" from the transom. I tried mounting on the transom, but my motor is a short shaft. I can take some pics and email back to you.

Send me your email address to: [email protected]. I will email them back to you shortly.

Ron Carter
 
Well folks, I got a Minn Kota 40lb thrust last weekend, just so happened to be on sale at Canadian Tire.

I mounted it directly on the transom but had to fashion inner and outer adapters (I used wood) to clear the rubstrip and the slight overlap of the deck (aft) in order to get a good solid flat surface to mount on to. I removed the previously installed extended mount as I really saw no advantage using it (at this time anyway).

For now, the battery is sitting on the floor against the transom. I intend to move it into the cuddy later and seriously considering removing the trash can to utilize that cavernous space up front, of course I will install a hatch to seal it, if I do.

Test time was quite a revelation, the performance was wisper quiet, no vibration whatsoever, absolutely no wake and the speed was reasonable considering there were 4 adults, (my guess 800lbs approx plus the motor and 3 good size gel batteries). I'm amazed the thing actually moved. I managed to get 70 minutes at full power from one battery.

The next day (Monday) we went sailing same crew but more weight. We now had full rigging, which was removed for the first test run, a snack pack with water and food stuffs. To me this was overload, but my brother insisted that the wives should get the experience. Well the boat actually powered peacefully out of the river 40mins, not very fast but quicker than a brisk step. We even got compliments from the folks along the river about how smooth and quiet we were.

Rigging had to be done at the mouth of the river, it was not easy, everytime I looked down there seemed to be feet everywhere. We managed somehow and eventually set sail and to my surprise, this little boat was moving along very well despite our inexperience at sail trimming. We had a nice starboard breeze and managed to do a beam reach across the lake, even hiking out at times. We beached at the park, and tied up the same place where the boat took off on it's own, last week :eek:. I made sure it was tied up securely and the sails laying on the deck:D

The return trip was a bit tedious as the wind kept changing direction but we persisted and made it all the way across on sail power. Then when we got to the river mouth and started to lower the sails and unstep the mast etc., the wind started swirling around us like a demon and blew us into the weeds. The positive side was, we got an opportunity to test the Minn Kota's weedless prop. It performed flawlessly and took us out of the weed bed without a struggle. The trip up stream was very slow due to the steady current but the battery never died.

This weekend I have insisted on a two man only outing. We will be hooking up two batteries in parallel for this outing, I'm anxious to see how this goes. My impressions so far of electric power are extremely favourable in all respects and hopefully with less cargo we will have a significant increase in speed and less battery drain.
I hope this has not bored everyone to sleep, although that's probably a good thing too.:)
 
George, I went with the wood block idea for mounting my electric. I cut, sanded, routed and painted to match the top stripe, 2 blocks. One inside the transom and one just below the rub rail. The first time I cranked the motor mount tight, the outer hull started bending in below the rub rail. I re-glued the hull it and made a longer board to spread the load accross half of the transom. This seemed to work without bending, until our first time out when the outside board worked its way loose and I didn't know it. Nest thing I knew the motor was flopping around and almost went in. Of course I grabbed it an set it into the cockpit where it promptly turned on and made my wife regret going with me.

After a few experiments, I found that leaving the outer board off and just having an inner protector seems to work best. The rub rail is plenty stron enough and holds everything tight.
 
George,
That's a great story. I can tell from your occasional messages you aren't the kind of guy who does things half-a**ed. It's either do-it-right or why-bother. I love it! Eventually I see you mounting this on the back of your boat:

Cruise%20L%20Catalog.gif


And your crew will be waterskiing down the river behind your C-14. :)

Thanks for the inspiration!
Jim
 
Hi JGM..."Elec vs Gas power"

Hi, (JGM) Jim I do like the looks of that Torqeedo 1003, very impressive, could be a serious option when the battery companies are ready to release a compact long range battery. ......In the mean time I have put the 40lb Minn Kota to it's limits with a brand new 160min/100ah battery weighed in at just under 50lbs. and the results, ....... I'm afraid you were right on the money about me being stuck with gas propulsion, the elec just does not have the range and speed for my needs .....For a nice, quiet, motor powered cruise up and down the river with the wife it is a clear winner since there's no reason to hurry. On the other hand, for Sailing, I'm not interested in weighing down the boat with additional batteries and I most certainly do not want to be capsized with a couple of 50lb lead acid batteries on board.

I have now re-installed the motor mount and modified the mounting block by using two 1" thick blocks, one outside the bracket, the other inside with a packing of gaskets and filler in between for dampening. I actually used felt roofing paper for this ..... It really works, I feel this whole sandwich set up has cut the vibration and noise by about 80% (my guess). The Suzuki 4hp/2cycle is now a lot more bearable. I did give it a bit of a tune-up and added a tiny snow mobile (2 cycle) in-line gas filter. A gallon of fuel is good for abt 2 hrs. with lots of power and no concerns with capsize (Please read my capsize story :eek:).
 
Well George, part of the satisfaction to be realized with owning a sailboat is confronting problems and figuring them out. Although it was a bit round-about, at least you earned some brownie points with Mother Earth by attempting the electric motor solution. Who knows... you might need those brownie points the next time she blows your boat over. ;)

Jim
 
MinnKota 30 Thrust

I'm on a wakeless lake with my C14, have purchased my electric motor MinnKota 30, and have been advised after many opinions by the MinnKota dealer to purchase a golfcart 18 hole battery ... anyone out there with experience going this way? My battery will be secured with a bracket and straps in the hull with wires run under the seat with access port and plug-in at the motormount bracket. This battery is a sealed battery so won't leak in a capsize but I believe any battery could short out if it gets wet. I'd love to know if anyone else has tried this battery and how long I could run on this with maybe two average sized people in the boat.:)
 
I'd love to know if anyone else has tried this battery and how long I could run on this with maybe two average sized people in the boat.:)

Your Minn Kota owner's manual will have the information about the motor consumption etc. just match that with your battery specs and you should get a reasonable idea for range.
 

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