Diesel outboard as 'get me home' option?

[Benthic2]

Here in the north east we have fishing boats with single engine/props that go out for 1000+ mile journeys for weeks. ( think: Andrea Gail from The Perfect Storm ) I think a well cared for single engine boat is reliable enough that if you start thinking about get home engines you have to start considering other equally likely scenarios like lightning strikes, whale collisions and rogue waves. Every person has their own level of risk tolerance. You do what you can to minimize the risk and then you operate within your acceptable tolerance. You can never make ocean travel 100% guaranteed, ( think: Titanic ) you can just make it acceptable to your personal risk level, proceed to enjoy yourselves and accept the consequences of chance. There is a random component to just getting out of bed in the morning, and you have to strike the right balance between "carpe diem" and "cover your a#@"

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Try calling TowBoatUS from Nome and see how quick they respond.

I've been to Nome. Never saw a TowBoatUS (whatever that is.). I doubt that there is one there. Just get on 68 and say you've got $10K for a 40 mile tow. You will be swarmed. Still cheaper than $20,000 hull modification to install a $16,000 electric get-home gadget that probably won't work after it has sucked in a sea lion.

Coming from a hiking background, I understand the calculus of being totally self sufficient and never having to rely on others for an indeterminable amount of time. But when your backpack weighs 380 pounds, you might want to reconsider.

 

[Jeff F]

I'd argue that get-home capability is not really needed on a Bermuda run.

Risk to passengers and risk to property is pretty low in a breakdown 500 miles off the US east coast, at least by my reckoning.

I've thought through my case, which is highly individual. Number one priority for me would be controlling motion. My theory is that drogues and/or a sea anchor can be used to keep the stern or bow to the seas.

Once that's satisfied I'm happy to hunker down. Assuming modern communication and reliable power it's hard to imagine a bad outcome. Lots of time to trouble shoot locally, check in with SAR and my insurance company, and if not resolvable wait to be rescued.

It's occurred to me that nobody mentions the rudder in these discussions. Losing the rudder is just as catastrophic as losing main propulsion.

 

[DNT99611]

The only time I have needed help getting back to port was a steering issue. The arm between the rudder post and hydraulic ram broke. In this case there was another boat close by that was having an engine overheat problem. We got the two boats tied up side by side. I powered, he steered, and we limped home.

 

[DDW]

I've been to Nome. Never saw a TowBoatUS (whatever that is.). I doubt that there is one there. Just get on 68 and say you've got $10K for a 40 mile tow. You will be swarmed.

There are plenty of places near Nome and much further south where your VHF call will be unheard and unanswered. You could offer $1M for a 5 mile tow and all you'll hear is crickets. Sat phone maybe - but there are fjords in SE Alaska, BC, Newfoundland, and elsewhere that even GPS fails. And it is hard to do a general call for assistance with a sat phone. A sat phone + plan is pushing the cost of what some of us are talking about. If a small electric motor works, it isn't $16K, more like $1K. Or far less, if you already have the motor. The $16K or $20K would easily pay for a full wing motor, that gets you home from mid ocean. $20K won't even come close to covering that tow, probably a decimal place off at least.

 

[OldDan1943]

The only time I have needed help getting back to port was a steering issue. The arm between the rudder post and hydraulic ram broke. In this case there was another boat close by that was having an engine overheat problem. We got the two boats tied up side by side. I powered, he steered, and we limped home.

See what happens when you put 2 heads together?
Another success story!!