Correct me if I'm wrong Rustybarge but can you acquire diesel outboards in Ireland?
I think Richard was getting about 4 nmpg on that passage. The most efficient outboard I know of isn't quite a trawler, has a much higher cruise speed of 16 kt but does get 4 nmpg at that clip. Slow down to 14 kt and sip at 7 nmpg.
MC30
Hi Rusty, I don't think that's the boat for cruising but I like the idea of using an outboard to power a trawler cruising boat.
I'm going to cause some thread drift sorry. One of our members just completed an Atlantic crossing and is in Castletownbere. If you're any where near there you might want to stop by and say hello.
You can see where the boat is here: https://share.delorme.com/Dauntless
I see that Richard came up in the conversation while I was typing.
A 20/21 deg planning hull is not a good choice for trawler speeds in anything more than flat water. They are very sea kindly on plane at 20knts and up. Slow speed they pitch and roll in rough conditions. Lose power and they swing beam to and roll. I cruised a 28' 21 deg 10' beam boat for over 10 years. You are pretty much stuck with the 1.4 mpg. A well designed outboard is a good choice, however very pricey when compared to a car block marine outdrive. Aluminum cats can do both go fast and slow. Probably a better route. They can be full displacement run fast with lower power and are very stable at slow trawler speeds. Think Glacier Bay.
Wth 20 degrees deadrise and the engines all the way aft a boat will trim very bow high and be very inefficient.
Not trawler like at all.
At a knot below hull speed an OB will power a trawler but in rough going the prop may come out of the water.
I think it's hard to declare any OB boat a trawler but perhaps a very unusual one could qualify. Example ... An OB powered Albin 25 w the lower unit several inches deeper than usual I'd be inclined to call a trawler.
Outboards are high rpm and don't have low enough gears for an appropriate diameter propeller. If they did 15hp would be plenty on the Albin. IMO
Our Nimble Nomad trawler is OB powered with a 1991 Honda 45hp. It is trailerable although I have not done so in many years. When not in the water it resides on a lift.
Hi All and Greetings from Ireland,
I've been lurking here for a while looking at the posts; very interesting and informative.
I'm interested in a trawler, BUT buying a 30 year old model does not appeal to me because of the potential of a financial melt down if the engines blow up. To me it's the same question as "How much is a 30 year old truck worth?" When you come to resell your boat.
I was looking at these outboard designs in alloy which would come in at 'budget' brand new, the complete hull/superstructure ready welded at about €2k/ft; the interior fitted out as a home build. Just hang the outboards on the transom and go!
32', 3 tons, 300hp.......
Are these really trawlers?.........
IMO, one of the definitions of a trawler is that it does well at slow speeds in moderate seas (pick your sea state). To do this at slow speed it needs to be able to punch through seas, not bounce off the waves. Simply, that requires significant weight. Nothing wrong with riding on plane through the tops at 12 to 20 knots like a Downeaster or a Cat, but that's not going slow.
As to whether an outboard can get the same efficency as a diesel, you have to take the same boat with the same load displacement at the same hull speed to make that comparison. There is a 34' 28,0000 lbs. displacement trawler called Briney Bug that claims a 16 mpg consumption at 4 knots and 10 mpg at 5 knots. Doubt you could replicate with an outboard simply because on the lack of propeller diameter and fuel inefficiency of outboards at slow speeds. The above aside, I'm sure you can take a 28' +/- hull displacing 7,000 lbs. and push it along at hull speed at 4 to 5 mpg.
Ted
You can call them what you like or you can argue about the name, it's not important. What is important is, will the boat you are considering buying meet your needs?
I have no idea what "€2k/ft" means in dollars but when you mention "Just hang the outboards on the transom and go!" I have to wonder if the price does not include the outboards and if you have considered the price of two relatively high powered outboard motors and the cost of installation including a means of steering and controlling them.
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of trawlers on the market, new and used. If the thought of buying a thirty year old boat bothers you, buy a twenty year old boat. Or a ten year old boat. Diesel engines as used in boats typically run thousands of hours before major service. Not so gasoline engines and especially high revving outboards. Diesel is safer and more efficient than gasoline.
Another advantage to buying an existing trawler is that you can take it for a sea trial and see how it performs. Buy a hull and add your own engines and you have what you have, good or bad.
I am curious about the whole outboard thing -- for Seaweed. Purely speculation however:
She takes 8hp according to vicprop to push her at hull speed.
However, a motor run at half throttle will use less fuel? So, if I went with a 15hp, theoretically, would that be better?
Seaweed will not plane -- she's got a displacement hull and even with the 260hp gasoline inboard beast she came with, Seaweed cannot get out of her own way. During her sea trial, pre-purchase, with full throttle and the trim tabs still installed, she would not get up and go. And that was before I added my Stuff.
[The new diesel is progressing well, but I'll tell you, the thought of an auxiliary power (outboard) surely has piqued my interest.]
I did explore this at 3k a 9.9 can be had. Plus mounts, new prop, spare electric start -- give or take.
Anyway, in the eventual Perfect World scenario, would a 9.9 be a better option than a 15? I do understand a 9.9 can be turned into a 15 however that would negate the 5 year warranty on these things so is not an option in my view.
What say the experts?
I'd say you can cruise them any way you wish. Whatever you wish to call them they look light, efficient and capable. Personally I think you can get by fine with less than 300 HP (assuming twin 150's) but it's all dependent upon what you want a boat to do. R Cooke at this forum has a boat quite similar to the one on the bottom picture and he regularly cruises long distances in it comfortably.
He has a book about it to you can find on Amazon I believe, Google his name.
Presuming the prop is properly geared for the job:
Heres the fuel consumption for a 60hp 'under normal load':
http://www.suzukimarine.com/Product...C/Caravelle Powerboats/Caravelle 17 EBO DF60A
A high trust engine /fine prop under 'normal load' will use about the same: 1.4 gal at 3000 revs, even though your are FD vessel.
Apologies to the forum: my posts are being moderated, so there is a delay before they appear.
3 or 4 of my posts have disappeared into the 'ether': I will wait to see if they reappear !
Not anymore, new members with less than 10 posts have all posts with links embedded have to be checked for spam by a moderator first. I cleared the posts stuck in the que and you're good to go now. The posts appear before this quoted one on page 2 of this thread.
Healhustler in post # 26 has depicted the better application as it relates to the thread.
To this it would be added practical actual experience of the hull speed aspect of OB application. Our former boat "Tenacious" weighed 19000# was SD configuration (Think 32 foot Grand Banks hull). We utilized a 9.9 "High Thrust" (Equal to a standard 15 HP OB) mounted on the swim step on a open market bracket. This drove the boat at 4.5 knots at 1/2 throttle. At full throttle this 9.9 was not pushing the boat at any more appreciable speed in terms of the high RPMs being used. At 1/2 throttle I'd had estimated that I would access a safe harbor with the OB fuel on hand or 6 plus hours of running.
On post #25 by Cappy, reflects the larger OBs in the upraise position on the same model boat.
Electric over Hydraulic lifts are standard on the larger OBs and optional on smaller (9.9) engines. The lower units can be raised out of the water to safeguard against corrosion conditions.
In the end, it is fully agreed that these large HP OBs are not comparable to our diesels large and small. Were there to be increased forum submissions on the subject perhaps the moderators would consider a specific category for the subject of OB driven trawlers.
Regards,
Al
Were there to be increased forum submissions on the subject perhaps the moderators would consider a specific category for the subject of OB driven trawlers.
Regards,
Al