Converting sailboat to powerboat

I'm in SW Florida with wrecked boats a plenty here.

There are a number of sailboats that need their mast, rigging, and sails replaced, but the rest of the boat is fine.

Would it work to just forget the sails and use it as a cruising powerboat?

What would be the downside?

BlueRidge said:

I'm in SW Florida with wrecked boats a plenty here.



There are a number of sailboats that need their mast, rigging, and sails replaced, but the rest of the boat is fine.



Would it work to just forget the sails and use it as a cruising powerboat?



What would be the downside?

Click to expand...

Where do you want to go?

Most sailboats I have been on have small fuel tanks but thrifty on fuel consumption. So there is your limitations. Sails optional.

Mmm. That's one limitation. Lots of folks carry Jerry cans. Easy to get 1,000 miles slow. I've often thought they'd make decent river boats.

But you've got other practical limitations - draft
- comfort in big waves
- most people you encounter will assume you're indigent. You're not going to want to try anchoring too long anywhere.

I forgot slow!

If you want to keep it behind your house and cruise the canals it might be fabulous.

Without the rig most sail boats are over ballasted resulting in a very uncomfortable motion. A naval architect, preferably the designer, could provide insight in how much of ballast weight to remove. This likely would result in modifying the keel. Not impossible but imo necessary to have an enjoyable vessel.

Antares said:

Without the rig most sail boats are over ballasted resulting in a very uncomfortable motion. A naval architect, preferably the designer, could provide insight in how much of ballast weight to remove. This likely would result in modifying the keel. Not impossible but imo necessary to have an enjoyable vessel.

Click to expand...

Kindly expand on bolded.
Removing any part of the keel would definitely make the hull worthless for anyone interested in re rigging.

Not hurricane boats. They're worth the lead and the motor, maybe. Most will be junked, a handful rerigged, and a handful repurposed as power boats, mostly unsuccessfully.

Antares suggestion is a good one. If a fin keel boat take a chainsaw to the keel. Watch rudder draft, and ideally lop some depth off the rudder. This requires more specialized skills.

I've been on a couple of keelboats that have spat their rigs
Thoroughly miserable trip getting back to port

Not trying to be cranky here. But sailboats without rigs are pretty common, and none of them get rerigged. Many take the insurance check and happily walked away.

There's a boat that's been for sale here locally. Nice boat, a buddy had a sister ship. He sold his just before COVID and has regretted it ever since. I was kind of advising him and feel bad.

Anyway, I digress. Boat with a mast might be worth 50k. It's now being advertised for $15k. Seller has estimate for $45k mast. My guess is he took the $45k and the insurance company gave him what was left of the boat.

You might think that you can match up to a used rig. But then you realize that sails are different, rigging loads are different, etc etc etc. It's far worse than repowering a trawler.

I haven't checked lately, but I kind of have $1/lb as my go-to number. The value of the lead will definitely cover the cost of a keel job, if you don't demand perfection.

Assuming you have an external lead keel. Probably should shut up now

The sailboats I have been on made fairly lousy powerboats. They are designed for sails not motors.

BlueRidge said:

I'm in SW Florida with wrecked boats a plenty here.

There are a number of sailboats that need their mast, rigging, and sails replaced, but the rest of the boat is fine.

Would it work to just forget the sails and use it as a cruising powerboat?

What would be the downside?

Click to expand...

If you concentrate only on catamarans I think many could be converted to
power cruisers. I also advise against a monohull without the mast. My 30'
sailboat was dismasted while I was living aboard in Hawaii and the motion
was very unpleasant even tied up at my dock during high winds and waves.

KnotYet said:

If you concentrate only on catamarans I think many could be converted to
power cruisers. I also advise against a monohull without the mast. My 30'
sailboat was dismasted while I was living aboard in Hawaii and the motion
was very unpleasant even tied up at my dock during high winds and waves.

Click to expand...

What boat at the dock has a pleasant motion in high winds and waves? Much less a 30' boat...

On the East Coast, heck, most sailors power down the ditch from Norfolk to Florida and still love their boats when they get there. Some even take the mast down and those that don't, many curse the bridges.

I have been on sailboats that were under power a lot and would have to say certain sizes and shapes seem to be better at powering in terms of ride and speed.

There are examples of converted sailboats that people have described as wonderful to awful that have been published. Might be found in Youtubes or Googled.

I wanted to get away from that "submarine, tubelike living" to the "open, airy and windowed" style. Thus a trawler.

I guess the biggest decision is just how many modifications would you do, or just accect what it is at a cheap price and go enjoy?

Hi, the mast slows down the roll movement. without a mast the movement is annoyingly fast and boating is not comfortable.

as someone already mentioned, the stability of the boat would require consideration by the Naval architect.

Nbs

For info on sailboats that travel with their masts down, the America’s Great Loop Cruisers' Association websire may be helpful....

https://www.greatloop.org/

Or Captain John
https://captainjohn.org/

Some

already do that .
We take a look at an another interesting hull in Australia.
narrow, well built, light , not so expansive, two "side board" (who it could be usefull) and the covid arrived and storage ashore was at an huge price(for waiting the end of covid or at less the end of the access restriction to reach in Australia ... Don't go further.It was a 90' Dubois design Ragamuffin

Years ago in the Indiantown marina, Florida, there was a 36 Gulfstar sailboat that was converted to trawler. They cut the keel and rudder down, added a pilothouse and added more power, tanks, etc. It was nice when complete and if I remember correctly, the couple went on extended cruises regularly. It was a huge project

Just one example.....


How Winnie the Pooh came to be

Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 08:41:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mark or Susanne R
Subject: Sailboat to Trawler Conversions, Winnie The Pooh

Winnie the Pooh, sailboat to trawler conversion - Trawlers & Trawlering

boomerang said:

What boat at the dock has a pleasant motion in high winds and waves? Much less a 30' boat...

Click to expand...

I should not have been so mild in my description. The motion at the dock
went from merely 'unpleasant' with the mast in place to violent without it.

Hi,

Artickle

How we converted our wooden sailboat into a charming motoryacht

https://www.mby.com/features/how-we-converted-our-wooden-sailboat-into-a-charming-motoryacht-120042

NBs

psneeld said:

For info on sailboats that travel with their masts down, the America’s Great Loop Cruisers' Association websire may be helpful....

https://www.greatloop.org/

Click to expand...

Just guessing but I'll bet having the rig still on board helps a lot with the motion.

KnotYet said:

Just guessing but I'll bet having the rig still on board helps a lot with the motion.

Click to expand...

Mostly it's a pain. A lot of Loopers ship their masts between Chicago and Mobile and do just fine.

AGLCA is mostly about trawlers these days.

It is done a lot. Some as a conscious decision, some just because they get tired of sails so never use them.

In your case I would explore shortening the keel for a more shallow draft and a lighter boat. Of course there will not be as much interior room as on a trawler or powerboat but most have a very efficient hull design. Totally getting rid of the mast, right down to the keel should open some space below for additional fuel. Many sailboats do not have a genny, you might want to consider one.

pete

KnotYet said:

Just guessing but I'll bet having the rig still on board helps a lot with the motion.

Click to expand...

I would guess just the opposite...
It's not the weight that stabilizes its the moment arm... wt at a distance that has the largest impact. Alum mast & rigging weight is small vs the keel and the added force of wind at the center of sail area really helps.

Bacchus said:

I would guess just the opposite...
It's not the weight that stabilizes its the moment arm... wt at a distance that has the largest impact. Alum mast & rigging weight is small vs the keel and the added force of wind at the center of sail area really helps.

Click to expand...

The rig standing has huge effect. Lying on deck, not so much.

KnotYet said:

I should not have been so mild in my description. The motion at the dock went
from merely 'unpleasant' with the mast in place to violent without it.

Click to expand...

Missing the point you are making.
I find sailboats in general bounce wildly at the docks compared to power boats, especially the tender ones that can be healed by walking from one side to the other.
Generally sailboats are more stable when moving with or without sail set as the fin and rudder act as wings. Have never been on board a mast less sailboat so must defer to those that have, but I find it hard to imagine that a mast will affect the powerboat aspect of the sailboat to a great degree.
As mentioned a cat makes a better conversion to power.

A good number of sailboat loopers ship their mast and rigging all the way down south from NY or the early Great Lakes. So there is still relevant info out there.

As to whether the mast on deck has a good or bad effect...new stability is easy to find out with a couple barrels full of water on deck if that's all you are comparing to.

As I posted before...buy a good hull, engine and decent interior for a song (for the price of the working parts).... ride it hard for a few years...if it still has working parts...piece it out as parts and trash the rest. The numbers may still put you ahead of being able to travel in a seaworthy hull, even if occasionally uncomfortable. If it turns out better than though, make the mods to make it ride and live better....still coming out ahead at some point.

To discuss this in broad or generic terms is like so many TF discussions between people who have never really done something.......but feel like they can relate.