Temporary repower

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Rodneysblue

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hypothetical questions, I need to move a 36 ft trawler on inland waterways. The engine needs to be rebuilt. Can I rig up a smaller engine, say 10 hp to move the boat a couple hundred miles to where I can do the work on it?
 
What about wind and current? 10 ho in a stiff wind and you will only go downwind.
 
Is there any way to put an outboard on it? Seems like setting up an inboard engine is going to be an awful lot of work.

Towing it might be the way to go.
 
A couple hundred miles? I'd have it towed. If that's too much $$$ maybe an outboard on the stern. 35 HP minimum? Setting that up may cost nearly as much as towing.
 
Is there any way to put an outboard on it? Seems like setting up an inboard engine is going to be an awful lot of work.

Towing it might be the way to go.
That's something to think about thanks.
A couple hundred miles? I'd have it towed. If that's too much $$$ maybe an outboard on the stern. 35 HP minimum? Setting that up may cost nearly as much as towing.
A couple hundred miles? I'd have it towed. If that's too much $$$ maybe an outboard on the stern. 35 HP minimum? Setting that up may cost nearly as much as towing.
Outboard is starting to sound like a viable option.
 
Rigging an outboard on the stern of your boat is a non trivial exercise. You could consider an outboard on a skiff / dingy. Bigger HP the better. You can tow astern, contrary to what seems like it should be steering the combo will be sketchy. If you can attach the tow point ahead of the outboard that may help. Stopping the big boat well be a challenge.

Or lash the smaller boat alongside the bigger near the stern. The combo will crab through the water, someone at the helm of the bigger can help. It will turn a lot faster away from the small boat than towards it. Stopping the big boat will be easier than towing astern.

I used to move a large heavy work raft with a rib and a 10 HP motor. It took a long time to get the contraption up to speed and even longer to stop it.

It ain't rocket surgery but it takes practice. Don't get in a hurry, go easy as you learn how.
 
Yeah you could rig a bracket to the swim platform and do the outboard thing. How far you going?

Ooups, a couple hundred miles eh? Yeah, that's a stretch.
 
If I were going to tow a 36' boat a couple hundred miles, I would borrow a 20 to 25' boat to tow it with, and probably tie along side for docking.

For me, mounting an outboard on a swim platform or to the transom, will have all kinds of issues. A separate boat negates some of the issues, such as dunking the motor.

Keep in mind, this is going to be a sloooow tow, 5 no more than 6 knots.

Ted
 
Thank you all for your great replies. They give me a lot to think about.
 
We have an underway requirement at our yacht club that you must take your boat out twice a year under its own power, first half / second half of the year, this is supposed to eliminate or at least reduce the number of slip queens and derelict boats in the marina. There are who try to skirt the rules, which amazes me, because, come on, how hard is it to use your boat two times a year?
Anyway, the boat in the photos, an old 36' Uniflight aft cabin belongs to a person in our club, this is their home and is a really cheap place to live. The engines in this boat are seized and every year struggle comply with the underway requirements. So, they mounted a 20 hp Yamaha engine to the swim step and they get a few friends to take the boat out twice a year to comply. It takes 3 people to make this happen, one to operate the outboard, one to relay information to the 3rd person at the helm. (left -right-stop, go etc.) They have to take the boat early in the morning before the wind builds or they have no control of the boat and top speed is about 3-4 knots WOT.
That said, if you try, there are calculations used to determine minimum horsepower to achieve hull speed of a given hull. I had a 34' CHB trawler and remember the minimum HP for that boat was 40hp, but the boat was equipped with a 120hp Lehman, you need the extra HP to overcome current, wind and sea state.
be safe, try to get the engine(s) running or have the boat towed.
 

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Thank you all for your great replies. They give me a lot to think about.
We yanked out our twin Crusaders and mounted twin 50hp Yamaha outboards on our 36’ SeaRay 355T. Slow cruising at 4-6 knots and can run up to 10 knots when needed. Gained much needed room in bilge for storage.
 
This just sounds like trouble — the little auxiliary engine that is

Something we would tried decades ago
 
Hmmmm......can't so a rebuild where it is now? Or yank the engine and truck it to your local rebuild shop? Sounds like an awful lot of expense and anxiety to move the boat hundreds of miles under sketchy (at best) temporary power
 
Hmmmm......can't so a rebuild where it is now? Or yank the engine and truck it to your local rebuild shop? Sounds like an awful lot of expense and anxiety to move the boat hundreds of miles under sketchy (at best) temporary power

Agree. Rebuild in place. Or pull it and rebuild locally. Or pull it, truck it to wherever and rebuild there, truck it back. Et cetera. Don't see a need to need to leap through hoops to move the whole boat...

-Chris
 
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