The motorsailer: Not good at anything or just a motorboat with sail?

[gunship]

commonly, motorsailors seem to be regarded as either a bad compromise or as a motorboat with a mast. i cannot really understand why this would have to be the case.

For a few years, my family had a motorsailor. the motorboat with a mast type - as it had no keel. many people i know had sailors with an inboard engine, but no pilothouse.

commonly the thing that conflicts between motor vessels and sailors are the Keel and the pilothouse, and some hull shape differences. but if youre not planning on excessive speeds, is the hull shape really such a decisive factor? i understand that an ideal motor vessel would have a hull designed to fit with the propeller, which would decrease sailing performance. would a waterjet be a solution?

(following is some gobbledeygook that the casual can skip)

layout wise, the pilothouse is a problem. the motorsailer we had had a pilothouse halfway lowered, and a hatch, so if you stood at the helm, you would be standing up through the roof. i found that a pretty good sollution, maybe not ideal, but very functional. the problem was the cockpit, that was nonexistant. on my philosophical sketches (As in just theorycrafted) i placed the cockpit practically on deck level behind the pilothouse. while not providing quite as good protection against the seas, i figured in a storm you always have the pilothouse. the cockpid i sketched was lowered a little, so that youre clear of the boom when standing, and you could see over the pilothouse.

If someone bothered following me on that, what do you think?

is there any other ovious problems with a motorsailor?

There are many, many motorsailor threads already here. You most probably find all the answers just by using the Forum search function.

Regards
Richard

[Fanie]

Hello Gunship !

Yes, there are lots of problems with motor sailors ! The first is mine is not finished

The problems there are are mostly between the ears. The power boat guys think sailboats are these slow sluggish things. The sailies think power boats are for a rough group of speed monsters (like Richard )

Most sailboats are actually motor sailors in any case, since they all have a motor for windless times. When you go to larger (than small) boats they usually have displacement hulls, these have a design speed for the hull that is mostly considered the max speed. Thing is you can go faster than hull speed with enough power applied.

Personally I like the idea of going places for free (for a change), so sailing suits me. There are times however I would like to use the motor's instead.

So imo nothing wrong with the extra option.

Originally Posted by Fanie

. The sailies think power boats are for a rough group of speed monsters (like Richard )

speed monsters yeah?

57 ft. Passagemaker / Trawler for sale.

[Fanie]

Sure. Just look at the boat you sell. From my little boat that's a MONSTER

Maybe you should sell it in meters ?
17m sounds a lot more moderate than 57ft, unless you want to charge more for it.

[PAR]

There are good and bad motorsailors, just like choices for a wife. Actually, I think you have better odds at the good wife.

As in any other yacht design selection process, you have to make lists (many) of the things you need and desire in a yacht. Eventually, the prioritizing of these lists will focus the candidates into a small enough group where a few will stand out and the selection made.

Then again you can build a semi or full out custom. Naturally this is a bigger investment in everything, but not so unusual an issue. Lastly would be finding a good candidate, but rearranging her accommodations to better suit you. This is likely the most economical option, especially with the wide open market to choose from.

[pool]

It's not that difficult to have a good motorsailer:

Take a proven, more traditional (metal) sailboat hull with sufficient integral tankage. Something along the lines of a Jongert or Nordia that, with a furling rig, will sail reasonably well in trade wind conditions.

Then add a reliable single diesel and a variable pitch prop that can load the engine for motor sailing, and be set to min. resistance when sailing.

Hey presto - there's a decent motorsailer!

Originally Posted by Fanie

Sure. Just look at the boat you sell. From my little boat that's a MONSTER

Maybe you should sell it in meters ?
17m sounds a lot more moderate than 57ft, unless you want to charge more for it.

Good idea!

So my 22 meter Passagemaker should be a Monster bargain at 2 mio.

[Fanie]

There are good and bad motorsailors, just like choices for a wife. Actually, I think you have better odds at the good wife.

As in any other yacht design selection process, you have to make lists (many) of the things you need and desire in a yacht. Eventually, the prioritizing of these lists will focus the candidates into a small enough group where a few will stand out and the selection made.

Eeessshhh Par, I can see how impressed any woman candidate will be if you make lists to evaluate her



Richard, 57ft is 22m ??? My calculator must be broken...

[PAR]

Had you made lists of the qualities and needs you required in a wife, how many times would you have had to eat alone?

Originally Posted by Fanie

Richard, 57ft is 22m ??? My calculator must be broken...

Of course.

To make the boat not look too monstruos we make it 57 ft. and to earn a few pennies we sell it at 22 m.

[gonzo]

With the new lightweight powerful engines available, the so called saiboats are really motorsailors. They used to be called auxiliaries, but now they do maximum design speed under sail or power, the definition of a motorsailor.

[Willallison]

My favourite motorsailer...

http://www.superyachttimes.com/edito...rticle/id/3697

[PAR]

I'm more of a Marco Polo fan, though the lifeboat hull form could use revision for aesthetic reasons.

[Brian@BNE]

Originally Posted by gonzo

With the new lightweight powerful engines available, the so called saiboats are really motorsailors. They used to be called auxiliaries, but now they do maximum design speed under sail or power, the definition of a motorsailor.

Ok, but they won't have long range under power alone will they, unless quite large to fit the tankage required?

Yes Will, a good choice as a favorite. Very nice indeed!