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

I thought Australia was more expensive than the US! How can you live on that pittance!

 

Very frugally....... My military service pension was reduced because they "deemed", (I have no love for the sins and lies that "deemed" encompasses), I had income earning assets...... I wish.... Fighting to right bureaucratic wrongs is like knocking a brick wall over with a feather... The only feather I have is not enough... A long story but one 'battles on'.... but the full pension is not much more...

Unless you have a convenient location for accommodation, can easily walk everywhere, have no car and no mortgage, you are pretty well screwed...

Remember, I also have a boat to maintain and no convenient place to keep it... and that is the part that they call "the deemed asset", My bloody home... ??? which is supposed to be excluded from consideration... A sort of catch 22 situation...

 

I have exactly ZERO advice to offer. I can only offer wishes for "good fortune" accompany you.

If I stumble across any world changing free energy resource, You can have the OZ concession. Figuring how to PROFIT from a free energy source, is the catch 22 on that.

 

And is

and

Obviously if they are used as your home they are exempt

 

a lot of people move to asia to survive on it.

 

Moderization

Points well taken,...remember I did say "I have in mind redoing two such designs,...modernizing them....for the coming new market for motorsailers,....for those who don't want a multihull one." I will likely start a new subject thread dealing with this 'moderization' so good contributions such as yours can be made.

Just to touch on a few of your observations at this time:

FLYBRIDGE...You need an outside steering station, so why not have it up here out of the cockpit area with great visability. One can always erect a soft cover for this flybridge such as seen on this Alden design (the other design slated for moderization)
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/general-sailing-discussion/6710-motor-sailers-philip-rhodes-john-alden-4.html#post61710



SAILING RIG....Its my intention to offer these moderized vessels with at least 3 different rigs,...1) conventional as original, 2) a larger rig based upon a better ballast ratio and better sail handling equipments, 3) a wishbone mast carrying 3 low aspect sails that will attach to the gunnels aft of midship, and able to fold down over the bow for transit under low bridges,...and even canals. Efforts to go boomless on all sails, and roller furling.

COCKPIT....nice large open cockpit with movable chairs, an outside grill and sink/cooking area, and a fold-down transom that greatly expands that cockpit and dingy accessibility.
http://www.wavetrain.net/boats-a-gear/248-bavaria-yachts-meet-the-qknikq
I looked preliminarily at extending the deckhouse roof out over this cockpit to form a portion of hard cover, but this would likely interfere with moving between the cockpit floor and the deck edges along the deckhouse, ...so I think this area will have to be some sort of roll out soft cover.

DINGY....Accessability will be great with a fold-down transom arrangement. Stowage would be 2 alternate positions....transom hung davits, or for longer passages a foredeck arrangement as the 'convention mast will be located further aft at the very front edge of the deckhouse.

DRAFT...5 foot max...not terribly bad

MONO vs MULTI...Not everyone wants a multihull, and particularly those older sailing folks that are finding a need to move to a trawler because there is not a mono alternative with narrower beam for dockage, etc.

...the other vessel I have in mind redoing....what a nice sheer and bow.




BTW, I had a meeting recently with the owner of a beautiful 60' Alden Boothbay Challenger. One of his desires is to have a vessel with an aft cockpit area like this 57' design, rather than his centercockpit design.

 

Hi Brian, Yes Multi / Mono is a personal thing, conversion to acceptance of the catamaran option the people must visit a cat that will meet their specific needs to go from marina walkway to boat and dingy to boat and in some cases from boat direct to shore via a forward set of steps / ladder...

Your considerations are well thought out for your region as I also feel my build is very close to optimal for the region I intend to cruise... I still prefer the additional space and separation of berths for privacy as found in a cat... I will not add berths and have one double in each hull aft... The original plan had 4 doubles - and as I have said, I am not catering for 'free-loaders' to holiday on my boat...

I would like to be able to get the propellers out of the water when at anchor and then reduce the draft to about 600mm (2 ft) from the present 3 ft but that would impact on size of rudders and true tracking down a wave with no sign of broaching in present configuration...

 

I remember reading advice against the idea of 'crusing on shoe-string'.

1)Fish in tropical waters are fickle.

2)Any fruit trees belong to someone else, even it they aren't in neat rows like an American orchard and you don't see anyone around for miles or weeks.

3)You can plan and stick to a diet of your planned stored food, in theory, but the boat will EAT MONEY, big money, no matter how good of shape or well made it is or how handy you are.

Given #3, what could be done to make a sail boat Doomsday ready if starting from scratch?

I'm thinking a junk rig might be one way to go, because I've seen from very ragged patchwork junk sails that seemed to be doing OK because they don't concentrate stress like Western rig.

 

Traditional junk sails are a different concept than modern chinese lug sails.
In the traditional sail, the full length battens are actually yards. The cloth panels between the battens are laced only to the battens, not sewn to each other. A damaged sail requires only replacement or repair of the affected panel.

Best book on junks I think: Out of print: 'Junks and Sampans of Yangste River' by W.R.G Worcester

My boat already has it's rig and sails. If I were going to change or needed a rig, it would be classic junk.

 

Any pictures of a classic junk?

What is the minimum size motorsailor for a couple to live aboard?

 

have a look at this randall 42 ketch rig and twin 165 volvo stern drives. randalls motor sailors have a good reputation. i think it would be a good set up. it's on ebay for $55000 with some water damage.

 

Having read this post with interest I have to say most of us in the UK with motor Sailers 'sail ' them, however in rough seas it's nice to have those extra horses down in the engine room, we are short of a few things here but wind is not one of them.

Fast they are not, but in heavy seas I know what I want to be in, most are either Ketch or sloop rigged.

If you want a real offshore motorsailer with a pedigree second to none look at a Colvic Watson, a small one is 23'-6", then 25'-6", 28'-6", 31'-6" and 34'-6"

Anyone needing further info PM me as after 7 years research I wrote The History of the Colvic Watson Motor Sailer.

 

Newfoundland friend of mine Dave Thorn flew over to your side of the pond and bought a Colvic 31 sailed it back to NFLD and as far as i know has been crusing down south with it for years. Recall she was driven ashore in a hurricane and got filled with sand. He cleaned the sand out of her with water buckets and she was no worst for wear. He describer her as slow, very seaworthy, and strong built.

 

Motor Sailers

http://www.bruceroberts.com/public/HTML/MOTOR-SAILERS.htm

See my thoughts on Motor Sailers. Regards Bruce Roberts.
I have a few designs that could be classified as motor sailers ... see what some others think.

http://www.bruceroberts.com/public/HTML/FEEDBACK.htm
Good boatbuilding, Regards Bruce

 

Love your work Bruce, I do see several of your pilothouse msailors for sale where the owner grew too old to finish them I guess, usually in different stages of fabrication and the dang things are still too expensive for my blood, to have them finished, but I sure do like them.