Get feet wet / Great Lakes / Loop sailboat - power conversion project

Discussion in 'Powerboats' started by KeithO, Jun 6, 2020.

  1. KeithO
    Joined: Jul 2019
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    Location: Michigan

    KeithO Senior Member

    I had an earlier thread about how to accomplish a power long range cruiser suitable for the Pacific. After being generally disappointed in the feedback received, I thought perhaps the right approach to this problem is to try it on a smaller scale and not risk too much investment and try to judge the risk/reward relationship....

    I just spotted on craigslist within an hours drive someone disposing of a hull for a 28' Newport Mk2. The former owner is clearly scrapping it out, valuables like the lead keel and inboard engine are already gone, rudder and mast removed and the hull is being offered free, if one collects. Assistance provided with loading.... So it sounds like an excellent donor for the price... 28' oal sounds long enough for some great lakes and loop sailing and its obviously going to be cramped compared to something in the 38-40ft range.

    So basically, I would need to build a shallow keel that transitions into the rudder skeg with a notch for the prop. I'm probably going to marinize an industrial Kubota engine or look for a 30hp powerplant on eBay. So far I have had good luck in finding good deals on low hour engines on Craigslist or eBay.

    There was originally 3200lb of lead in the now missing keel, so some ballast would have to be added back to get her to float right. Part of that would be through larger fuel tankage, I may have to allow for ballast to be added as fuel level drops so as not to cause a drastic trim change. The balance would have to be in ingot form laid on the inner surface of the hull and restrained in some way from moving once set...

    A trailer is probably also in the works. The beam is 9'6" so 12" over the max allowed for "regular" towing. Even with that, a trailer gives extra options for launching and retrieving and potentially reduces the cost of storing the boat off season or when not in use. Wish me luck...
     
  2. kapnD
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    kapnD Senior Member

    Good luck!
    Post pics, document the build.
    Recommend keeping feet dry.
     
  3. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    I have a 1976 O'Day 27 in Milwaukee you can have for free. It has a gas inboard.
     
  4. fallguy
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    fallguy Senior Member

    Now you have his wheels turning.

    Transistioning from sail to power will not be so simple.

    Typically, the stern of the sailboat and the stern of the powerboat are quite different.

    I might take Gonzo up on his offer. Get u to water quite a bit sooner.

    That donor hull would really take a ton of work and sans keel, it might really be rather unstable and not pleasant to ride in. The keeled hull, of course, has lots of draft. This is why daggers or a board would be so much better for your plan. If you had stability issues; you could adjust them.

    Of course, you could board the donor hull, but none of that is too easy.

    Used sailboats are pretty plentiful. Find one already powered that doesn't have deep draft as a constant and you would be much happier.

    And your SOR is sort of wandering, so pin it down better. You went from Pacific bluewater cruiser to scale it down some to a sailboat carcass missing a keel.
     
    bajansailor and ondarvr like this.
  5. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    This boat is on a steel cradle, and the deck was redone about 4 years ago.
     
  6. ondarvr
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    ondarvr Senior Member

    Find someone else's abandoned dream, then you can put a few thousand into it before losing interest and passing it on to the next dreamer.

    Get something that is as close to what you want as possible in usable condition, then upgrade and fine tune it as time and money allow.
     
  7. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    He can sail away in the boat I am offering.
     
  8. KeithO
    Joined: Jul 2019
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    Location: Michigan

    KeithO Senior Member

    I figured from the start that you can't leave a sailboat keel intact. If you take the mast down and eliminate sails the vessel would have an uncomfortable motion and draft would be compromised compared to a trawler. So the keel configuration needs to change regardless. Krogen has the classic full keel with protected prop and rudder and I don't think adding such an appendage is going to be a huge deal on a 28' sailboat.

    I recently saw a Goetz IMS 50 racing sailboat listed for $45k in California. That would have a lot of the desired hull properties for the Pacific boat I was originally referring to. The interior was very Spartan (pipe cots for sleeping and sail storage) so would make a good donor candidate. But I'm not ready for a project of that magnitude just yet and since my retirement savings plan has me working in the Midwest for another 4-5 years, I think a smaller and less expensive project that I can splash and learn from a lot sooner ( and hopefully enjoy ) seems like a good idea. Certainly I'm not ever buying another gas powerboat, thirsty beasts....
     
  9. KeithO
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    KeithO Senior Member

    There are very few full displacement trawlers out there. The Willard's are the closest, but they are highly sought after and expensive. I have no desire to go with a semi displacement vessel with their oversized engines and poor slow speed economy.

     
  10. KeithO
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    KeithO Senior Member

    Gonzo your offer is very generous, I would have to figure out where to go with it since I'm closer to lake St Claire /Erie than I am to lake Michigan. I don't know if we have transport companies in MI that specialize in sailboat transport to do it by road.
     
  11. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    It is not a long sail. This could be your shakedown cruise.
     
  12. kapnD
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    kapnD Senior Member

    At displacement speeds, most semi displacement, and even many planing hulls have excellent fuel economy, even with oversized engines.
    Economy can be further improved with intelligent motor/gear/prop selections.
     
  13. fallguy
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    fallguy Senior Member

    Removing the mast and keel does not equate to stability.

    Most of the sailboats in my pea brain are not inherently stable with the mast and keel removed. I think of a round tube. They are not generally designed to be stable sans components. Or perhaps stable, but rolling oi!

    There are far more competent people than me here to discuss the stability of sailboats with keels gone. I just can't let it go unmentioned.
     
  14. KeithO
    Joined: Jul 2019
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    KeithO Senior Member

    If you take said round tube and add 2000-3000lb of ballast on the bottom surface (a higher % of ballast than any semi displacement vessel of similar displacement), I think it will be adequately stable when there is no sail trying to push it over on its side.


     

  15. fallguy
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    fallguy Senior Member

    let's say that is true

    how many round hull power boats are designed like a modified sailboat bottom?
     
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