Conversion of Mirage 28

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by countderek, Jun 14, 2013.

  1. countderek
    Joined: Jun 2013
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    Location: Isle of Wight

    countderek New Member

    I have a Mirage28 cruiser which,due to medical problems I can no longer sail. She has a Yannmar 2GM 18 engine and bilge keels. I am interested on any thoughts/help/advice on making her a pure motor boat.:?:
     
  2. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Welcome to the forum.

    Remove the rig and enjoy. Her buttock angles are too sever for anything, other then the 8 MPH she's capable of. Leave the keels in place, as you'll need their weight to keep her on her lines. A hard or soft dodger at the companionway hatch would make powering along in less than ideal weather more palatable. I'd place the helm and controls on the cabin bulkhead so you can drive from under the dodger.
     
  3. countderek
    Joined: Jun 2013
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    Location: Isle of Wight

    countderek New Member

    Mirage 28

    Thanks for confirming what I thought. Unfortunately she has a tiller helm which can be fixed to an auto helm unit and to convert to a wheel helm may be more trouble than it is worth. I plan to put in place a full wind shield and possibly some sort of cover over the hatch area or the full well area:)
     
  4. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    A tiller helm can be easily converted to a quadrant and cable pulley system. In fact, you can have both, with a tiller being backup if a cable breaks. A wheel setup isn't as difficult as it might seem. Cable routing is the usual difficulty, but with some thought, you can workout a solution.
     

  5. Petros
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    Petros Senior Member

    would it not be easier to sell the sailboat and buy a suitable motor boat? Sailboats have less than optimum accommodations to make them suitable as sailboats, a purpose built power boat would have more room, wheel steering and not have any bad habits that are caused by a hull design ill suited to power operation. Also, any permanent alterations to your sailboat will greatly reduce its resale value later.

    It seems to me, unless your sailboat has some overly sentimental value to you, sell it and buy something that is better suited for your current needs. If you do make changes to your sailboat, do them in a way that can be undone without much effort or repairs to the hull for any future owner to convert it back to sailing use.
     
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