Small passagemaking boats

I have had several sailing vessels and have yet to find one that is small, yet long range under power with a sailing capability when the wind is favorable. Recently I have been looking at the British Colvic Watson 23.5 and 26 foot pilot house motorsailers. Great small boats tgthat are double ended, have solid bildge keels and and accomodations that are about like the Fisher Motorsailers, but infinitely less expensive. Does anyone know of a US boat that is similar and could have a 1,000 mile range? Any suggestions. I usually run from Florida to N.J. once a year and spend a lot of time cruising the Bahamas.

 

Small Passagemakers

I was surprised to find this googling "small motorsailers" :
Motorsailors
http://www.janice142.com/Sailboats.htm
I designed and built a very small motorsailer-LOA 20' that had a 15hp Yanmar and a good rig on it. Looks similar to the Fisher motorsailers that I've always admired except that it has a center cockpit with a wheelhouse aft. You could sit in the cockpit without having the view obstructed and when it got nasty move into the comfortably snug wheelhouse-suitable weekender for a couple with a couple of small kids since the two small "cabins" were separate.. Has a wheel in the cockpit and inside and has a 700 mile range under power. Still in Jacksonville ,Fl.
If I do it again I'd do a 20-25' cat probably with sailing reserved for off the wind. The fuel economy would be extraordinarily high and the comfort nice too.Inside and outside steering ,of course. Strictly for intercoastal cruising.

 

Do you have some images or drawings from her?

 

pictures

I have numerous pictures but no way to scan them.
The hull was origninaly designed by me as the TS-18-80 were produced by Thompson(T-craft) in Titusville Fl. There is a good picture of the original boat on a trailer sailor website-I'll try to find it.
The motorsailer version uses a swim platform aft to extend the hull length to 20' and evokes the impression of a Fisher. It has lots of teak on the sides and a large teak rubrail. The swing keel from the original TS-18 was removed and a low aspect fin keel was added with the ballast in an endplate configuration fastened to the bottom of the somewhat long and thick fin-which carry's water.

 

Its not for sale but if you wish to visit , I have a dock in FL , just south of lake O on the Caloosahatchie river.

We have a MS that was custom built for all weather sailing and has served well in winter operations.

She is 33ft and has many unusual simple concepts for long term offshore cruising.

FAST FRED

 

For Sale

33' Nauticat Motorsailer
Year: 1986
Original Price: US$ 99,500 (09/05)
Current Price: US$ 92,900 (02/06)
Located in Cape Coral, FL
Hull Material: Fiberglass
Engine/Fuel Type: Single Diesel
YW# 12184-1439447

 

I find it somewhat difficult to get a 1000 miles range under engine alone for a 25 footer, at a realistic speed.
As for a quick estimative, supposing you have the 25' in the WL, medium displacement and ideal conditions, you'd need well over 100 gallons to motor them at 5.5 knots :!:
On the other hand using just sails you can get even more than the 1000 miles and it will be only a matter of design, seamanship and enough provisions......
In the USA I think you may find also the Albin 25 MS & Vicksunds in the second hand market.
If you want to build one yourself, you may try the Coaster 25: http://www.glen-l.com/designs/sailboat2/coaster.html#avail
You may also be interested in Ted Brewer's design Kodiak, from Nimble boats: http://www.nimbleboat.net/boats.asp
Cheers

 

You might find it interesting to take a look at Tim Nolan's HEATHER Just type his name and the boat's name on your search engine and you should be able to find some pictures. Tim told me it weighs about 3000 pounds and 'sails really well'. I have no idea what HEATHER's range under power is, but it is a very remarkable boat.

 

Very interesting design. I didn't know it. I've posted it in my M&M pages. Thanks Gilbert.

 

Mr. Gillermo, your post on nimble boat works are good stuff. I found it interesting that the size and compact design is superb for trailability and easy to used in River and Ocean-crossing.

Do you know of other design that is better for a passagemaking? This maybe the boat I am looking. I need a bigger design to load more logistic but very compact design to fit the tight area perfectly.
GOODLUCK & THANKS

H2O

 

Check out Moose Island Design.................... nice curve and line, warm classic of wood, roomy and have passagemaking model............................... I should get discount for that boat plan

 

Although an interesting and clever design, I find Nimble boats rather coasters than passagemakers. I'd look for a heavier, long keeled and forgiving type for passagemaking, although anyhow crew punisment when in a storm (always possible when in a crossing longer than four-five days, at least in this part of the world) is always big for a 25 footer or the like, whatever the design.
Have a look at my M&M pages for more motorsailers models.
Cheers.

 

Guillermo. Thanks for the response, but being a well seasoned ship captain, I wouldn't be caught more than a few huundred feet off shore in either an Albin or Nimble. The Closest would be a Colvic Watson modified to hold 100 gallons of biodiesel. (Currently use biodiesel in my S2 9.2C) As it turns out, Willard puts out a publication that compares speed to range. By reducing speed to 4 1/2 knots on their 30 footer, you can actually go close to 2,000 miles. Remember the S/L and D/L formulas. At this point in time, my company is currently having a 25 foot design drawn up for production to fill the domestic gap. It's not too different than the Colvic Watson 23.5 but longer for fairer lines and better hydrodynamics. Probably also be a twin keel to enable it to stand up on the hard.

 

Tht's why I'm wondering about the needing of 1000 theoretical miles for a coaster. Probably 300-400 miles is quite enough...

I'd like very much to know about your company's design when ready.
Cheers.

 

Hardy Motorsailers

If you want to see a neat little motorsailer, look up the Hardy Motorsailers. They were built in the 18 foot and 20 foot lengths in the UK. They're almost small enough to be shipped via air freight. They also appear to be quite seaworthy and would probably be able to cross the Florida Straits to the Bahamas in fair weather. With the twin keels, they should be quite stable. One thing that impressed me with the Hardy 18 and 20 is that, for the short length, they have the appearance of a much larger boat. I believe that the 20 footer is the only model with inclosed head though. Neat little boat, but not too cheap.