E27 outboard motor
- Thread starter Drewrt
- Start date
The TowBoatUS freshwater policy for this area is $90./year.
Service has always been immediate and excellent.
( Alternative related to your stated use)
Also, be sure to have a good anchor, chain, and line, too.
The cost of an OB motor and mount (and the install with appropriate backing plates is a pretty large multiple of that. i.e. lots more than a decade of premiums. For that size/weight of boat you would need an OB with at least a 25" leg, and it would be very awkward to use. While any motor might be better than nothing, you will need an 8 to 10 HP.
Curious: Where do you moor? I am at RCYC on NE Marine Drive.
Service has always been immediate and excellent.
( Alternative related to your stated use)
Also, be sure to have a good anchor, chain, and line, too.
The cost of an OB motor and mount (and the install with appropriate backing plates is a pretty large multiple of that. i.e. lots more than a decade of premiums. For that size/weight of boat you would need an OB with at least a 25" leg, and it would be very awkward to use. While any motor might be better than nothing, you will need an 8 to 10 HP.
Curious: Where do you moor? I am at RCYC on NE Marine Drive.
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I understand your desire for a backup, things happen very quickly on the Columbia and the current can get quite interesting. On our first boat (Ranger 22) I had the little outboard run out of gas just upstream of the Vancouver RR Bridge while waiting for a bridge swing. It was one of those small outboards with the integrated tank which required me to lean way over the stern with a jerry can while trying not to dump it all into the river. We got it refueled and started about 100 yards before being swept under the bridge. I had my young children aboard that day too. I think that was where I came up with my description of sailing that goes something like: "Sailing: hours of tranquility punctuated by moments of sheer terror."
However, I agree with Loren and Gabriel. Unless your 27 has the outboard cutout it's going to be a real pain mounting an outboard. Then there is the gas tank, tiller extension, etc. to deal with. And if the outboard doesn't start after sitting idle for years...
Your Yanmar should be a very reliable engine, and if not I would spend the $$ that you would have spent on an outboard on fixing it up and making it reliable (unless there is something horribly wrong with it).
You might also invest in a good Fortress/Danforth or Mantus anchor and rode that can be deployed quickly in the event of an engine failure while you wait for a tow if there is no wind.
In addition to making sure our engine is reliable, and having a quickly available anchor, we have two long SUP paddles on board, which I figure we can utilize to at least shift the boat out of the shipping channel if the engine dies and there is no wind. We haven't actually tried this yet, but I suspect that with enough adrenalin two motivated paddlers would be able to move 9000+ pounds of boat if needed.
Doug
However, I agree with Loren and Gabriel. Unless your 27 has the outboard cutout it's going to be a real pain mounting an outboard. Then there is the gas tank, tiller extension, etc. to deal with. And if the outboard doesn't start after sitting idle for years...
Your Yanmar should be a very reliable engine, and if not I would spend the $$ that you would have spent on an outboard on fixing it up and making it reliable (unless there is something horribly wrong with it).
You might also invest in a good Fortress/Danforth or Mantus anchor and rode that can be deployed quickly in the event of an engine failure while you wait for a tow if there is no wind.
In addition to making sure our engine is reliable, and having a quickly available anchor, we have two long SUP paddles on board, which I figure we can utilize to at least shift the boat out of the shipping channel if the engine dies and there is no wind. We haven't actually tried this yet, but I suspect that with enough adrenalin two motivated paddlers would be able to move 9000+ pounds of boat if needed.
Doug
Drewrt
Member I
That's pretty much what I was thinkingThe TowBoatUS freshwater policy for this area is $90./year.
Service has always been immediate and excellent.
( Alternative related to your stated use)
The cost of an OB motor and mount (and the install with appropriate backing plates is a pretty large multiple of that. i.e. lots more than a decade of premiums. For that size/weight of boat you would need an OB with at least a 25" leg, and it would be very awkward to use. While any motor might be better than nothing, you will need an 8 to 10 HP.
Curious: Where do you moor? I am at RCYC on NE Marine Drive.
I'm at McCuddy's just west of you
I would really like to get in at RCYC but there's a long waiting list
Um... sails? Or a sweep oar... An anchor...
If going down the "spare engine" rabbit hole... a dinghy with a little kicker motor would do the job in calm conditions. Tie the dinghy along side to act as a tug. Forget about trying to mount the dinghy motor to the mother ship - for all of the above reasons, it doesn't work.
FWIW my current modus is to keep a deflated kayak or SUP at the bottom of the sail locker. If I absolutely positively (negatively?) can't sail or motor home, I can anchor and paddle. And bring back the Zodiac w/ the 10-horse.
When my boat was new to me, I foolishly assumed that if the engine started, it was probably all good. After sitting for who knows how many years. Took it out on the river and It promptly ate an impeller. I did manage to sail it back to St. Helens and up Multnomah channel with only an occasional breath of wind. In the dark. With no lights. It took a long time. The dog was very bored.
(If I had really known what I was doing, I'd have swapped the recirculation pump hoses for the raw water pump hoses and been good to go. But I wasn't yet familiar enough with the boat to do that.)
If going down the "spare engine" rabbit hole... a dinghy with a little kicker motor would do the job in calm conditions. Tie the dinghy along side to act as a tug. Forget about trying to mount the dinghy motor to the mother ship - for all of the above reasons, it doesn't work.
FWIW my current modus is to keep a deflated kayak or SUP at the bottom of the sail locker. If I absolutely positively (negatively?) can't sail or motor home, I can anchor and paddle. And bring back the Zodiac w/ the 10-horse.
When my boat was new to me, I foolishly assumed that if the engine started, it was probably all good. After sitting for who knows how many years. Took it out on the river and It promptly ate an impeller. I did manage to sail it back to St. Helens and up Multnomah channel with only an occasional breath of wind. In the dark. With no lights. It took a long time. The dog was very bored.
(If I had really known what I was doing, I'd have swapped the recirculation pump hoses for the raw water pump hoses and been good to go. But I wasn't yet familiar enough with the boat to do that.)
When I was repowering Silver Maiden I made a mount for a 35lb thrust trolling motor. It could move the boat at about 2 knots, but I would not have wanted to count on it with adverse wind or current. I used it mainly to move around the marina as needed. Bruce King once told me the E-27 needed about 10 horse. Having installed a 10 horse Yanmar 1gm10 I think I would have been happier with about 15 horse.
When I had the 25 horse Palmer gas engine in the boat I could achieve hull speed and she would squat like a tug at full power. I always had plenty of reserve. Now I have to remember I do not have the big power available.
When I had the 25 horse Palmer gas engine in the boat I could achieve hull speed and she would squat like a tug at full power. I always had plenty of reserve. Now I have to remember I do not have the big power available.
Milagros
Member II
I know for a fact that one person full of adrenaline can use a hatch cover to do the same on a J/24...one of my mercifully few "moments of sheer terror". Had the wind die on me in the channel in Charleston Harbor right as a freighter came around the corner. No auxiliary engine on that boat so the fight or flight response was strong. I choose "flight". I like the SUP paddle idea.
I just installed a new to me 2 stroke Johnson 15 (circa 1991) on my E29 and it is solid for our purposes of motoring around. I run it low around half throttle and it will get me 3 knots into a current and headwind. Make sure you have a solid interior fiberglass mount piece to anchor it too so you can displace the dress on the transom or it can put too much stress on the fiberglass. Also def go for the long shaft, or you’ll regret it.
SV_Ariel
Junior Member
This post is about a year old but maybe someone will still see this. I have been doing what you describe exactly for 3 years now.
My inboard Atomic 4 is suspect and I've actually stopped using it all together. This summer the boat will stay on the stand and get a nice upgrade.
As for the outboard, in 2018 I bought a brand new Tohatsu 20in. shaft 6 hp. I didn't get the SailPro model, I wanted the model that had the small fuel tank so I didn't have to run fuel lines or use a tank. I did however purchase the high thrust prop that comes on the SailPro model and that was a game changer. With the provided prop the 6hp was very sluggish to respond. The high thrust prop provides movement immediately. It has been my experience that the 6hp moves the boat just fine, even in windy or wavy conditions.
As for mounting, I've done it two ways. I used a purchased mount that I bolted on port side(easy to get to the back side through the cockpit hatch) and what i currently have is a custom built mount that is center mounted.
A few thoughts...
1. I am in Milwaukee, WI. (Lake Michigan coastal sailor) I don't have heavy currents to deal with, and although Lake Michigan can get nasty she still isn't an ocean.
2. I am on a mooring and sail off and on to the mooring nearly 99% of the time. So when I do use the motor I am almost always motor sailing when I come in to port.
3. I have never had a problem with the 20" shaft coming out of the water, but if I had to do it again I would opt for the 25" shaft.
4. The only down side I see of the 6hp is when you're coming in to something to fast and you have to throw it in reverse. You really have to get heavy on the throttle to slow the boat down and start reversing. But if you use the rule of never go at something faster than you're willing to hit it you should be fine.
My inboard Atomic 4 is suspect and I've actually stopped using it all together. This summer the boat will stay on the stand and get a nice upgrade.
As for the outboard, in 2018 I bought a brand new Tohatsu 20in. shaft 6 hp. I didn't get the SailPro model, I wanted the model that had the small fuel tank so I didn't have to run fuel lines or use a tank. I did however purchase the high thrust prop that comes on the SailPro model and that was a game changer. With the provided prop the 6hp was very sluggish to respond. The high thrust prop provides movement immediately. It has been my experience that the 6hp moves the boat just fine, even in windy or wavy conditions.
As for mounting, I've done it two ways. I used a purchased mount that I bolted on port side(easy to get to the back side through the cockpit hatch) and what i currently have is a custom built mount that is center mounted.
A few thoughts...
1. I am in Milwaukee, WI. (Lake Michigan coastal sailor) I don't have heavy currents to deal with, and although Lake Michigan can get nasty she still isn't an ocean.
2. I am on a mooring and sail off and on to the mooring nearly 99% of the time. So when I do use the motor I am almost always motor sailing when I come in to port.
3. I have never had a problem with the 20" shaft coming out of the water, but if I had to do it again I would opt for the 25" shaft.
4. The only down side I see of the 6hp is when you're coming in to something to fast and you have to throw it in reverse. You really have to get heavy on the throttle to slow the boat down and start reversing. But if you use the rule of never go at something faster than you're willing to hit it you should be fine.
Brendon Wright
Junior Member
Andrew, I'd be very interested to see pictures of your custom mount.