[Public-list] Inboard Replacement

George Dinwiddie gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
Sun Sep 11 15:33:53 PDT 2005


John,

With grad school, kids' braces and life, how much time can you afford. 
No matter how you look at this, it's going to be a huge undertaking. 
You'll need to make the lazarette complete waterproof from the rest of 
the boat.  You'll need to provide a mount for the motor.  You'll need to 
rework the lazarette deck, as the current hatch is surely not big 
enough.  You'll need some structure to replace the stiffness you lose by 
cutting out that much deck.  You're looking at hundreds of hours of work.

And I think you're going to be tremendously disappointed if you ever do 
launch the boat again.

  * Outboards in lazarettes really don't work very well.  At least, 
that's what friends who have had them tell me.  They don't get enough 
air.  They stay in a very moist environment.  They generally need the 
hatch open when running, and they don't last like an outboard used, 
well, outboard.

  * You're not going to get the torque you're used to having.  Outboards 
are high-rev, small blade engines, relatively speaking.  Pushing a 
10,000 pound boat, I don't think you're going to get nearly full power 
out of the engine, so you'll be seriously underpowered also.  An 
outboard will get an Alberg 30 in and out of harbor, but not take it places.

  * Even in the lazarette, if there are any waves, the outboard will be 
pitching out of the water, negating it's effectiveness.

  * You will completely destroy the value of the boat.  You'll be losing 
a lot more than the cost of a new diesel conversion.  There are good 
boats going for fewer dollars than they ought.  Who's going to buy a 
boat that's been hacked up that much, such that it's structural 
integrity is questionable?  No one who wants an Alberg 30 will buy it, 
and someone who wants an outboard-powered sailboat will probably figure 
the Alberg 30 is too heavy and narrow for their tastes.

If you *really* want an outboard, I suggest you look at the rig that 
Yves Gelinas designed to hold an outboard on the stern quarter 
(http://caphorn.com/sections/remotorisation/remotoriserAng.htm).  At 
least you won't be trashing the boat.

The Greymarine is, like the Atomic 4, a simple engine.  The problems are 
generally the accumulation of neglect over many years.  If you don't 
have the time and energy to tackle overhauling the engine yourself, Van 
Ness Engineering in NJ specializes in this engine.  (Of course, if you 
don't have the time and energy for the engine, where are you going to 
get the time and energy for redesigning the lazarette?)

Another alternative is to just sail the boat.  If you get a mooring, you 
can easily learn to sail off it and back to it.  With a slip, you're 
more likely to have to get creative and warp the boat in and out.

A dinghy with an outboard lashed to the sternquarter will get you moving 
in a pinch.  See the book "The Boy, Me and the Cat" 
(http://www.alberg30.org/store/Amazon.html#BoyMeCat) for a description 
of how well this works.

Finally, I recommend you read "Rebuilding, Restoring, Adding To, or 
Upgrading Your 'Classic'? -- Here are Six Rules for Success" 
(http://www.pocketcruisers.com/art_restorerules.html).

  - George

Manza, LtCol John LTC PM LAV wrote:
>  
> After screwing around for a few seasons with my old Gray Marine inboard, I
> am going to replace the engine with an outboard.  There are a few key
> reasons for this.  The first, is cost.  I estimate that a diesel conversion
> will cost around 8 - 10 thousand dollars and with grad school, kids braces,
> and life I can't afford that.  The second reason is ease of maintenance.  A
> new outboard is in my mind more reliable and more easily repaired - or taken
> to a repair shop - than is an inboard.  With all of that in mind, I now am
> struggling with the decision as to where to put the outboard.  One option is
> on the stern.  I don't like this because it is ugly and because I am worried
> about the prop coming out of the water and the engine swamping in high seas.
> The other option is to place the engine in the lazarette.  Some models of
> the Alberg 22 came with a well mount for an outboard as did the Sparkman and
> Stevens Yankee Dolphin.  I also recently read an article about a similar
> boat to the A30 having an outboard installed in the lazarette - see
> http://www.atomvoyages.com/projects/outboard.htm
> <http://www.atomvoyages.com/projects/outboard.htm> .  The engine that I am
> looking at is a 9.8 hp Nissan extra long shaft.   My question is - has
> anybody in this group done this?    
>  
> John Manza
> #150

-- 
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   When I remember bygone days                         George Dinwiddie
   I think how evening follows morn;            gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
   So many I loved were not yet dead,           http://www.Alberg30.org
   So many I love were not yet born.
                                             'The Middle' by Ogden Nash
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