[Public-List] Axillary power

Thu Apr 21 14:25:34 PDT 2011

You talk about converting to a diesel that costs a lot of money, you talk
about electric that will cost more money, put a little money into the A4
that is very safe and reliable as long as you follow normal venting
precautions.

John Boor
MAHSEER #380

> Howdy all:
>
> The commitment is being made to restore Hull 368 currently sitting in
> Lake Conroe, Texas.  Ultimately, we are wanting to move it to somewhere
> around Galveston Bay, so it will be able to spread it's wings, so to
> speak.  Right now it is effectively serving as a "lake house" but it
> gives me the best night's sleep of any boat I've been on.
>
> It was taken in as a donation to our Sea Scout program with the idea of
> putting together one working A-4 from the parts of the 2 that came with
> it.  It has a very good sail inventory and is just a beautiful boat (I
> have a particular weakness for full keel classic boats - witness 3
> Kittiwake 23's and a Victoria 18 in our inventory).  The A-4's were
> combined with 2 other A-4's from another Sea Scout ship in hopes of
> building 2 workable examples, but to date we don't have one out of the
> four and the other ship is replacing theirs with a diesel.  The previous
> owner had taken out one that didn't work and basically had gone without
> an engine for years, either rowing the boat to and from his mooring on
> the Chesapeake or sculling it - I still have the sculling oar he used,
> but don't really see where he set up the rig to scull.
>
> Here is the start of my dilemma wrt axillary power.  The A-4 sounds like
> the logical choice as that is what was in there and has worked.  BUT
> trying to find one that is in good shape at price that is reasonable
> (read free - if at all possible) and is close enough to pick up
> refurbish and install is proving unfruitful.  I interject here that with
> whatever solution we end up with, we will have to pull the boat from the
> water, replace all the thru hulls, clean up the engine compartment, get
> the asbestos wrapped exhaust pipe out, ........., and do try to find a
> place where we can set the boat and be able to do it ourselves - or at
> least as much as possible, especially the work on the hull, at a cost
> that won't break the bank.
>
> I have also been considering replacing the A-4 with a diesel.  Its safer
> and supposedly easier to maintain.  However, I am concerned as to how
> much maintenance is really required for a diesel with all the fuel
> filters, fuel scrubbing, bacteria growth that comes with diesel, etc.
> and the ease with which to do the work needed in the space available on
> the A-30.  I do not want to become a diesel mechanic at this point in my
> life plus I have never really been that mechanically inclined anyway.
>
> Next possibility is an outboard.  All our other boats are 25 feet and
> under and we have outboards for them.  At least with the outboards we
> can pull them from the boat with relative ease - in some cases very
> easily as sailing on Lake Conroe we can get by with 2.5 and 3.5 hp
> engines.  Outboards still have their pluses and minuses, but for the
> organization of our ship and the support around the lake, they work out
> well.  The Kittiwakes have an engine well in one of the lazarettes which
> allows for a short shaft engine to be mounted and this works extremely
> well.  The A-30, though is higher off the water and while a modification
> could be made to accommodate an outboard, it would be awkward at best.
> I have seen what, I think Yves Gelinas, has come up with for an outboard
> mounting system, and am not too thrilled with it.  Also, I don't really
> know how well an outboard would work if the boat gets down to Galveston
> Bay and is berthed somewhere on Clear Lake.  A 10hp long shaft, or extra
> long shaft would work fine for Lake Conroe, but for the Clear Creek
> channel, I'm not so sure.  A 5hp worked fine for the Kiitiwake, and we
> even used a 3.5 on a second one when we moved it from Houston Yacht Club
> to the back of Clear Lake before Gustov made his appearance.  In theory
> it should work since the A-30 is about 2.5 times heavier than the
> Kittiwake and is similar in hull design.
>
> What is beginning to intrigue me is the idea of an inboard electric
> motor.  Pluses - no gas, few moving parts, quiet, decrease in the number
> of thru hulls, cleaner.  Minuses - battery capacity, recharging options,
> cost, range especially the case if taking the boat to Galveston for Gulf
> sailing, very often having to motor all the way to Galveston (anywhere
> from 3-5 hours depending on conditions) as the course is southerly and
> the predominant wind is from the south, or in the winter coming back
> with the predominant wind from the North and the channel flow north to
> south.  Also for any intercoastal motoring that might be needed.
>
> I know there have been some other discussions on powering the A-30, but
> going through them adds to my confusion and apprehension on selecting
> the "right" answer for our situation.  Slapping some type of outboard
> rig may be the quickest solution and one that can be done without taking
> the boat out of the water, but I look at that as a more tempoary fix
> than the right fix.  I'm seeing any solution as costing between $2,000
> and $4,000 before we take the boat out of the water and come up with a
> solution there.  As for taking the boat out, when Lake Conroe is full
> and, a bit higher than normal, with the right trailer and vehicle we
> could load it onto a trailer as we do our other boats and not need a
> lift.  At the club where the boat is located there is a mast stepper and
> a sling that has the capacity to hold the A-30, so we have a place to
> work on it.  If we have to use a lift, there is only one I am familiar
> with on the lake and I would just as soon not do business with him.
>
> Thanks
>
> Bart Knapp
>
>
>
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