Outboard Well

[kevwr400]

We Sailed AM last season without a motor due to loss of motor. My friend who comes sailing with us in my old ultimate was getting sick of waiting around when wind light, so i purchased another motor. I don't like the outboard motor mounted on the frame as there almost useless when its rough, so i decided to make outboard well. I'm almost finished so i thought i'd throw a couple of pictures up.

[Steve]

Lookin' great, It would take a fair bit of courage for the unskilled like me to go cutting into the boat on that scale, thank you for posting these pictures. I now feel enough confidence to make an outboard well in my boat too, funny enough, I was lying in bed last night wondering how to go about such a modification, only to read your post this morning. Hmmmm outboard well or inboard diesel?
Please continue to post your progress!

Steve

[Yara50]

I am a great fan of outboards in a well, but they do have the following disadvantages:

• Reduced space in the cockpit
  Exhaust fumes in the cockpit. (Can fit underwater tube from relief port, but that makes starting and idle more tricky.)
  More drag if you leave the motor in and don't fit a plug. I once made a partial plug which fitted around the outboard leg, and had to be dropped in with the motor.

Advantages:

• Great in rough water
  Accessible for simple maintenence while afloat.

[kevwr400]

Thanks Steve, Yer was a bit scary breaking through the hull. I to pondered about inboard or outboard well, but the ease of maintenance and having no gland on inboard prop shaft and mostly the cost swayed my choice.

Thanks for your words of wisdom Ian.
The loss of space in cockpit doesn't bother me as I generally only take one other person, but with motor in well I still have enough room to seat 4.
I decided on a through prop exhaust outboard to minimize odour and have a blower unit on standby if I need to plum venting.
The plug is a great idea, and I intend to use the old piece of hull as a plug as you mentioned and flange it around leg with automotive door seal to absorb the slight movement of the motor leg.
My boat is a cruiser so speed isn’t too much of a concern, so the leg will be mounted semi permanent in the hull, the loss of speed should be minimum as I tested my old motor of the mount by dragging it in neutral and it was less than a knot. My intention is to make a better cruiser not racer.
I’m hoping that it will be possible to make this arrangement much quitter to, except I do expect it will vibrate through the hull a bit more, not sure what I will do there, might be possible to disassemble the leg and replace the hard plastic bush, where the outboard swivels with a softer material as the motor won’t need to swivel.

[Dr. Peter]

Can't say I'm a fan of this.

Losing a knot from a boat that only does about 5+ knots is a big hit on the sailing enjoyment - cruiser or racer. i think maneuverability will be sacrificed especially around docks.

I'm glad you have a through the prop exhaust otherwise fumes could be an issue for you, although Honda does have a little air-cooled outboard.

The only advantage I can see is that motor-sailing, in all conditions, will be easier to facilitate with this set up.

[kevwr400]

Thanks Peter for your reply to my thread. I don't remember saying a knot it was less than a knot what I got on my gps was point four of a knot, sorry I obviously need to be more accurate. I suppose I'm looking for a more efficient way to use my outboard in the worst type of conditions, although this system has floor's , I hope to overcome these with pratical, positive and negative feedback. I have never owned a boat with a well, so the words of wisdom from people who have would be much appreciated.

[Steve]

A bit of a plug/fairing around the outboard leg would certainly help with drag ,is it possible to seal right around the leg allowing just enough water flow for the cooling. Also keeping the outboard in gear to stop the prop rotating will also help reduce drag.
Steve

[Andrew]

I once owned an Endeavor 24 keeler with an outboard-well in the aft end of the cockpit, very similar position to yours. It was good for rough water motoring, I was happy with it for going offshore. Once i was away from land, i pulled the 6 hp right out and stowed it in the cabin. The well had a plug that went in to fair and stream line the hull and a small hatch on the cockpit floor - in this mode it was an excellent live-bait or live fresh fish storage well! The motor worked well when it was really rough or windy with no cavitation, and drove the boat too fast for conditions so i often had to throttle-off to keep the yachts motion comfortable.

But I probably wouldn't change my Investigators current outboard bracket arrangement, as its mostly used in smooth and partially smooth waters. My reasons in favor are good maneuverability tighter turns not dependent on rudder, quick raise and no sailing drag, quick lower and power up, fumes blow away, reduced fire hazard, more cockpit room. A con that showed up recently was cavitation at high throttle near hull speed in confused chop, but reduced throttle stopped it and we then did a more comfortable 3 knots anyway.

[kevwr400]

Thanks for all idea's, pro's & con's. I have been sailing to and from jetties and beaches single handed all last season so the steering isn't to much of a concern, but the fumes seem to be the biggest draw back other than the loss of space. So the bilge blower will be incorporated into build. How was vibration in the E24?

[Yara50]

So the bilge blower will be incorporated into build.

The well should be totally sealed from the bilge. A blower wont help. The fumes are ok if you install the hose from the relief vents. (Most o/bs have a relief vent above the water line to limit back pressure when the boat is not moving. Once she moves the exhaust is sucked out underwater.)