I know that in pitching seas an outboard can cavitate badly, and the excess weight off the transom might not be desirable but other than that what other things would turn you off using one.
An ageing saildrive might have non replaceable parts.

keensailor said..
I know that in pitching seas an outboard can cavitate badly, and the excess weight off the transom might not be desirable but other than that what other things would turn you off using one.
An ageing saildrive might have non replaceable parts.

I doubt there will ever be a shortage of parts. Ask on this forum or other PBO forums. forums.ybw.com/index.php?forums/yachting-monthlys-scuttlebutt.16/

With 3D printers now everything is now easily manufactured. Even if they have to be made in plastic and then used to make molds.

Thanks
Yes, HG and Ramona your are correct in what you say. Even though I would still need to weigh up the pros and cons.

Some of the positives I see for an outboard would be:

- would no longer be under powered as I am with the Bukh
- would'nt have to get a diver every 3 months to clean the little prop, which becomes totally ineffective after 3 months
- spend may be similar but end up with whole new motor and drive
- would end up with a nice big storage area where the engine currently is ;)

Hi Keen,
If this is any help , my experience with a 9.9hp outboard on a 26', I hate the thing.
Calm flat days it is great, but any swell and it cavitates. Trying to solo sail is a pain, as what Chariot said, you get to the mast and it cavitates.
I lost my main halyard one day in a pretty ugly day, tried motoring and ended up being blown onto a lee shore due to the wave action making it useless, there was nothing I could do to stop it, the CG thankfully pulled me off at the last minute.
On another boat again in pretty foul weather was motoring, prop cavitated over a large wave, the motor had worked off the bracket, jumped off, snapped the chain and disappeared at full noise into the depths.
Mine is offset to clear the transom hung rudder, so no prop walk or turning circle. A friends Davidson 34 can turn on a dime, I turn like a truck.
I go through fuel lines regularly, they go hard and leak.
I have adjusted the depth a few times, but when it is deep enough to not cavitate all the time, when raised I find I am skull dragging it downwind.
I would love to swap it out for a little inboard diesel .
Good luck to you whatever decision you make, but take it from me, they have issues the same as inboards.

Another outboard owner. Cavitation is not such an issue for us. The outboard is on a spring loaded parallelogram bracket which can drop it pretty deep, so much so that at WOT I lift it up a notch according to conditions. If I have a couple of kids on board in the vee berth and I go forward the engine will lift at the higher setting. In meter wind swell seas I set it at the bottom and it rarely if ever cavitates.

I was a kid when I saw a Boomerang in trouble with the dreaded cavitation issue, we ended up lending them assistance. It always stuck in my mind as a serious problem for TSers. The builder of my boat advised me pre-2nd hand purchase the design is pretty good and cavitation is dictated by crew position. If it's rough keep everyone out of the vee berth.

Is there an owners group you can question as it appears to be design oriented.

9.9 2st is over powered for us 26ft JOG.

Apart from that I love being able to take the engine off. No through hull fittings. Easily replaced. I just wish the 4st weighed less because then I'd get a quieter engine.

Outboard on a keeler also has the issue of how to flush....

Thanks HG, but mine are new with engine, so 2 years old.

The LSME does'nt have mounts for saildrive as such;

This is also another very good article I have found on the subject.

www.mysailing.com.au/news/outboard-on-board

That head would be easy and cheap to weld though.

I agree with Ange. Ive no interest in inboards. Take up loads of room and Even on a massive vessel access is tight if you need to work on them. Youve gotta be a diesel mechanic IMO if you wanna be able to get them working yourself. The amount of stories i read and hear of people stuffing about tryna get parts for and fix inboards way outweighs outboards. Not to mention the costs and trying to get parts. Theres way less that can go wrong with an outboard.
I can pretty much always get an outboard going and barely use it anyway. Im thinking if im out there in a bit of swell, theres gonna be wind as well and id have the sails up. Sail boats work real good with sails up - especially in swell.
People circumnavigate with no engine and with outboards. When set up well with a long shaft and secured tight on the back they cant come off. Its a matter of securing it well - like you do with anything on deck.
as for petrol smells - well that depends. My bluebird def stank of petrol, but the top hats fuel is all outside in lockers. theres no fuel smell, theres no sound when i do use the engine. I may be converted one day, but for me simple is best. I just know too many people that bought expensive boats with complex systems only be spending a fortune and constantly working on them.

Pulled the inboard out of my 28ft boat 5 years ago, glassed over the hole, put plates both sides of the transom and have a Tohatsu 9.8 on the back.
The secret is to buy a long shaft, and use a drop down outboard mount

Very pleased, when you need a service, take it off, put it in the car and take it to the dealer, no call out fees.

Go with outboard

I have a Tohatsu 9.8 on a 2100kg 28 footer. Mine is an ultra long shaft mounted on a bracket that slides fore and aft on traveller cars through the walk-through transom I fitted.

I love it. Performance under power is significantly better than with the diesel because I'm not forced to use a folding prop to get good sailing performance. The ultra long shaft does not cavitate in heavy conditions offshore so far. Although I have yet to use it in very heavy swells, it's been out Sydney Heads in a typical southerly with not the slightest issue. I feel that big swells will be less of a problem than a severe short chop and in the worst conditions I've met in the four years or so I've had the outboard, cavitation did not occur - the boat just powered into severe conditions (ie stronger winds than you normally meet in a Sydney-Hobart, stacking up into a very nasty short sea during an early spring south coast NSW westerly).

My engine is mounted low and in the centre of the boat - off centre mountings, shorter shafts and higher mountings may differ.

Other issues such as maintenance and prop fouling (by marine growth or errant lines) are much easier on the outboard. Vibration is almost non existent.

On the minus side fuel efficiency is much lower and I have to dig the engine out of its hole every run and slide it back in later. I do flush it with through a small drain hole that leads into the cooling system. So far it seems OK - but at about $2000 and with lower maintenance costs, it seems that you could if necessary replace a corroded outboard every few years and still come out ahead on price compared to fitting a new diesel.

Different strokes for different folks. I don't want to root around for $8000 or whatever a new diesel costs, fitted, nor do I want to root around with anodes, stern glands, electric starters, etc. And the reduced drag under sail allowed me to cut the genoa overlap down dramatically without reducing performance, making the boat much nicer to sail.

I like push button start on the Sailmaster as my wife would struggle to start the outboard on our previous Spacesailer but a outboard with electric start and forward control would give you this

The other advantages of a outboard that previous posters have said are pretty tempting

Regards Don

Ive had a outboard lock on mine. I leave it on. Last 2 + year's. I get on board and im off immediately. Im not into fluffing about on and off the transom. Lotsa good locks. And the fact my mooring is just under houses. 1 of those a guy i race with. He kerps an ear and eye out on his boat and mine thats there.

Sectorsteve said..
Ive had a outboard lock on mine. I leave it on. Last 2 + year's. I get on board and im off immediately. Im not into fluffing about on and off the transom. Lotsa good locks. And the fact my mooring is just under houses. 1 of those a guy i race with. He kerps an ear and eye out on his boat and mine thats there.

Steve, did you leave it with the leg in the water? (Assuming you used the well.) One of the Top Hat lady owners used to do that, but she had anti-fouling on the prop and leg. Some of the Top Hat owners instead lift the motors straight up out of the well onto a stand.