Rowing? Forget it.
- Ixneigh
- Admiral
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- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Key largo Florida
Rowing? Forget it.
Had a very good opportunity to have another shot at rowing my M model on a very calm day. I used my removable bowsprit and lashed a paddle board paddle to it. This created a long, light, flexible oar that was actually long enough to function as a proper sweep oar.
I lashed this to the pulpit where I could stand comfortably
and push with both hands. With the rudders over a bit to keep the boat going in a straight line, I could move the boat at a dog paddle pace with some effort. Maybe with a dedicated oar and oarlock a stronger person could do a little better but NOT for any distance... Id say forget it. There are some small outboard motors based on the weed eater style powerhead for sale online. If I felt the need for an extra measure of safety, I would buy one of these and fix a mount on the cowling of the main motor. It would live in a nice satchel down below and be inspected often. These are aircooled so no water inside it.
Ix
I lashed this to the pulpit where I could stand comfortably
and push with both hands. With the rudders over a bit to keep the boat going in a straight line, I could move the boat at a dog paddle pace with some effort. Maybe with a dedicated oar and oarlock a stronger person could do a little better but NOT for any distance... Id say forget it. There are some small outboard motors based on the weed eater style powerhead for sale online. If I felt the need for an extra measure of safety, I would buy one of these and fix a mount on the cowling of the main motor. It would live in a nice satchel down below and be inspected often. These are aircooled so no water inside it.
Ix
- Herschel
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
Regarding the small air cooled 2 h.p. engines, I had one for several years. It was an odd brand, no doubt made overseas. I was disappointed in its reliability. It was functional about half the time I wanted to use it. The rest of the time I was dealing with carburetor issues. I have since acquired a 2 h.p. Honda, which is, also, air cooled except for gear cooling slits in the shaft (I think that is what they are; I make sure the water level covers them when I run the engine). I have made it standard practice to keep the Honda on a dedicated plastic barrel/trash can that I can fill with water and run every 3 weeks to keep the carburetor clean, and the engine running efficiently and reliably. My recommendation is to keep small engines like that out where you can access them and run them regularly. With Stable added, non-ethanol gas, of course.
- sailboatmike
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
I have a 55lb electric trolling motor, they are pretty light and have no cooling issues and are cheap, Im wondering if one of these may be a more useful than a sweeper oar as many X and M owners have copious amounts of battery power on tap and even a modest battery will keep them going for a decent period of time.
It wont push you into any sort of tide or wind but isnt that why we have sails, it would be a great helper if motor sailing
It wont push you into any sort of tide or wind but isnt that why we have sails, it would be a great helper if motor sailing
- Ixneigh
- Admiral
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- Location: Key largo Florida
Re: Rowing? Forget it.
Im pretty comfortable around small engines. I use the canned premix in my equipment these days. I would empty the fuel or run it out before storing. My saws and stuff will start even after months of disuse. They have a 4 cycle for 300 bucks. I might get that.
Re trolling motors sure if you just need a mile or two of range.
Ix
Re trolling motors sure if you just need a mile or two of range.
Ix
- Herschel
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
I did have an opportunity to compare the performance of my 2 h.p. 4-stroke Honda pushing a 200 lb. fiberglass dinghy with my 45 lb. Minn Kota trolling motor pushing a 60 lb. inflatable dinghy over the course of a 3 mile trip on a fresh water lake. I had to throttle the Honda back to about 2/3 power to keep from running off and leaving my grandson in the inflatable. And, yes, I am pushing 195 lbs. and he is a slim 120 ringing wet. So I figured that the 45 lb. trolling motor (at max speed) was about the equivalent of a 1 h.p. engine. Previously, I had used a 2 h.p. engine on an inflatable tied to my 26X to propel me from a marina slip to the ramp, which was about a city block distant. The little "tug" did the job very slowly, but I did have steerageway and got there. But any real wind or current, and it would have been another story.sailboatmike wrote:I have a 55lb electric trolling motor, they are pretty light and have no cooling issues and are cheap, Im wondering if one of these may be a more useful than a sweeper oar as many X and M owners have copious amounts of battery power on tap and even a modest battery will keep them going for a decent period of time.
It wont push you into any sort of tide or wind but isnt that why we have sails, it would be a great helper if motor sailing
Re: Rowing? Forget it.
I bought a 55lb thrust when I kept my boat in a creek during the winter that was too small for sailing. I figured it would be nice and quiet for evening puttering and then back on the charger each night. I attached it to the ladder and wired it through a solenoid so that I could remote turn it on and off from the helm. Unfortunately it barely got the boat up to 2mph flat calm water and was just too small to be useful.I have a 55lb electric trolling motor, they are pretty light and have no cooling issues and are cheap, Im wondering if one of these may be a more useful than a sweeper oar as many X and M owners have copious amounts of battery power on tap and even a modest battery will keep them going for a decent period of time.
- Ixneigh
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
You'd probably need a 75lb thrust to Make a difference on the 26. That uses a lot of electric too.
I found its even difficult to pole a boat this size in shallow water any distance. The human body isn't very strong compared to sails or motors.
Ix
I found its even difficult to pole a boat this size in shallow water any distance. The human body isn't very strong compared to sails or motors.
Ix
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
I have 80 lb minn kota I use for walleye trolling and it works great. It pushes boat for hours around 2 mi/hour with less than half throttle in 1 foot chop and mild winds. At full throttle it moves boat at 4+ mi/hour. It is 24 V motor and I have two large batteries in series dedicated to it. I also have kicker motor mount. 45" shaft helps too. The whole setup works great!
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
With the interior gutted and the proper placement of staggered offset benches you should be able to get at least six oars to each side. With proper motivation and personnel you should be able to get a good steady 6/8 knots with the occasional burst of 10/12. There should be ample room on deck for palm frond waving wenches while reclined in the cockpit.........
- dlandersson
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
lol
Nauti Nell wrote:With the interior gutted and the proper placement of staggered offset benches you should be able to get at least six oars to each side. With proper motivation and personnel you should be able to get a good steady 6/8 knots with the occasional burst of 10/12. There should be ample room on deck for palm frond waving wenches while reclined in the cockpit.........
- sailboatmike
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
Just not sure how the Admiral would take to said "Fong waving wenches" but I do keep a cat o nine tails handy for any crew that even think about mutinyNauti Nell wrote:With the interior gutted and the proper placement of staggered offset benches you should be able to get at least six oars to each side. With proper motivation and personnel you should be able to get a good steady 6/8 knots with the occasional burst of 10/12. There should be ample room on deck for palm frond waving wenches while reclined in the cockpit.........
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
That's not a MacGregor, that's a galley. You would need to hire a guy with a whip too, to encourage the oarsmen...Nauti Nell wrote:With the interior gutted and the proper placement of staggered offset benches you should be able to get at least six oars to each side. With proper motivation and personnel you should be able to get a good steady 6/8 knots with the occasional burst of 10/12. There should be ample room on deck for palm frond waving wenches while reclined in the cockpit.........
- Gazmn
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
So, I'm looking to cut to the chase - & through my boooze...
Are you saying that: <=2.5 HP, i.e. the Honda 4 stroke 2.5 is Not very... effective? As a backup kicker in, say Atlantic, Florida/ gulf side oceans/water??
Definitive Assessments needed. But pease provide circumstances & experiences. I'm trying to decide what to pack & not trying to start a flame war. I need INSIGHT
Inquiring minds want to know...
Are you saying that: <=2.5 HP, i.e. the Honda 4 stroke 2.5 is Not very... effective? As a backup kicker in, say Atlantic, Florida/ gulf side oceans/water??
Definitive Assessments needed. But pease provide circumstances & experiences. I'm trying to decide what to pack & not trying to start a flame war. I need INSIGHT
Inquiring minds want to know...
- Ixneigh
- Admiral
- Posts: 2225
- Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:00 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Key largo Florida
Re: Rowing? Forget it.
I think a 2.5 will do fine in light conditions. It will not push the boat against strong winds.
Ix
Ix
- Herschel
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Re: Rowing? Forget it.
Taking this question literally (i.e., waters like Tampa Bay, off shore gulf waters, Atlantic waters in the keys), my recommendation would be to have something more powerful, if you want a back up that you can count on in most circumstances. My personal experience with a 2 h.p. engine and my 26X was that it would move me around the sheltered marina adequately when my 50 h.p. Merc died, but would not count on it otherwise.Are you saying that: <=2.5 HP, i.e. the Honda 4 stroke 2.5 is Not very... effective? As a backup kicker in, say Atlantic, Florida/ gulf side oceans/water??