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Emergency power for a Ericson 31C ( What size outboard? )

George Poszich

Junior Member
Hello Everyone
I’m curious to know what size outboard to carry on board for emergency power, boat displacement empty 11,400 add 1,000 for stuff.

thanks
george
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
You must have a dangerous inlet or other hazard.

(I figure the auxiliary power is the sails, or the anchor.)

For propulsion, you'd need an outboard minimally powerful to get you out of immediate trouble. It could be attached to a dinghy tied alongside the hull, tugboat style. A 10-horsepower outboard is very powerful.

You'd need lots of gasoline to get anywhere far.
 

GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
You must have a dangerous inlet or other hazard.

(I figure the auxiliary power is the sails, or the anchor.)

For propulsion, you'd need an outboard minimally powerful to get you out of immediate trouble. It could be attached to a dinghy tied alongside the hull, tugboat style. A 10-horsepower outboard is very powerful.

You'd need lots of gasoline to get anywhere far.

This is what I have for emergency propulsion on the Chesapeake Bay - https://www.boatus.com/MembershipWeb_Main/Membership/personalbuytowing.aspx

FYI a new 9.9 HP outboard is ~US$2500.00 +, and heavy.
 

Jenkins

Member II
I explored the idea of an outboard when my engine blew.

As noted previously, they are expensive and heavy. You will also need to install a control kit for starting and throttle because hanging off the transom to do that is probably not a good idea so do not neglect that cost in your pricing.

And, you really need to ensure that the prop spends it time in the water. A friend has an O'Day 25 with an outboard and more than one person on the foredeck is a no-no when motoring - even in perfectly flat water.

I ultimately rejected the idea because it was going to cost a lot, probably reduce the value of my boat versus an inboard, and I got a replacement engine at a very low cost.

Hope that helps in your deliberations.

Peter
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Steve's point about a towing contract is a good one.

Everybody I know around here has tow insurance, which makes a routine tow back to the slip free. Whereas it starts at $250 if uninsured.

I've used it once, when the engine wouldn't start in a calm off my home port. Towboat was there in half an hour and the operator knew exactly what he was doing (which wont be the case if a Searay stops to help).

It also works for long-range emergencies such as a dismasting or rudder issue. I once asked for a quote to be towed from the Channel Islands. The tow was to come from Ventura, about 60 miles away, and take me to MDR, about 80 miles away. The bid was $3000. I didn't do it, but I was glad to have the option.
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
Terra Nova has a 8hp Yamaha purchased 5yrs old but new (unused) for $1,200. There are good deals out there but they can be difficult to locate. I lift the engine from the inflatable to the rail with a little crane and a 6 part tackle. It works slick and allows me to put the engine on it's shore carrier without having to lift it at all. I roll it into my cargo trailer and take it home. I can tie the inflatable to the stern quarter and use it like a tug. The 8hp will drive the Ericson 34 at just below 5kn. When the engine failed outside the Port Angeles harbor four years ago in a dead calm, a friend came out with a hard dink with a Honda 2hp outboard. That gave us a speed of 3.2kn with the engine not at full throttle. That really shocked my friend. It also shows how slippery the 34 is. Maybe that's why I can smoke most of the boats in the harbor in light air. That was the final engine stoppage that prompted me to rewire Terra Nova. The cause of the stoppage was lack of electricity to the fuel pump. Terra Nova is 13,000lbs dry and probably 15,000lbs with all the junk I have in her. I would bet that a 6hp might be enough to drive the 31 at a reasonable clip.

I have a removable outboard engine mount on my SJ26 that works really well. I could send pix of both but I will have to go out and take them first if you are interested.

Christen, we have supersize tides and lots of rocks and islands to dodge. Also there are many spots going North that have depth readings of shore, 10ft, 15ft, 1250ft. It is comforting to know I can drop the engine on the dink, tie it up on the quarter and power away if the wind is calm instead of doing a panic stricken Mayday. Also, now that I'm prepared, Murphy is not as likely to strike! The SJ is even easier. Slide the mount on before a cruise. Put the engine on the mount at the dock. Leave it on for the cruise and take it all off after. The dink can be backed up to the mount and the engine switched.

One cravat. Outboards on the stern of 26' and larger boats do not work very well if there is any seaway running. They lift out of the water every time the stern comes up. That's why I use the dingy instead of a stern mount.

The 6hp is about 60lb, the 8hp 82 and the 9.9 about 86.
 
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toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
I confess to thinking along these lines recently. I.e. if I am going to carry an outboard for the dinghy, why not rig up a mount so that it could also be used as backup propulsion for the Mother Ship? With some thought, it seems not quite so straightforward, for reasons noted above. Not the least of the problems is that the dinghy needs a short-shaft motor while a sailboat would need an extra-long shaft. If such an occasion ever arose, it seems like lashing the dinghy alongside as a tug would be the best option.

That said, my use-case for the outboard is day-long expeditions in the dinghy and SCUBA diving. So 9.9 HP or better, which is more than adequate for maneuvering the main boat around under most conditions. But even a 2 or 3 HP engine would be OK for nudging the boat around in a marina - maybe not for going against any kind of current though. (BTW, all I have currently are a 3 and an 18 -maybe need to trade for something in between.)

As for the towing contract, I have been paying "Boat US" for several years, but upon actually reading the contract, it appears that I would have to conveniently sail to some place where they actually offer service and break down or run aground in their immediate vicinity. In reality, it's of no use at all. But hey, they might be in your neighborhood.
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
Oh, for you guys in the North West, there are holes in the areas served by the towing companies as you go north so look at the areas your proposed contract covers and decide if self sufficiency is required.
Also look where they are stationed so you have an idea how long it will take them to reach you.
 

GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
I confess to thinking along these lines recently. I.e. if I am going to carry an outboard for the dinghy, why not rig up a mount so that it could also be used as backup propulsion for the Mother Ship? With some thought, it seems not quite so straightforward, for reasons noted above. Not the least of the problems is that the dinghy needs a short-shaft motor while a sailboat would need an extra-long shaft. If such an occasion ever arose, it seems like lashing the dinghy alongside as a tug would be the best option.

That said, my use-case for the outboard is day-long expeditions in the dinghy and SCUBA diving. So 9.9 HP or better, which is more than adequate for maneuvering the main boat around under most conditions. But even a 2 or 3 HP engine would be OK for nudging the boat around in a marina - maybe not for going against any kind of current though. (BTW, all I have currently are a 3 and an 18 -maybe need to trade for something in between.)

As for the towing contract, I have been paying "Boat US" for several years, but upon actually reading the contract, it appears that I would have to conveniently sail to some place where they actually offer service and break down or run aground in their immediate vicinity. In reality, it's of no use at all. But hey, they might be in your neighborhood.

The BOAT US Towing covers the Chesapeake Bay very well, but you have a good point, it pays to ask questions before you sign up.
 
On my E-35-3, Sketcher, we have used Tow Boat US once, and have their insurance...it's the best.

One time, on a trip North to Bellhaven, NC, our 35' boats engine quit as we came into the docks.
The wind was pushing us towards sunken piles. I pulled up our Fatty Knees hard dingy, jumped in and started the 3 hp motor.
Held on the sides of our boat.
It was amazing....brought us right into the bulkhead with the wind against us.

But if in trouble on open water...Tow Boat.

Hilco on Sketcher
 

Emerald

Moderator
If for nothing else but the towing, if you're on the Chesapeake, I'd highly recommend becoming a Boat U.S. member and getting the unlimited tow insurance. I have no affiliation with Boat U.S. or anything/one related to them or their Tow Boat service. I say this because the points rewards at West Marine can add up, and you need stuff, and sailing the Chesapeake can be like sailing an unpredictable mud puddle. Any sailor who claims to have spent any significant time on the Chesapeake and never run aground is lying about something, either time on the water or hitting bottom. And I say this sheepishly admitting that my unlimited Tow Boat insurance saved my proverbial bacon a butt load of money one afternoon sailing an area I wasn't too familiar with, distracted by guests, and all wrong, 4th of July, hard aground, and getting blown on harder. Just happened to be a Boat U.S. Tow Boat in the vicinity that watched it all happen. After it became apparent we were going nowhere, he putted over and asked if I needed a hand. I asked if my unlimited Boat U.S. would cover it. Yes. The effort required to get us off was beyond my expectation - he really had to put some power into it. Like I said, it was an everything went wrong event. All said and done, I get a copy of the bill I would have paid if I had not had insurance. It was over $800 (can't remember the exact amount). In addition to a copy of the bill I did not have to pay, there was a West Marine gift certificate and thank you note for being a Boat U.S. member. Think the gift certificate was for $50, actually may have been more - I'm sitting here thinking it almost paid for the unlimited insurance plan. I think it was the second year I had signed up for it. I almost didn't. It had been something like 20 years since I had last run aground, and I had sailed home after loosing the engine before. I didn't need it. Got it anyway, and wow, saved my butt - now I wouldn't not get it. Just my $.02.
 

Macgyro

Amazingly Still Afloat
Blogs Author
Boat US Towing

You now have a fifth or sixth endorsement for the unlimited towing. (I don't count well) Last December, my mooring broke free from the mooring anchor in the Sassafras River. I was out of town, so I called around to see if anyone could tow it. Lowest (and only) quote was $2,800 because they had pulled the local boats from the water already and would have to motor down from North East, MD and then back. None of the nearby marinas would do it. Luckily I didn't have $2,800, so I traveled home overnight, found the boat around lunch, and by the next high tide, had our powerboat in the water tied at the hip to the Ericson and anchored it in deeper water until the next day when I could get it to a marina. We used almost no power to get the boat out of the mud after transferring about 400 lbs of tools/rope/gear to the powerboat, and another person on board using a mast winch to kedge the 44# anchor at full scope.

(The safety wire holding the pin on the swivel at the eye of the anchor came free. Now I know to always use closed eye swivels and shackles for moorings.)

We now have the unlimited towing plan, especially since our new slip is up a tiny creek, and I don't know how to back the boat upwind into the slip under sail anyway.

As far as outboards go, the only experience I have is with a borrowed 8 hp short shaft motor on a 23' sailboat and a manually adjustable outboard bracket mounted on the stern. With 2 people in the cockpit and 2' Chesapeake Bay chop, the prop came out of the water on the back of the wave and the entire engine went under water on the front of the wave.

See you out there!
 
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