E27 Outboard Version

Just looking for opinions based on experience....

I've been looking for a boat between 27-30 ft that I want to use initially for coastal cruising (Chesapeake Bay). This includes a few E27s in my area. I recently ran across an E27 with outboard cutout and liked the concept but am I missing something obvious? I've looked a a bunch of boats in this range that have older inboards from diesel to gas (A4) and this tends to the major point of uncertainty, even though i'm looking at "sail" boats. My sailing experiences have been on boats way out of my budget (grandparents, parents etc). Also, I have the dream to slowly make my way down the ICW and at some point jump across to the Bahamas. Please burst my dream bubble if needed.

Pros
Overall cheaper boat (money could go to more bar visits, newer kite surfing gear, women etc)
Easier/Cheaper to to maintain (to a certain degree)
Possibly having a backup motor on the dinghy?

Cons
Not as pretty
Prop potentially comes out of the water when its rough reducing forward power/control
Power concerns
More gas consumption?
Possibly burn the outboard up from running too long??

:0

I had an outboard 27 for 30 years. Same cutout. I struggled with a bunch of two-cycle outboards over time. Noisy. Less fuel efficient. But when I put a Honda four-cycle on there all my trials were soon forgotten. Kept the batteries charged up. Was much, much quieter. Much, much cheaper to operate, too. Four-cycle is a blessing, big time.

One of the pros you left off is "no drag." Without the drag, my boat was fast. Won lots of stuff over the years. People complained about my rating as opposed to doing anything about getting better themselves. My first race was a first. My last race was a first. A 27 is quick and rugged, probably a bargain, too. Mine had a tiller, which I loved. One could sit in behind the coach roof and get out of the elements. It also took crew weight out of the stern and put it further forward. Were I to buy another boat--which I ain't gonna do--I'd get a bigger Ericson with a shower, hot water and a real stove. Ericson built great boats. That's why there is a coterie of people who still care...right here on Ericson Yachts.

currentwind said:

Just looking for opinions based on experience....

I've been looking for a boat between 27-30 ft that I want to use initially for coastal cruising (Chesapeake Bay). This includes a few E27s in my area. I recently ran across an E27 with outboard cutout and liked the concept but am I missing something obvious? I've looked a a bunch of boats in this range that have older inboards from diesel to gas (A4) and this tends to the major point of uncertainty, even though i'm looking at "sail" boats. My sailing experiences have been on boats way out of my budget (grandparents, parents etc). Also, I have the dream to slowly make my way down the ICW and at some point jump across to the Bahamas. Please burst my dream bubble if needed.

Pros
Overall cheaper boat (money could go to more bar visits, newer kite surfing gear, women etc)
Easier/Cheaper to to maintain (to a certain degree)
Possibly having a backup motor on the dinghy?

Cons
Not as pretty
Prop potentially comes out of the water when its rough reducing forward power/control
Power concerns
More gas consumption?
Possibly burn the outboard up from running too long??

:0

Click to expand...

What Morgan said!
And... while the transom is not quite as "pretty", it's not a deal-killer to me. After all our prior boat had a transom-mounted OB and we sailed the proverbial socks off that boat for a decade. BTW, like the Ericson 27, our Niagara 26 had the OB mounted on a cut-out. This is a Big Deal, because there is much less chance of cavitation for the prop when the stern lifts on a wave. Putting that OB out quite a bit further aft on a bracket really ups the chances of cavitation. Also, get an extra-long-shaft (25" leg) like we had on our N-26. We had a Yamaha 10 Hi Thrust, and got great fuel economy - half gallon per hour @ 6 kts.

As to "burning up your motor", no way. Using it as intended will not harm it. Lack of maint and lack of oil changes will, but not using it! (That would apply equally to an inboard engine, too.)

Enough power? I would guess that a modern four-stroke putting out 8 or 10 hp is plenty. One caveat: check the final gear ratio. Our particular Yamaha model had a 3 to 1 final ratio and swung an 11 3/4" three blade prop. It was geared and propped for a displacement hull boat! Massive torque for maneuvering power, too.

Maintenance was really easier, too. I and a friend would take it to the dealer every year on his two wheel OB carrier and get the tuning, etc. done. Bringing a mechanic to a boat is more expensive, on the whole.

At 100#, it is very doubtful that such a power plant would be a backup motor for a dinghy...

Happy shopping!
Loren

I had a Johnson 10 on a 25-footer years ago. It was hugely powerful. I could power off Chesapeake mud banks like nobody else. I hated the way it looked on the boat, but there you go.

The bracket and the transom are important. I had an aluminum pull-up which couldn;t take sideways forces. Mine was pull-start, which was an ergonomic nightmare. I used to start it with the bracket up (engine out of the water) and then lower it when running. Yeah, I know. But that was the only way.

Some sterns are just problematic. If the stern can take a rational bracket, and you have electric starting, it would be a much less crazy-making rig than mine was.

small detail to add. The closed transom of the inboard E-27 is mostly a hollow space, and doesn't provide much in the way of extra hull rigidity compared to the open transom. Conceivably if you ship a large wave into the cockpit, it's going to drain quite a bit faster. I've thought about modifying my transom similar to what the Moore 24 guys are doing these days for exactly this reason as I have offshore aspirations with this boat, and the scupper seems ridiculously small given the volume of the tub.

fwiw

cheers,
Ike

I went through this similar calculation a few years back. I have the Yamaha 9.9 Hi-Thrust XL shaft that Loren mentions. Definitely pros and cons:

Pros-
Additional storage space below
No fumes, heat below
No stuffing box to worry about
Fewer thru hulls to worry about
Easy maintenance- I pulled the motor and worked on it over the winter in my garage
Less drag under sail
Quiet down below under power

Cons
Docking manueverability sucks- motor is too big to turn in cutout and prop is behind rudder.
In reverse, prop wash behind rudder will rip tiller out of your hands if you are not ready for it!
If you have tiller model it can be a bit of a dance to handle tiller, and outboard mounted throttle and shifter all at once.
I could use more power. Where I sail (river) there is a 5+ knot current in some places that I can barely get through at max power.
Cavitation- at full throttle, the prop starts cavitating. 3/4 is best. Maybe I need a different prop, although it is the one for displacement hulls.
You should install an internal fuel tank for long range motoring, otherwise you will have a small plastic tank banging around in the cockpit.
Can get loud in cockpit under more than half throttle

I have never had the motor come out of the water but there are rarely any large waves. i have motored all day at 3/4 throttle with no problems whatsoever.

If I had to do it again: I would choose a diesel inboard, for my given conditions. I see the dock maneuvering, barge and tanker avoiding and the long distance motoring against a current here in inconsistent winds as the primary reasons.

Good luck with your decision.

Doug

Awesome. Thanks for all the replies

Another 2 cents worth

I run a 73 e27 cutout with 25 horse yamaha, long shaft, tiller control with o complaints.
After burning out 2 25 horse evinrudes coming back in to tampa bay from the gulf against wind & tide, I needed more power.
Cavitation can be miminmized by using a storm jib (no furler) & cutting a good angle if possible.
Remote engine controls were useless as far as reaction time.
The cockpit in the 27 is not that big & am comfortable using engine mounted & tiller controls.
Also I am able to control turns in reverse with engine tiller.
Engine is 2 stroke as 4 stroke is 100 lbs heavier & not possible back there.
I have now been out in life threatening storms with confidence & safety.
However, i do get excited/enjoy sailing thru bad weather.
Hell, I just love being 'out there'
Please do not use my advise as a good example & good luck!
--- capt mike