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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Huachuca City, Arizona
    Posts
    5

    Default GIS questions - oars and motors in Arizona.

    A couple of quick questions. I plan to use this boat solo most of the time. I will be using the sail but had questions about using an engine. Is a 3 hp four stroke too much for this boat? Can a 3 hp move this boat in a current of any kind? Would a 2 hp be better? Can this boat be rowed in case of need? If so how long should the oars be?? I really hope I can start this boat as soon as our monsoon rains are over in Sept... RAIN! Ugh!!!

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Savannah GA USA
    Posts
    583

    Default

    A 3hp motor is about 50 percent too much motor so, yes, a 2hp model would be better.

    The Goat is a great rowboat with the proper 9 ft. oars.

    But--with 105sf of sail the boat will ghost along is a mere zephyr.
    The "Cosmos Mariner,"My Goat Island Skiff
    http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w168/MiddleAgesMan/

    Starting the Simmons Sea Skiff 18
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/37973275@N03/

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    'Delaide, Australia
    Age
    65
    Posts
    8,138

    Default

    Howdy and welcome,



    I don't recommend that the boat sail and carry the motor at the same time ... but as a motorboat it would be fine. The power I have in my head is about 3hp Depends how laden the boat is, but that should give you about 6 knots.

    David Graybeal has used his as a motor boat for quite a long time before he built the mast and bought a sail. I will bring his attention to this question.

    MIK

  5. #4
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Huachuca City, Arizona
    Posts
    5

    Default

    Hey! Thanks a lot. I am thinking more along the lines of a nice 50lb thrust electric for the days when I just want to cruise the pads for those "monster" bass... OK, moster carp.... But a gas engine isn't out of the question. Nice to know that a small engine is OK. Honda 2hp air cooled may be just the ticket. Want to keep things as small and light as possible. I can't start to build right now and the rainy season is only a few weeks away so maybe I will use this down time to try my hand at making some oars. Good wood is such a bugger to find around here. Don't think Ponderosa pine is the right wood to make oars from. Maybe I can special order some spruce from somewhere. By cracky, I'm getting stoked about this project.. Does anyone know if buzzard poop effects epoxy? Probably eat right through wood. Gonna have to find a way to try and cover things while it dries. My luck I'll go out in the morning and find a rattler or a pack rat or a basket of scorpions stuck to the boat...I seem to attract them like flies to honey..

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Portland, Oregon, USA
    Posts
    334

    Default

    Hi Mik,

    Woke me from quite a slumber, you did.

    MotorGoating, eh? Well, my experience is this... We used ours with motor and oars exclusively for the first two seasons. What we have is a 4-stroke, 5 hp Nissan (Tohatsu). That's more motor than it really needs, but there's not too awful a penalty for carrying more iron around. It does affect the trim, however. Both from a Weight Hanging Aft standpoint, and from a Thrust=Nose In The Air standpoint.

    With this hull shape, which is optimized for sailing (right?), the rocker translates thrust into snobbishness (nose in the air). The image below shows what happens when a lone skipper cranks it wide open. I wanted to see if I could run it into the wind and flip myself over backwards. The rescue crews were ready. Alas, no acrobatics




    The issue of attitude is fairly easily solved, however, by how one trims the boat. If I put a loaded cooler on the floor, farthest forward, the attitude goes away. If you park a boy or two up there, it's almost as good (almost... a boy is not stocked with cold beer). Forgive them the fenders... they're neophytes all:






    Yes... those are my boys, but that's not me. My friend Jerry is FAR more handsome than I - just ask him. Here's the happy skipper, motoring:




    We mounted our motor offset, in a notch. That way we can keep the motor mounted, while also set up to sail. We don't do that often. Only on long-distance cruises, or going into conditions where we want the insurance/reassurance of having an Iron Wind backup.




    You didn't ask about the rowing alternative, but she rows pretty well too. I want to upgrade from the 8' oars we use to 9 footers, but 8' hasn't been terrible. Here's my oldest getting ready to go for a row:




    As I've mentioned before, with the amount of rocker this hull has, she's more of a slalom rower than a straight-line rocket. I've gotten lots of lovely exercise rowing her, but if I had a dedicated pulling boat, I'd jump in that if all I wanted to do was row for a bit. She even rows nicely with a crowd aboard, and two on the oars:




    Aren't you glad you asked

    I Know! the images are too big. I'll shrink the big ones tomorrow.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Huachuca City, Arizona
    Posts
    5

    Default

    Hey! Nice pics! The 5hp doesn't seem to bog the stern down much at all. Be good in a stiff current. I have a dream of using this boat to cruise around Lake Mohave on good days. I wanted a sail to cruise miles up the lake and camp. Yes, oars are in order. I really like the option of being able to use a small engine at times. Works better for fishing. I have a ton of boat plans sitting in the closet yet this is the one that really stands out. The plans were a pleasant suprise. I printed them out and put them into a three ring binder. I wanted a good sized boat to handle my gear along with my expanding bottom.. I'm settling with age. Gravity sucks...

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    'Delaide, Australia
    Age
    65
    Posts
    8,138

    Default

    Howdy,

    5hp is really too big, you will end up operating in the bottom end of the rev range all the time - not good for the motor - older two strokes will be oiling themselves up.

    Something about 3 would be great

    One area if going for something bigger is to make sure it has a prop for pushing heavier loads ... you are going to top out at about 6 or 7 knots - a five two stroke with a prop for doing 12 knots might put a lot of load on the motor - low revs/lots of torque needed - so if have problems with overheating or unreliability try a finer pitch prop. Most dealers have charts or a spreadsheet for working it out.

    MIK

  9. #8
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Huachuca City, Arizona
    Posts
    5

    Default

    I was thinking that something in the 2-3 hp would be suitable. Size is right. Price is right. I'm happy with it. Small enough to lug around a lot with only minimal danger of having to limp back to the sawbones and get more mesh sewn in me... Smaller is better.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    'Delaide, Australia
    Age
    65
    Posts
    8,138

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