Thread: An appropriate motorsailer

Hi Rob, Tekin looks like a stretched version of WD but with an enclosed coach house and mitzen.
I will try and attach a copy of a spec sheet posted at one of the Hobart wooden boat shows she attended. Also you should find a picture of WD at anchor at a place in QLD (the exact location has sliped my memory) on transit from Hervey Bay, 2008 , and also a shot of her as she was presented for sale in Tasy, circa 2003. I am going to close now as last night the server crashed and I lost all this stuff and more, which had taken me an hour to do.
Regards Ianl

She looks good Ian , I can see why you are pleased with your boat.
One thing i found interesting , the advert states that the Perkin 4-108 was a 48 hp , what rating is that ??.
It sounds like an automotive rating , at the flywheel , not a continuous rating , at the shaft.
I was hoping someone would critique Tekin.
I notice the mainsail is fully battened , and she uses lazy jacks , but I'm still thinking someone would have to go up on the coach house roof , to unzip the sail bag to release the sail , and to guide the sail back in .
How well can you watch your sails , when sailing ?.
Just little things , that may mean a lot.
Regards Rob j.

Originally Posted by dopeydriver

I was hoping someone would critique Tekin.
I notice the mainsail is fully battened , and she uses lazy jacks , but I'm still thinking someone would have to go up on the coach house roof , to unzip the sail bag to release the sail , and to guide the sail back in .
How well can you watch your sails , when sailing ?.
Just little things , that may mean a lot.
Regards Rob j.

Rob,
I'm not game to critique Tekin apart from saying that to me she was built with the Southern Ocean in mind ie comfort a dry, stable safe boat. The thing that strikes me is the wide decks, flat topsides along with high stauncheons all good saftey features. The big couch house is to me a real plus and with regard to watching sails she is a cruiser you trim the sails set the autohelm and make a cuppa.

I noticed in the pics of her on the brokers site the mizzen boom is not fitted, I can't help think the owner prefered an open rear deck as opposed to the pic showing her under sail where the mizzen boom is low.
I have sailed extensively on a 50' Roberts ketch and my impression was the mizzen did not provide much drive but was more to balance the helm so maybe Tekin is pretty well balanced without the mizzen.
I see the main boom is in a crutch which seems strange I would think a topping lift on the boom would be in order.

With regard to the main I have owned a 30' cruising cat with that set up. The full length mattens help hold the sail while hoisting or dowsing it all just drops into the bag via the lazy jacks without any need to pack it in and an endless draw cord on the bag means you can zip it up from the wheel house if needed. There is a good reason all the charter companies specify the set up, it is pretty much foolproof. Yes you will need to go to the mast to hoist but I think that would be a fairly easy and safe operation even in a sea. I have also sailed on a big mono with electric winches mounted over the companion way now that is the ultimate mind you one needs to be careful you don't winch the mast through the keel those big powered jobs pack some punch.
I don't think Tekin would take too kindly to that sort of modification no room to mount them behind the windscreen but a couple of minutes out in the salt air is good for you.

Sounds like you are getting serious, should I book a flight.

Cheers Mike

Originally Posted by dopeydriver

Damian , your post bought a smile !.

Oh good .

I went sailing yesterday with my old mate , in his solid Tassie yacht , and I had no problem getting the main up , with the aid of a winch.

As I said there is nothing wrong with a multi part purchase on a halyard or any other line. More rope to pull through but if your problem is arthritis and not enough grip to pull a short line hard then a long line that's light might be an option. Blocks do not impinge on the look and feel of a boat the way winches do, but both are good problem solvers.

There is a chap on ebay that sells very cheap blocks. Search on "spin tech" or similar. He's in the US. I bought some and they are very good. $150 delivered for 2 fiddles and 2 fiddle/becket/cam in his 35 series. That would do your gaff and halyard nicely.

So , I'd forgo the traditional rig , for one on these new fangled self furling mains , 'cos I think I really have to.

I disagree. Yes a gaff has some weight to it, but you can make it work if you really want to.

Would I go to a cat , or tri ?.
Well , I explored them many many years ago , and while the head said yes , the heart said no.
And to materials , its wood I love.

That's fine, they are certainly not for everyone. Also with so many stupidly cheap mono's around it's hard to justify the extra $. Have a look at Wharram catamarans. Rather more stylish than your pile-of-plastic (frozen snot! ) styled boats.

Ultimately we sail for fun. Very few people NEED a boat of any sort. With that in mind the ONLY criteria that matters is that the boat makes you happy, and that result is found on a differnt path for each person.

Thanks for your reply Damian.
Yes , I guess I'm partial to blocks too , having used the traditional wooden blocks for everything on the 'couta boats.
Its certainly worth a careful look for HS , thank you , and it would still "look the part".
I appreciate your contribution , thank you.
Mike , your post is much appreciated too , you really hit the spot !.
Yes , the owner prefered the open deck.
Unfortunately , its not possible to speak to the previous owner , as he and his son were tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident.
The broker sold the boat to them about 6 years ago , so they have some (old) knowledge of the boat.
Yes , I was thinking about balance under sail , with the mizzen , but its something you would just have to work out , from experience.
The bag for the mainsail seems to be different to the bag shown in the sailing picture , which I think is from the PO.
If these modern bags reliably take in the battened main , then it would be fantastic !.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
As to booking the tickets , well I've just found something in WA , that looks interesting too !.
I should be sailing tomorrow , and hopefully on Sunday , on HS , but I'll have a crewman to do the work for me !.
Regards Rob J.

Hi Rob,
That is sad about the previous owner. It looks like he spent considerable thought not to mention time, effort and money on getting her nice.

Yes , it is very very unfortunate , the family must be devastated .
The broker was saying there is no way she would have come on to the market otherwise , so they must have been well pleased with her.
I'm hesitant , because I'm not sure how much use I'd get out of even her.
I had to cancel the last 2 sailing days , I'd be scratching to even get to HS.
Hopefully I'll get out over easter .
One thing I did entertain the thought of , was to set that boat up as hybrid power.
It would be possible now , to set her up with a smaller hybrid engine , of equal power or better , say another 4 batteries , and you would have the best of the 3 worlds.
Silent instant power , for sneaking around the moorings , and the harbour , sail power , and engine power.
A Steyr MO144M38 is one such hybrid , but I'm finding more , it looks as though Nanni are now producing hybrids in the bigger horsepowers.
Interesting.
Regards Rob J.

Hi Rob, sorry I haven't replied sooner but this computer is on the way out. Re the comment that you just set the sails and then put the kettle on is partialy true, on WD if I find some decent wind I do muck about a bit with the sails until the boat sails it self and then open the esky. I get a resonable view of the headsail from the helm but cannot feel the wind so I fly my Tassy flag from the back stay so I can glance over my shoulder to see what is going on. If I have every thing up I like to sit on top of the aft cabin so I can see and feel everything that is going on if things start to get a bit out of control and I have to steer (no auto pilot) I can sit at the helm and hang onto the main sheet with out to much drama. The longest stint I have down on the helm is 36 hrs in about 15 knts an a bit of swell ( Trial Bay to Pittwater) with out to much drama, and I was still able to have a couple of beers when I rafted up on a club mooring.
Ian L

It sounds like you have Wavedancer pretty well sorted Ian , good for you !.
Thats a long stint at the helm , I couldn't manage 36 minutes right now !.
Regards Rob J.

An interesting couple of days coming up.
A friend of mine has sold his motor sailer , a boat I'm familiar with , and considered buying , and is delivering it to the new owners , who are back towards Melbourne .
So , I'm lucky enough to be crewing with 3 other very experienced men , on the delivery.
He has just finished doing the boat right up , its looking good.
I've got a couple of photos of it before it was done up , when HS was rafting off it.
Its gaff rig was definately too much for me , if I was ever going to single hand , but with this crew , it should be just fine !.
Its also got a 4 cylinder diesel engine .
It will be good experience for the future.
Rob J.

Hi Rob, sounds like fun to me. Where is the delivery from and to. Is your mates boat a converted fishing boat? I have no idea about this gaff rigging stuff, to to my thinking on a motor sailer it seems to defeat the purpose as my understanding the gaff rig is very hard to handle.
You asked before about the hp rating of the perkins 4180 and I am not sure why you ask is the rating at the shaft or fly wheel. I allways thought that hp is power available at a certain rpm at the flywheel therefore power available would not change through the drive train.
A few years ago I did a little detour to King Island on the way from Devonport (Tas) to Sydney and found some very interesting currents. There is a little rock just north of KI that nearly gobbled up my little 26ft steel yacht("Dunno"), for some reason my mate Max and I were heading for Africa at a rate of 4knts and the tide was surpose to be pushing us towards Wilson Prom.
When I was first considering buying WD I had an old navy shipwright mate of mine look at it and he sugested that it would be a very hot boat in the NSW summer and he was right, but come this time of year all I have to do is light a couple of candles and the boat is very cozy. For some reason my mates on their plastic boats always seem to suggest after dinner coffee and ports are on WD.

That was a great experience !.
We left at 0930 , and hoisted sail almost immediately , but had to drop it , as the wind was light and on the nose.
Motoring along , often in rain , we were accompanied by pods of dolphins , and we had 2 sightings of whales , between Portland and Port Fairy.
Also watched the tall ship Endeavour sail slowly past , going towards Portland.
But it was the motor sailing in the dark that had us on our toes.
Besides keeping the correct course around the coast , we also had to negotiate ships , squid boats , cray boats , fishing boats , and shark boats.
When we got to the Otways , the rain was heavy , and it made finding the markers to get in to Apollo Bay very difficult , so we crept in , the final entrance aided by the light of the new day.
The trip was from 0930 Friday , to 0700 Saturday , nonstop.
The damn walls and floor are still moving !.
But it was valuable experience , the boat is quite a good motorsailer , and it was good to see the pros , and cons.
In regard to the engine hp rating , well , there are several different ones.
I suspect the 48 hp rating is automotive , delivered at higher revs.
I have a book of boat designs from the 70's , listing the Perkins 4.108M as 37 cont shp , which is the figure relevant to us , at 3000 rpm .
The boat I was on today has a new 50hp Nanni (Kubota) diesel , quite a lump of engine , that worked up to 1800rpm plenty of real grunt to overcome tides and the wind.
The wind is really coming up now , so it was decided by these very professional sailors to wait for the wind to improve , rather that finding themselves in the rip , with 40 knot + winds to contend with.
I really enjoyed the experience though.
Regards Rob J.