Old launch restoration

Hello All,
I am currently restoring an old clinker boat with no history. It is old, I have No idea how old but the hull is generally sound. It is 16ft long and seems to be either Celery Top or Beech. the engine is missing and I need to replacea few ribs.
What I would like to do is fit it with a mast as well as replacing the engine. I am thinking of a balanced lug rig from a 14' skiff. the mast is 4.9 m long and long and area is 9m2. I am looking at lee boards as well,
What does everyone think of the sail idea?

Well you might consider posting a few pictures, so we know what you're looking at.

Was the boat a sailboat originally? As a rule, powerboats, make really lousy sailboats. This is my assumtion as 16' sailboats (skiff like) usually don't have inboards, though outboards are fairly common.

Hi Ehsuz,
Welcome to the forum.
I know practically nothing about sailing so cannot answer you sailing question or offer any advice in that direction.
However my recent restoration may still be of some interest. She is a 15' boat with a mast of approx. 4m measured from where it pivots above the deck. https://www.woodworkforums.com/f32/putt-putt-rebuild-164758.
So maybe there are some similarities. I have not yet restored or installed the mast itself.
Cheers,
Mark

Attachment 317240Attachment 317241
HI Mark,
As you can see it is very similiar to your boat. The side decking on the second pic has been removed and I intend to keep the bow and stern decks and leave the rest open. I am also trying to find a way to raise the the sides a couple of inches. The mast will go just near the front deck. It is a balanced lug rig with the centre roughly in line with the middle of the boat.
What size is your engine?
I am confused as to what size to put in mine. The engine base is huge and I am not familiar with the types available. One old bloke told me that the biggest I could put in it would be a Pup.
But that is in the future. I have a few ribs and fastenings to replace first/

Cheers Ken

Hi Ken,
My engine is a Simplex 6/7. Single cylinder, 4 stroke with FNR gearbox. Weighs in at about 120kg.
Your engine bed certainly looks quite broad. A lot of these boats carried marinised car engines - Ford Prefect comes to mind, so I guess they might have needed widely spaced bearers.I guess part of the question is what you want the engine to do. If it is to just supplement the sail or take over when the wind drops then a chapman or blaxland single will probably be fine. Her lines look fairly fine so it won't take a lot to push her through the water.
Cheers,
Mark

Hi Mark,
We have a Simplex 6/7 in the shed and it seems way too big for this one. I think I want it to be 50/50. I need the motor to get up and down my creek and go fishing. But I love to just kick back and sail. I also want to be able to move around Lake Macquarie and camp on it. Basically everything :U. I was looking at some US sites and some blokes have put small hondas in their boats coupled with go kart gear boxes. A 6.5 hp Honda weighs 16 kg. Interesting idea.
Yes it has nice lines and I think it will sail well especially if I put the lee boards in. But the low freeboard worries me a little. But I wont be racing it and I will be putting some floatation in it.
So many things Haha.

I suspect the Simplex probably is overkill for what you describe. 120kg won't help your freeboard. And it adds a little clutter you can do without when sailing.
A Blaxland single or similar would probably suit if you want that traditional putt putt sound. If not then something more recent maybe.
I imagine you will need a gearbox of sorts with a Honda or similar as the engine revs will be too high.
Incidentally, I am in the market for a Simplex 6/7. Maybe pm me your number if you wish to sell.
Cheers,
Mark

Sorry its not for sale. I'm not even sure its all there.
The hondas run at 3600 rpm , so yes a reduction gear would be a good idea. You can buy them with a 2:1 and apparently 6:1. But its just a thought at this time. Though the idea of an engine and fwd rev gearbox at about 20kg and about $1000 with warrenty is a tantalising one.:D
Cheers
Ken

I had a very similar boat to that with a yanmar yse8 diesel in it. My boat came from wyong and the framing and engine mounts were strikingly similar. When stripped down with decks removed it was pretty flexy. I'd be keeping a little side deck round the large cockpit you plan. When I added in gunnels and side decks the flex went away.

Re engines, some weight is required otherwise this boat will float too high and be very unstable. Look perhaps at a blaxand twin with gearbox.
My engine provided a very necessary counterweight to the little sail I used. These boats do however sail like a brick. I'd stick with optimising for putting and not be too fussed about the sail. The biggest bonus of a sail is the boom is good to mount a sun shade off while camping :)

That's a pretty slack bilged displacement cruiser (putt put), so you will not need much HP to modivate her along. 5 HP would be more than enough, with 8 being over kill.

Making this boat into a sailor, will be difficult. She'll need a central appendage (fixed fin, centerboard, daggerboard or leeboards) and a rudder. The rudder will be easy enough, but the engine will be living just where you'll want a center or daggerboard, so you're forced to have a fixed fin or leeboards. The fixed fin is the simplest choice, so ask yourself how much draft you can live with. You'll want a couple of feet at least, though you could get by with 18", knowing you'll be kissing off some windward ability.

As a sailboat, she'll not do very well, though she could sail. Her slack bilges and immersed transom will slow her down a lot. On a good day, with a fair bit of wind, you might touch 6 MPH occasionally, but mostly you'll be slower than this under sail. To get an idea for sail area, calulate the wetted surface of the imersed portion of the hull, then multiply this number by 2.2 to 2.4. This will give you a modest to average motorsailor area. You'll want a low rig, because of those slack bilges, so maybe a gaffer or lug, which will keep the mast height(s) fairly low. Of course, you'll need to figure out where to place the mast and where to balance the appendages under her sail plan.

This is a lot of work and a good bit of fiddling around with the "figuring" stuff, especially for a hull shape that will not sail well.
Lastly, that hull type (traditional lapstrake) needs the side decks in place (as mentioned above) or you'll lose a great deal of athwart stiffness.