The album of Ariel #422

[ebb]

Kurt,
As Bill might say, why not put a nice little Beta back there!

[CapnK]

Well, as much as I liked my last diesel (a Universal), I gotta say "No Way!". I like the outboard and well setup even more, it has many advantages. 1) Cheaper engine (and parts!). 2) The engine is more serviceable. 3) The prop can be pulled clear of the water for a clean sailing underbody. 4) No thru-hulls! 5) No grounding system/engine corrosion. 6) Runs much quieter with less vibration. 7) More stowage room belowdecks. 8) The 6hp 4 stroke o/b uses less fuel (the diesel was a 12hp - I'd get about 3 hours runtime/gallon with it, vs 4 hrs/gallon for this outboard).

The only drawback is that the o/b isn't nearly as powerful. Powering into 25/30 knots of wind is approaching the limits of what is possible with my o/b. I found that out heading to my hurricane hole for Ophelia this year. I left almost too late! It was difficult to keep her head to wind out in the middle of the Bay where there was a good fetch.

Though the o/b weight is more in the stern, it is substantially lighter than a diesel - I figure about 4-5 times lighter - so I call that issue a wash.

If I ever got a diesel, though, it would be a Beta.

[Robert Lemasters]

I agree that an outboard has advantages, my Nissan 6 hp 4 stroke is very good on fuel, I did however change the prop pitch per Mike Goodwin, who has the same engine on his Ariel. One advantage that I like, is the fact that you can steer with an outboard motor should something happen to the rudder. The four stroke dosn't make very much noise, even going full speed, I like that.

[commanderpete]

Its not GIMP technology, but this is how I was picturing Kurt's dinette and bunk

[mbd]

Just to keep you guys thinking, I ran across these the other night while wandering the "For Sale" sites. A couple of interesting ideas. The Bristol 26 shows a longer bulkhead with the dinette setup. The Invicta 26 has a raised vberth so you could make room for the feet on the settees. This setup could free up the aft of the cabin for galley space and storage. If I recall, the Wing 25 had this foot cubby setup on one side too.

[CapnK]

OK, you made me think.

About how much height there is at the forward part of the Vberth. There is planty of room, and some reason, to put a shallow (but wide) self-draining foredeck locker there. Maybe 6" deep inside. It would stiffen the foredeck, and make for a convienent - and perhaps safer/quicker - place to stow anchor rodes. Could even have a smaller partition integral for headsail-related gear/tools. Or, there's room there to glass in a 6" block of foam, if your quest was ffor a buoyancy-neutral vessel (like Jim Baldwins Triton Atom may be).

Ebb is not allowed to do that because he has a nice large hatch there, with a nice locker area below. I bet he feels relieved at that.

[mbd]

Naw, think really BIG "E"! Figure out a way to add an Anchor Locker! Now that would be really cool!