Hello..I am seeking a Pearson Ariel in San fran Area...in nice condition...No fixer uppers please.I recently sold my Intl. Folkboat(owned for 27 years)..I am a serious buyer..I have 1 very pertinent question...Does the Ariel do well with a transom mounted outboard?
Thanks
Racer Bud
Bud DeLauer..Sonoma,. Ca
There are two Ariels available in the Bay Area at present. They are listed the Classy Classified section of July 2006 edition of Latitude 38 magazine this month. So pick up a free copy of Latitude 38 at West Marine or elsewhere, or see the on-line edition.
My opinion is that you should forget the transom-mounted OB. The transom isn't designed for that. You would have to make some modifications. My boat was adapted for a transom mount before I became the owner. I still have the teak transom motor mount, but I patched the holes and applied new gelcoat to the transom. The previous owner told me some horror stories about aeration of the prop in short chop in the south Bay. So don’t do it.
However with the open well, and a motor in place, you do get a fair amount of sea in your lazarette, and the shaft is down when sailing unless you want to heft the motor out of the well at sea and carry it below or store it in a cockit seat locker. Is this a big problem? It comes with the territory. An Ariel with an IB diesel would be nice, but I am very happy with my 1965 OB model.
Do buy an Ariel and do use the well. Join the Ariel Association and get the Ariel manual. The article in the manual by Gene Roberts on Myron Spaulding's installation of a modified Garhauer lifting davit for the OB motor is swelligant.
I followed the recommendations in that article, and am very pleased with my lifting davit. My six-to-one ratio lifting davit is a real back saver. I can lift my motor from a cart on the dock to the well and back. The motor will store well on its side in the lazarette when the boat is parked. The davit handles this maneuver also. The davit can also be used to hoist the motor for post-sail flushing with fresh water. I originally had a Hoinda 7.5, but I now use a Nissan 6 hp four stroke OB motor.
Why are you swapping your International Folk Boat for an Ariel? I am just curious. I edit a Marieholm 26/ IF Boat web site, but I am an Ariel owner, and I also edit an Ariel website.
Thanks to everyone who replied with info/advice...The reason I have let my Intl. Folkboat go after many years is to get away from the outboard well situation(physically)..and to get a little more creature comfort..primarily a larger cockpit..
It seems clear that the Ariel does not take kindly to a transom mounted outboard..so..Although not completely ruling her out. I am still in the hunt.
Check the search function on this site for information on the Garhauer Lifting Davit. Although the well in the Ariel has some interesting downsides, a Garhauer Lifting Davit can solve the installation and removal problems. I store my OB on it's side in the lazarette. I lift it into place in the well every time I sail. After sailing, I lift it back out of the well, flush the motor with fresh water, and lay it back down in the lazarette again.
The 6:1 ratio Garhauer Lifting Davit makes this all possible without me having to lift the 60 lb Nissan 6 hp motor. I only have to exert 10 lb of pressure on the lines. I can also swing the motor onto a cart, or into a dinghy using the davit. The Ariel Association manual has a section on where to buy and how to install this device. It was first installed on on Gene Robert's Ariel by the Late Myron Spaulding . I installed my own with the help of the fine article that Gene wrote in the Ariel Assoc. Manual, and I am glad that I did.
You can also see this device on my Ariel web page article on the Garhauer Lifting Davit at: http://www.solopublications.com/sailarip.htm#motor where it is shown with my original motor, a four stroke Honda 7.5 weighting more like 80 lbs.
I previously owned a sailboat with the OB on the transom, and there are drawbacks to that arrangement also.
Ariels are fine little boats.
Last edited by Scott Galloway; 08-23-2006 at 11:10 PM.
Looking For an Ariel
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