Motor boat?

[atrometer]

Has anyone removed the mast and used their 16 as a motor boat?  How did it work?  Has anyone added oarlocks/oars to theirs, if so what part #/model/store, etc.?

I do know there was a guy in a WWP 15 with 2 2hp Hondas that did the Great Loop

[Pacman]

I put some bronze oar locks on the gunwales of my C-16.

They work great.

I sometimes motor with my Honda 2 hp but I have never done so with the mast removed.

That works fine too even if it is not fast.  A displacement hull like the C-16 behaves very differently than a lightweight skiff under power.

As a motorboat it is slow, stable, and very cheap to run.

[waterwks4me]

The sailboat company in Jacksonville, NC has taken a compact 16 and turned it into a motor launch.  They put a pilot house on it.  Looks great.  I believe it is powered with a 9.8hp outboard.  Here is the web address:

http://www.ipass.net/sailboat/

[Pete H]

I often use mine ( a Legacy, same thing really) as a motor boat. The displacement hull is easily driven at hull speed with an outboard. The hull speed roughly approximates to 1.5 x square root of the waterline length, so you can expect to be able to cruise at about 4 or 5 knots.

I use a 6hp 4 stroke and can motor all day at a litre an hour (four hours per US gallon). I do generally leave the mast on and raised so that if I want to sail I have the choice. But if you take the mast off, what you're left with is an extremely pretty little displacement launch. In this guise my son refers to my boat as an elderly gentleman's day boat. Not a bad description really except I would prefer if he didn't keep referring to me as elderly, experienced or distinguished would be  preferable.

I haven't fitted rowlocks and oars to it, but after the comments above I am thinking about it. I do carry a canoe type paddle to move it short distances in calm conditions.

P.S.  I have found that 6hp is way more than needed, the boat achieves hull speed at about quarter throttle and any more just makes more noise, more wake, buries the stern and chews up the juice without really going much faster.

Enjoy your sailboat or motorboat whichever you want on the day. Two for the price of one!

Cheers,

[atrometer]

PACMAN

What kind/model/size/manufacturer/etc. oarlocks, and where did you mount them?

I recently got my C16 and don't yet have the rigging where I want it yet, BUT my wife wants to go out.  So I thought I could just remove the mast for now and try it.  Sounds like fun!

[Pacman]

PACMAN

What kind/model/size/manufacturer/etc. oarlocks, and where did you mount them?

Got them years ago of unknown origin.  

They are top-mount bronze oarlocks that take a 1/2" shaft.

I mounted them on the horizontal surface of the gunwale 36" aft of the bulkhead.

I use rubber stoppers from Home Depot to plug them so rain won't enter the cabin area when oars are not in use.

I really like them but the only problem is that now I won't be able to use the Ronstan genoa tracks and cars I bought for the boat last year.

If you are going to be in in Sarasota let me know.
 
You could stop by and see how the oarlocks mount and decide whether to do something similar on your boat.

[Jason]

Greetings,

I used the side-mount oarlocks.  stainless steel from west marine, with 1/2" bore.  Through-bolted through the gunwale , with a large backer plate in the cockpit.  Backer plate in the cockpit is not ideal, but it hasn't bothered me, and I need the oarlocks to be sturdy; I use them often.  Other attachment methods were not strong enough, so I wound up with the through-bolts.  Use a big backer plate to avoid over stressing the fiberglass or deforming it.  I have 8ft oars.  I was concerned about water getting in through the top flush mount oarlocks, but I see that Pacman has a good way around that.  My other challenge to going with a top-mount was that the top of the gunwale on my boat was not accessible from the inside, it is full of insulation or fiberglassed over or something and it would have taken a significant removal of whatever that material is to be able to access the top of the gunwale.  The link below shows a side view of the boat with the oars.

http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=6326.0

-Jason

[Pacman]

My other challenge to going with a top-mount was that the top of the gunwale on my boat was not accessible from the inside, it is full of insulation or fiberglassed over or something and it would have taken a significant removal of whatever that material is to be able to access the top of the gunwale. 

Yup, I did have to remove the foam that filled the gunwales to install the top mount oarlocks. 

It was a slow miserable job but not that difficult, just tedious and it was hot and humid when I did that work. 

Now that I have the technique if I had to do it again I could do it in 1/4 of the time it took me.

[atrometer]

THANK YOU ALL very much!  Questions answered.