Well o/b vs Transom o/b

[Rod]

Hi, Still looking for a suitable TH. My question is related to the use of outboards.
Firstly, what is adequate size hp and if mounted in well does it need to be a long shaft?
Secondly, I have seen quite a few TH's with the ob mounted on the transom. I am not a fan of mounting them on the transom purely because some bastard will think that he needs it more than the owner, even in the supposed security of a marina. Can I get opinions on the use of o/b's transom mounted vs well mounted? I note that some of the older TH's have a cutout in the transom which is lifted clear to mount the o/b.

[Miker]

Rod,
Dulcamara has a well, however the previous owner bought a standard shaft 8hp Tohatsu 4 stoke, whose power head is too big for the well. Hence he stuck it over the back on a lifting bracket.

This works well enough and means you don't have to lift if out of the well when mooring. Mine is padlocked to the bracket and lives there permanently. Others will bolt it through the bracket, so they're not as easy to purloin as you might think.

Down side of the stern bracket is that there are no remote controls, but I could get them fitted. Plus, on some choppy days, you will get some cavitation. I've crossed the Swanse Bar with only two or three cavitations, and motored for 5 hours in a windless mess of a 2 meter southerly swell with a 1 metre easterly chop and no cavitation, unless I went to the bow.

The ideal outboard set up is the mark one with the transom cut out and a simple tilting of a long shaft engine. I plan to get a. Long shaft fitted, as well as remote controls, but it's not high on the priority.

[storm petrel]

My advice would be to spend a bit more money and buy a boat with a descent inboard.

Cheers,
Mark

[Troppo]

HI Rod, I have just bought Windchaser and she has an 18 hp Tohatsu 2 stroke in the well. The PO took out the old 10 hp 4 stroke Honda and, having a boat building trade, made the well a bit bigger to suit the bigger motor. He wanted something to go hard against the wind and swell.



Yesterday I got back to Rockhampton from bringing the boat up from Southport on the Goldcoast, a distance of about 300 nm. My previous boat, a 27 foot Endeavour which only got out to sea as too many problems emerged, had a 1GM10 of about ten hp. Needless to say, the grunt from Windchaser's outboard outperformed the old diesel.

Some of the stuff I went through was quite rough. Often I motored since the wind was from a bad quarter or there was no wind. Having the motor in the well I think it was much better protected than if it was outboard since I went through extremely peaky tide-against-wind stuff up to two metres plus the 'mad mile' of the Wide Bay Bar to get behind Fraser Is had peaky waves going everywhere. In these conditions I had wave slap against the stern and the boat was being shoved every which way. I wondered if the motor had been more out stern if it may have got water over the motor and the stern was lifting up a bit so perhaps cavitation. But I have not used a Top Hat with the outboard out over the stern so I really can't compare, just in my opinion I would have had more trouble if the motor was not in the well.

Even though I think the outboard in well is more sea worthy, it takes up heaps of cockpit space and I am much closer to the noisy stinking thing. For more of a cruising application, I think I would put the motor out the back. I think I would go for a smaller motor too. Those are the changes I am thinking of doing but at this point, the setup performed incredibly well so I don't even want to complain about the noise and stink.

I cruised on the flat at 6 knts. To conserve fuel I did 5 knts. Could do seven if pushed and could do 6 knots against wind and tide but motor was getting toward WOT and I went through 20 litres in about 15 nm. However, coming up the Fitzroy River with the tide, I did 25 nm and used about ten litres cruising at 5 - 6 knots.

In my opinion, if you find a boat which overall ticks the right boxes, then you can change outboards around for not too much money. Inboards definately have advantages but I think if you like a boat that has an OB in well and you want on the transom, it is easy enough to change. But if you want inboard diesel and the boat you like has an OB, it is costly to change.

I would have preferred an inboard diesel as that is what my last boat had, I like diesel since I have used many diesel motors and I can do servicing. However, I bought Windchaser with an OB since the boat overall was what I wanted and I want to get out sailing rather than keep looking : ).