Motor sailor definition.

[Lucky Luke 1]

Forgive me if its a silly question.
What defines a motor sailor from a sail boat? Seems most sail boats have a motor..

[Rucksta]

Motorsailers go better under power than under sail.

Sail boats may have an auxiliary engine to assist with light air conditions and maneuvering.
The primary form of propulsion is the sails.

I guess a motor sailor drives a power boat but I don't discriminate.
We are all equally insignificant to the ocean.

[StuM]

Something with a motor and sails, which neither motors nor sails efficiently?

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by StuM

Something with a motor and sails, which neither motors nor sails efficiently?

...but motors better than a sailing boat and sails better than a motor boat ?

cheers,

[Dave_S]

For me a sail boat should be able to make meaningful passage under sail in any wind direction.

I think any answer you get won't stand too much scrutiny.

[mvweebles]

Although there are no rules per se, motorsailor are almost always built on full displacement hulls. They have a modest, full length keel similar to older style heavy cruising sailboats such as the Westsail 32. They also inside steering stations and normally some form of pilot house.

The sails are not intended for exclusive propulsion except in emergency "get somewhere" (vs get home) propulsion. The sails provide stability and companion power that extends cruising range significantly.

There are some MS style boats that approach it from more of a sail-provenance. Fisher and Nauticat come to mind. They have a more robust sail plan and were designed with sail in mind. Both have comfortable and functional inside steering stations.

They are a narrow segment of the market. For builders such as Willard who have made both trawler and motorsailor versions, the MS has the least market appeal if resale is an indicator.

Attached Pic is a Diesel Duck, about the only current production MS style boat I can think of.

Peter

[TeddyDiver]

Most above are somewhat biased opinions. Motorsailers is a wide variety of different kind of boats. By definition it can sail or motor long distances on either. If it can't sail properly it's sail assisted motor boat and if it can't motor close to hull speed extended periods it's auxiliary sail boat. Defining 'long distances' and 'extended periods' depends are we talking about coastal or bluewater boats..

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

Most above are somewhat biased opinions.

Agreed, for me a motor sailor has a nice big warm cockpit to stay out of the elements when its wet, cold and nasty outside.

[valhalla360]

It's basically an outdated term.

Way back engines were large and expensive relative to the HP they delivered. There were 3 categories of sailboat:
- Engineless: Self explanatory
- Auxiliary: It had a tiny motor that was mostly useful for docking but way under powered. Wouldn't get close to hull speed, certainly not against a strong wind.
- Motorsailor: It had a decent size motor able to maintain a decent speed even against a good headwind. You could reliably get somewhere by motoring.

In the modern world, just about any cruising size boat is a motorsailor (assuming no engine/drivetrain problems negating it's ability to motor at a decent speed).

You will often see sailboats with enclosed pilot houses marketed as motorsailors but as with lots of things marketing, there is no clear definition.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

It's basically an outdated term.

Way back engines were large and expensive relative to the HP they delivered. There were 3 categories of sailboat:
- Engineless: Self explanatory
- Auxiliary: It had a tiny motor that was mostly useful for docking but way under powered. Wouldn't get close to hull speed, certainly not against a strong wind.
- Motorsailor: It had a decent size motor able to maintain a decent speed even against a good headwind. You could reliably get somewhere by motoring.

In the modern world, just about any cruising size boat is a motorsailor (assuming no engine/drivetrain problems negating it's ability to motor at a decent speed).

You will often see sailboats with enclosed pilot houses marketed as motorsailors but as with lots of things marketing, there is no clear definition.

True except the tankage. If there's not juice enough for extended motoring it's hardly a motorsailor regardless of the engine hp and this is where most sailboats fail..

[deblen]

A proper motorsailer has a rigid pilothouse with a steering wheel inside.
It may also have an outside tiller or wheel.
IMHO much confusion could be avoided if they were called pilothouse motorsailers.


Anything with a sail could be called a sailboat IMHO.


A sailboat with a motor but without a pilothouse & inside steering is an auxilliary sailboat IMHO.


/ Cheers/ Len

[barnakiel]

A sailing boat may have a motor, but will rely on sails.


A motor sailor has sails, but will rely on motor.


If you think about the mentality of a typical 21c cruiser, most are motor sailors. They neither can nor want to sail thru the light patches. Boat speed below X and the motor is started.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

A sailing boat may have a motor, but will rely on sails.


A motor sailor has sails, but will rely on motor.


If you think about the mentality of a typical 21c cruiser, most are motor sailors. They neither can nor want to sail thru the light patches. Boat speed below X and the motor is started.

I think that's is a lack of character on the skipper or wifey having time to hair saloon, nothing to do with the boat type

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

True except the tankage. If there's not juice enough for extended motoring it's hardly a motorsailor regardless of the engine hp and this is where most sailboats fail..

True to a degree regarding tankage but vast majority of modern cruising sailboats can chug along at 80% of hull speed for more than 24 hours continuous with their existing tanks.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by deblen

A proper motorsailer has a rigid pilothouse with a steering wheel inside.
It may also have an outside tiller or wheel.
IMHO much confusion could be avoided if they were called pilothouse motorsailers.

Anything with a sail could be called a sailboat IMHO.

A sailboat with a motor but without a pilothouse & inside steering is an auxilliary sailboat IMHO.

/ Cheers/ Len

Any time you have to throw in "a proper", it's a sketchy definition.

A pilot house sailboat is a pilot house sailboat. If it's a motorsailor or not is a separate question (though they often were in back in the early days of the term)