Will I have prop efficiency issues?

[Tatheelrod22]

Once again I find myself in a battle of logic and emotion on unique sailboats that Speak to my heart. I am considering purchasing the sharpie scanner you will see below. It meets quite a few of my needs for the type sailing to do. It is a Ruehl Parker San Juan sharpie, a design which is referred to in some of the archives here. The Builder decided to go with an outboard in an aft well. His design is in such a way the engine cannot be tilted up to have the prop out of the water. Although built and sailed in freshwater I would be moving the boat to the gulf coast and keep her in a slip with very high salinity. I realize it will affect her sailing ability some. I think I’m willing to live with that. My concern is the prop and barnacles. Is it foolish do you think you could devise some type of propeller cover when not in use that would keep it clean? I suspect barnacles began as microscopic and somehow would find their way to the prop anyway. If so, is it feasible to just realize I will have a scraping, cleaning project to do on a regular basis? Maybe a scraper followed by fine sandpaper, or possibly burlap? Can I paint the prop with anti foul bottom paint?

[rslifkin]

You can definitely paint the prop to help keep it clean. I need to stick my head down and see how it's holding up, but this season, I tried the Pettit zinc paint stuff and then a couple coats of their black widow bottom paint over the top. I figured it's hard and slippery, so it shouldn't hurt prop performance noticeably, and it should be durable enough.

Depending on the fouling rates in your location, coating the prop may not be enough to keep it totally clean, but it will certainly be better than leaving it bare.

[Manateeman]

Hi. Nice boat. Please provide a bit more info or photos. For example, what hp or weight motor..can you just lift it up and out..room for a jack plate..hang it off the stern..use a dinghy as a push boat..just sail alone ?
Yes one can prime, paint and antifoul but you have to watch the shaft seal and zincs...again more info will help everyone give you advice.
Maybe add a solar panel and ultrasound protection...buzz them away. There are just too many solutions without more info.
Anyway...love the look of the design.
Happy trails. Mark the manatee.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Tatheelrod22

Once again I find myself in a battle of logic and emotion on unique sailboats that Speak to my heart. I am considering purchasing the sharpie scanner you will see below. It meets quite a few of my needs for the type sailing to do. It is a Ruehl Parker San Juan sharpie, a design which is referred to in some of the archives here. The Builder decided to go with an outboard in an aft well. His design is in such a way the engine cannot be tilted up to have the prop out of the water. Although built and sailed in freshwater I would be moving the boat to the gulf coast and keep her in a slip with very high salinity. I realize it will affect her sailing ability some. I think I’m willing to live with that. My concern is the prop and barnacles. Is it foolish do you think you could devise some type of propeller cover when not in use that would keep it clean? I suspect barnacles began as microscopic and somehow would find their way to the prop anyway. If so, is it feasible to just realize I will have a scraping, cleaning project to do on a regular basis? Maybe a scraper followed by fine sandpaper, or possibly burlap? Can I paint the prop with anti foul bottom paint?

What a pretty boat. One concern, in addition to the worry about barnacles growing on the lower unit, is the interaction between the metal in any bottom paint you use and the aluminum in the lower unit and propeller. There are products designed to protect propellers, (Bronze propellers anyways) such as Prop speed, but aside from being expensive, I don't know of they work on aluminium. Pettit's Alumaspray Plus and Interlux Trilux 33 Aerosol however are designed to work on aluminum.

But it would be better to get that motor out of the water.

Can you install or devise a vertical sliding mounting bracked which will fit? They are made. Probably you would have to leave the lid over the motor open but that might be better than keeping it in the salt water.

[Sailmonkey]

Can you put a bag or bucket over the prop?

When we leave our boat for extended periods I zip tie a black plastic trash bag over the prop and cinch it to the shaft. This keeps t prop free of growth.

[a64pilot]

Yes of course leaving it in the water will work, think of a sail drive, there isn’t much difference.
Best of course to get it out of the water. The garbage bag does work , but of course requires a dive.

The vertical sliding device mentioned above is often called a jack plate, many are electro hydraulic, just push a button, but they are usually limited in travel to about 6” or so.

[Stewie12]

I used to have a 25 footer with a 9hp 2 stroke motor in a well. Used to lift it out and put it in a locker. The boat sailed fantastically.

[RileyBoo]

The size of the outboard was not mentioned, but if a reasonable size and weight, I would investigate what someone else has already mentioned: removing the engine when not sailing (as in long term). You might even be able to rig a block off the boom and use a halyard to do the lifting.

Not much different than removing a dingy engine and storing it onboard somewhere (unless it is a really big outboard).

[Scorpius]

Some people around here put a tarp under their entire boat and pull the edges up all around to completely isolate the boat from the surrounding water - then throw some bleach into the water inside the tarp. It seems to work to keep the critters and grass at bay.

Either install one of those slider rigs so the engine can be lifted straight up to clear the water - or put a heavy-duty plastic bag around the bottom end, ensuring the top edges of the bag are well above the water surface - and throw some bleach in.

[Scaramanga F25]

"install one of those slider rigs so the engine can be lifted straight up to clear the water" Scorpius.
You are a very lucky man indeed to have found this sharpie. Nat Herreshoff claimed sharpies were the very best cruising yachts. I would have loved one of Parkers boats for the many years I sailed from Texas to the bottom of the Bahamas. The ability to explore where, today, because of so many boats you can go where others cannot. Small for 36 feet but big enough. You can use the beaches. Central america could also be your cruising grounds.

[Mike Banks]

Short of fitting parallel rails and slides and a hydraulic or cable wind-up to raise and lower the engine mounting board, there is no way of getting the engine out of the water. Once out one then has to seal off the space. A sail drive is far, far superior.

[IslandInfedel]

I’d get a jack plate so you can get it out of the water.




One of the very few benefits of a outboard on a sailboat is the ability to not have it in the water when you’re not using it.