Aquarius 23 Outboard In Cockpit Well

Jul 26, 2017
15
Aquarius 23 Ketch None
I like the boat but the rudder engine set up is insane. The designer put the prop behind the rudder!! Putting the bow through the eye of the wind in a narrow space with only a couple of knots of head way is next to impossible. A 14 inch keel draft but the NON COLLAPSIBLE rudder draws bout 2.5 feet! And what do you do with the rudder/cassette block when lifted? It takes up the whole cockpit and leaves a huge hole in the cockpit sole. Im building a well in the cockpit for the engine and mounting a swing outboard rudder. Plus...the high topsides makes it impossible to get back aboard so the "V" in the transom for the current engine place will be an excellent boarding space.
 

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Jul 26, 2017
15
Aquarius 23 Ketch None
I had to build a little tool to construct a well for the clamping knobs and it will have a through hull drain with seacock.One of 3 thrust plates, Fore and aft running, vertical, rectangle shaped, glassed to thrust bulkhead, under cockpit and to the hull...the middle one will be fitto the underside of the clamping knob well for more center support. Im actually doing this so the boat will safely accept the forces and stresses of a 30 HP OB that will happen in the future.
 
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Jul 26, 2017
15
Aquarius 23 Ketch None
Made up the walls today and cut the hull hole to size. I ordered glass and lay up resin yesterday. 1.5 oz mat for sealing and I already have plenty of nitex 1708 for tabbing. Im also eying 2 35 hp OB's... Mercy is also getting a full pilot house as well to be started in a week.
 

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Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
You're putting a pilot house and possibly two 35hp OB's on a 23' sailboat?! You dont see that everyday. I'm definitely interested in hearing the results!
 
Jul 26, 2017
15
Aquarius 23 Ketch None
lol...no, one 35 hp ob...I want to be able to cover 100ktm during the day. The 8 hpMerc 4 stroke won't do that. Ill be west coast offshore between Washington and soCal. My swim platform is almost done. I have to mount that first before glassing in the well because access almost impossible after glassing in the well and the backing board for the platform is substantial.. Marcy is also getting bow and stern anchor platforms, hull stringers for added strength and stiffness and I Have moved the mast step further forward because now she is a ketch rig. Ill postmore pics later in the week when more progress is made.
 
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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Capt., I think you will find that the 8hp is sufficient to get you up to hull speed in most conditions. If you are concerned about extreme conditions, and getting there in the fastest time possible, no matter what, then I think a 9.9hp would do nicely. After all, she is a sailboat, and any power you carry above what gets you to hull speed is wasted.
This is quite a project. Good luck.
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
Seeweed, this is the most exciting thread on this web site that i have read. can't wait for the photos. you have a bold project, i love bold. will the pilot house be made of canvas, or carbon fiber? i don't know what bow or stern anchor platform is, sounds special. how big of fuel tank will you have for those 100 mile days? 50 gallons might be enough i'm guessing, but don't know.

keep us posted :)
 
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Jul 26, 2017
15
Aquarius 23 Ketch None
Shes a motor sailor ketch now. 24 gal fuel in2 tanks plus jerry cans just in case. The pilot house will be framed in fur and covered with sheet frp laminate. Ill make tools to lay up glass for where the windshield turns between the pains of glass. No butting plywood together. My anchor platforms are made of teak as is the swim platform. Pics?...yes deff, as soon as I find my phone, lol.
 
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Jul 26, 2017
15
Aquarius 23 Ketch None
Tom J Yeah, my 8 hp gets me to hull speed and will make, at full throttle, 6.5 kts but if a Cape Dory 28, 7000lbs displacement, can plane off with a 315 hp Yanmar, this boat, 2360 lbs dry, should plane as well.....to some degree...I hope. lol Ill be in rivers too so more hp is good for bucking a current. She should be able to make 10kts with 35 hp.
 
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Jul 26, 2017
15
Aquarius 23 Ketch None
Swim platform done and attached. The motor is just sitting there for now to test and have a look. The sun lifted some mat down on the lower lip which Ill address. Im worried about how much water she'll scoop up at the aft edge of the well but I expect Ill have to make up a door in that area but all in all, I like it. I had to make up a rudder post log and am ready to glass that in. The rudder now kicks up. I am laying up a foam cored skeg and will attach it to the hull to protect the outboard and for better lateral stability too. She could use a little of that as well. Bow anchor platform done and attached. Stern anchor platform is done and ready for attaching. Because of the curve of the deck and for more strength, I cut a triangle at the bow and re-cored the area with 3/4" ply for the anchor platform to bolt through. I also had to build a mount for said platform out of mush, 1708, mat and colloidal silica then added a piece of 1" 316 ss tubing for support. The bottom end not yet bolted. Bolts in roller piece too. I know the engine sticks down a little to far but it is a long shaft. The next, larger engine will be regular length of 15" and yes, Ive got some sanding and touch up painting to do too. 6 months at Lake Havasu, anchoring every night and having to bring Abbygale to shore for pee and poop 2 times every day. 2 anchors and together about 150 feet of 5/16" chain. I switched to all chain after a beaver ate my stern anchor rode AND my brand new transom mounted sonar transducer cable. I mounted the new transducer inside. I also removed the old pivot pin in the centerboard, 3/8" and replaced it with a 7/8" bolt. Yeah...it was a lot of fun drilling that out with a hand held drill motor.
 

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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Should be a fun boat for the lake. I would hesitate to bring her onto the ocean, though, with all those modifications.
 
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Jul 26, 2017
15
Aquarius 23 Ketch None
Should be a fun boat for the lake. I would hesitate to bring her onto the ocean, though, with all those modifications.
I agree to a limit. So,what are your concerns? The A23 is hand layed up with mat and woven roving and has a rating from the manufacturer of occasional coastal cruising. At the keel, the hull is 5/8th" thick and almost 1/2" at the toerail. She is self righting even with the board up but I would feel better if she had stringers above the bunk in the first half of the boat. Thats coming. She does have a full top to bottom right to left full bulkhead, with a door, that I built and glassed in, midship. I also installed a 7 foot long counter to starboard. Shes already much stronger than stock. I am also going to install a bulkhead forward of the engine athwartship, to the seat level, with a door for the engine tiller, to keep water from entering the cockpit in rough weather. The engine will eventually be enclosed. Mercy is set up for cruising. I do cruise her. I am a full time liveaboard. Hey Tom, I lived in New Bedford for 37 years. Lol, we're homies.
 
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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
I agree to a limit. So,what are your concerns? The A23 is hand layed up with mat and woven roving and has a rating from the manufacturer of occasional coastal cruising. At the keel, the hull is 5/8th" thick and almost 1/2" at the toerail. She is self righting even with the board up but I would feel better if she had stringers above the bunk in the first half of the boat. Thats coming. She does have a full top to bottom right to left full bulkhead, with a door, that I built and glassed in, midship. I also installed a 7 foot long counter to starboard. Shes already much stronger than stock. I am also going to install a bulkhead forward of the engine athwartship, to the seat level, with a door for the engine tiller, to keep water from entering the cockpit in rough weather. The engine will eventually be enclosed. Mercy is set up for cruising. I do cruise her. I am a full time liveaboard. Hey Tom, I lived in New Bedford for 37 years. Lol, we're homies.
Hey, Capt. I like New Bedford a lot. It's an historically important port. The whaling museum brings Moby Dick to life, and ties in with the whaling towns here on Maui, like Lahaina.
My concerns about the ocean aren't so much about the boat itself, but the modifications. Without being too critical I would point out that a single strong wave could possibly tear the swim platform off, and the supports for the solar panels with it. And I was going to point out that in rough conditions, water could be shooting straight up out of the motor well, soaking the cockpit, but since you said you are going to enclose the motor well, my concern would be that the motor will be flooded. I have had the motor of my dinghy flooded by waves, and, of course, it didn't want to run after that.
So, within limits, she should be a fun boat. Enjoy, and be safe!
 
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Jul 26, 2017
15
Aquarius 23 Ketch None
Yeah, I hear ya. Those are valid points. It will be an ongoing process. Ill have all that addressed by the time I arrive at the Great Lakes and I intend to pick my days for sailing but yeah, shit happens. Monday, Im headed to Downieville, Ca on The Middle fork of The Yuba River for a month then to Sioux City Iowa where the Salmon River becomes navigable then to the Mississippi then to Lake Michigan then?....who knows.
 
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Tom J

.
Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Yeah, I hear ya. Those are valid points. It will be an ongoing process. Ill have all that addressed by the time I arrive at the Great Lakes and I intend to pick my days for sailing but yeah, shit happens. Monday, Im headed to Downieville, Ca on The Middle fork of The Yuba River for a month then to Sioux City Iowa where the Salmon River becomes navigable then to the Mississippi then to Lake Michigan then?....who knows.
The Yuba River? Cool. I used to live in Yuba City when I was stationed at Beale AFB.
 
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