5-7 foot itus

[Siamese]

I like King Gambit's answer. He's right about HP being based on how you're going to use the boat, and how attitudes have change.

If I leave port and go 50 miles north, stay a few days, and have to return home in 5-6 footers with the wind straight on my bow, I'm not at all shy about leaving the sails down, putting the diesel at 70% of rated RPM, and powering straight into a South wind to get home. I view my boat as being a sailboat AND a slow powerboat, as opposed to a sailing auxiliary. I like to be green and I don't like paying for fuel, but I run the diesel anytime I want, and still probably spend more on ice than diesel.

Oh, and as far as selecting the correct prop for a 13HP engine so it will be efficient, you'd still have to compare it to a 21 HP engine with the correct prop. Just because my boat has a big engine, doesn't mean I'm running the wrong prop.

 

[OdayDave]

Thanks to all for the advice. We put an offer on the Newport and it was rejected and countered with a reasonable figure. We decided to keep looking for one more weekend and found a Catalina 30 that we have an accepted offer on. It's a bit heavier (10500 vs. 8500 lbs), is a shoal draft, 4'6" with no wing keel (vs. 4'10" for the Newport), has a full cockpit enclosure, and has been well maintained like both of the other boats we were considering. It also has a 25 hp universal diesel for when the wind/waves kick up on Lake Michigan. The Newport had a nicer cabin and would have been a little less expensive but the two boats were very close. The Catalina will be a nice upgrade from our O'Day 25. We have really liked that boat, and it served us well for the last 6 seasons on Lake Michigan (including going across a few times), but it was time for an upgrade and the Catalina will allow us to more comfortably cruise for a couple of weeks at a time. We've moved from pup-tent camping (11 years in an O'Day 222) to big tent camping (6 years in our O'Day 25) to small trailer camping for the Catalina. Looking forward to the next chapter.

Dave
O'Day 25 and now Catalina 30

 

[whatfiero]

O yea always love the feeling of new to you boat on the water

 

[Boomer54]

Congratulations on your new boat! Come on down to Reefpoint Marina sometime.

 

[OdayDave]

The trip from Milwaukee to Racine is always a good one and I made it quite a few times on the O'Day 25. You can do it in 4-5 hours depending on wind and Reefpoint is a great marina with lots of amenities. The last few times we've stayed at the Racine Yacht Club. Lot's of sailors to hang out with. The Yardarm is a good place to get a burger and a beer.

Dave

 

[Daveinet]

Diesel motors should be compared in terms of torque, not HP.

This is not really true, but a very common mistake. A torque rating only gives an indication of what RPM is necessary to achieve maximum power. One can gear any amount of torque.
And that is really the point. If the prop pitch is optimised for maximum thrust, the boat will always move forward, regardless of the wind. But without much HP, the boat won't move very fast.
I use a trolling motor which is propped for thrust, not too much for speed. Its only a 1.5HP motor, but will move the boat forward in 25 mph headwind. What it won't do is move the boat very fast. In no wind, I get about 5 knots, 1 knot below hull speed, however for maneuvering around the dock, it has way more thrust than the 4 HP. But the 4 HP would push the boat at hull speed easily. Its all in how the pitch is matched to the HP, what you will need it for. If you have a low HP motor, you can choose shorter prop pitch, and still get the boat to move in adverse conditions, but you limit your top speed.

 

[druid]

The 'anchor effect' of winglets?
The difference between a few HP of aux power?
The effect of Lake Michigan chop?

Can I suggest you are over-thinking this, and starting to enter analysis paralisys?

Find a boat you like. Buy it. No boat is perfect. You will always be making up for some shortcoming; it's the nature of beast.

This is the best reply I've seen! I go for "zen shopping" (if it "feels" right, buy it) on boats more than any other item. And as for motoring through chop: why are you motoring? Get a boat that punches well upwind!

druid