Short shaft
You can certainly do the short shaft, and if you're really, really fortunate, you'll live to regret it. Why do you need an outboard? To motor out of trouble. What does trouble mean on a sailboat? High wind and high waves. What happens to a short shaft when there are high wind and high waves? It spends most of its time out of the water, cavitating, raising hell, overheating and dying. It's ridiculous to put your life on the line for a thousand dollars.