Emergency Power

[John Murray]

I sail a Hunter 28 on the Ottawa River, and I also have a dinghy that is powered by a 2.5 HP outboard. I have often wondered if my trusty Yanmar failed, could the outboard power the H28, at least enough to get me out of trouble? To answer that question, I made a simple wooden "jig" that can be temporarily attached to the swim ladder, and mounted the outbord on it. To my surprise the outboard pushed the H28 along at 3.5 knots!

 

[Shaun]

you have the answer

Sounds like you answered your own question.... I have a small tender with a 5 HP... I traditionally sail with a crew member... if my engine did die my plan is to have the tender (inflatable) push my 28 from the stern... that is my fallback plan...

 

[Al Nash]

I DID A SIMILAR THING

on my Hunter 34; my bracket is aluminum and wood attaches to the swim ladder with hose clamps. I never plan to use it on rough water; but figure I can sail into protected waters and then rig it up; then motor to the dock. Never had to use it; but it's a nice bit of insurance.

 

[Dick Carey]

We have in fact used the 9 Ft inflateable dinghy tied off on the starboard quater as a power source on a trip. When the engine failed early in the day and with 10 hours to go on the trip with winds dead on the bow,we sailed most of the trip tacking until the wind died around 2000 (8:00pm). That's when we tied off the dinghy. It had a 3.0 HP Johnson outboard it it worked fine to power us for the last hour to our mooring. It's a great backup plan.Dick

 

[Eric Lorgus]

A tow is always cheaper in the long run

Consider the displacement of your boat and the forces involved in propelling it. My H285 is 7100 pounds. I would never, ever, mount an outboard on the swim ladder. It might work under ideal conditions, but there is potential for disaster. Should your temporary rig fail, or should the swim ladder fail, where's the prop going on your outboard? Murphy's Law says it's going to strike your hull. Not only will all this be far more expensive that a tow would have been, you won't even get the pleasure of retelling this tale, because it's not something you'll ever want to admit you did. If you want the option of using your dinghy motor to propel your sailboat, install an outboard motor mount on your transom.

 

[John Murray]

Tow vs Outboard

The points made by Eric about the advantages of a tow (or anchoring for that matter)in the event of engine failure are obvious. My idea of tmporarily connecting the dinghy outboard to the swim ladder to get to safety in the event of an emergency is for a few minutes of running at the most. I agree that any extended running would stress the swim ladder and be dangerous.