Hot rod sailboat

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,178
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
Here you go hot rod, you'll have the first "long tail" sailboat in America... uh, some people might think it's cool....

 

Apex

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Jun 19, 2013
1,212
C&C 30 Elk Rapids
just found this thread, I can't answer for what you find on the fuel docks in those areas. From my experience with gas outboards: 4-stroke ismuch more efficient gas usage-wise than 2-stroke. As for diesel .vs. gas, There are a lot of Atomic 4's out there, so either installation is proven. The point on electrics and battery is a good consideration. Our Diesel usage is similar as well: <5gal for the year. We have a Yanmar YSM-8, single cylinder. I would prefer something beter balanced, but the fuel usage can't be beat!

As for a v-8! Saving that mini motor with Thru-hull exhaust would be fun to fire up at the marina...lol
 
Jan 6, 2010
1,520
From what I remember about an oversized engine in a sailboat, was that boats are designed to run at hell speed with full throttle.

An article years ago mentioned that if running at speeds greater than this can cause the bow to dip lower among some other reasons not to do this. I've forgotten some other details that were listed but, the overall consensus was NO. I believe one detail was that the torque could pull out motor mount attachments.

If you want a faster boat, maybe a powerboat is what you secretly want. In addition, gas on a sailboat, way too dangerous pal.

CR
 
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
The nice thing about the "blatt-o-matic" open headers at the lake is that they go very fast and they go away. Somehow the thought of a displacement hull shattering the silence at 6kts is a little disturbing.
 
Feb 14, 2007
166
Ranger33 25 NewOrleans
Like Tim Allen I'm just a big Hot rod fan . I m selling a few of my cars to get a boat . I like the Macgregor idea though and I think I could put a 4 speed in there too, with the chrome headers going over the stern the ratfink with his head sticking out the pop top, tiller in one hand and a line going to the carb in another . LOL. All joking aside , I had noticed that almost all sailboats had diesel motors. being in Louisiana All the boats Ive ever been on were on trailers and filled up at a gas stations. We never filled up at a dock and didn't know if gas was even offered at docks.
o and if a sailboat can serf down a wave at 10-20nots why cant a motor get it there just sayin.
 
Jun 2, 2004
3,510
Hunter 23.5 Fort Walton Yacht Club, Florida
Hey Jleblanc,

This is still America. You can put anything you want in your boat to power it.

Don't let anyone squash you imagination and ingenuity no matter how silly, stupid or ridiculous it may be.

Do it! Send us pictures! Even better send a video back to us!

Somewhere in my garage I have a pair of 289 heads ported and polished with Chevy valves for the intakes and a Holley 750 double pumper if that will help the endeavor.
 
Jun 11, 2011
1,243
Hunter 41 Lewes
o and if a sailboat can serf down a wave at 10-20nots why cant a motor get it there just sayin.
It's all about wiffle balls. Wiffle balls are engineered to have a low mass to drag ratio and it limits the speed and force they can achieve. So for it to go one more mph faster it needs to increase the force exponentially. The amount of HP needed would be gargantuan. The reason boats surf so fast is that when going down a wave face you are actually falling. So in theory as you leave the crest of the wave you start your journey to approximately 150MPH (terminal velocity) but of course parasitic friction and the fact that you land only 30 feet from your start limit your top speed to about 20MPH. Perhaps you should point the drive shaft straight down and just use the motor to lift the boat out of the water and use gravity for the speed?
Just a thought. :stirthepot:
 
Jan 4, 2006
7,223
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
Perhaps you should point the drive shaft straight down and just use the motor to lift the boat out of the water and use gravity for the speed?
Just a thought. :stirthepot:
........................ and then it's just like a hovercraft.

The longer the winter stays around here, the better this idea looks :eek:.
 

Attachments

Jun 11, 2011
1,243
Hunter 41 Lewes
........................ and then it's just like a hovercraft.

The longer the winter stays around here, the better this idea looks :eek:.

Nice. I'm in. I got like three dollars in my pocket. How many more owners do we need? :thumbup:
 
Sep 20, 2014
1,328
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
It's all about wiffle balls. Wiffle balls are engineered to have a low mass to drag ratio and it limits the speed and force they can achieve. So for it to go one more mph faster it needs to increase the force exponentially. The amount of HP needed would be gargantuan. The reason boats surf so fast is that when going down a wave face you are actually falling. So in theory as you leave the crest of the wave you start your journey to approximately 150MPH (terminal velocity) but of course parasitic friction and the fact that you land only 30 feet from your start limit your top speed to about 20MPH. Perhaps you should point the drive shaft straight down and just use the motor to lift the boat out of the water and use gravity for the speed?
Just a thought. :stirthepot:
My boat doesn't need a wave to surf down, neither do a few other boats, particularly those which will plane under a kite. however, since the OP has not stated what type of boat he was given, no one knows what the hull shape is, or if it is a hull that really will plane.

However, I think you are picking the wrong engine. Realistically, if the boat will plane, I would think something like the original Honda Jet ski motor would be more practical. Its much lighter and turbocharged, which would give it the low end grunt that it needs. It was a lousy jet ski engine, but in a cruising situation, it would do just fine.


BTW: I can relate to hotroding things that should not be hotrodded. I have a 31' motorhome with a 502 multiport Edelbrock fuel injection. Thoreley headers and glaspacks. It will hold 80 mph hour up a 6% grade towing my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Sometimes you just have the urge to embrace the oddities.
 
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Jun 11, 2011
1,243
Hunter 41 Lewes
Why was the question asked to begin with as it was a questionable to begin with wasting our time sir?
The answers to the backward worded original question just show that we are all stir crazy at this point of the season and need to get back to sailing!
 
Nov 9, 2012
2,500
Oday 192 Lake Nockamixon
Here's why adding power to a displacement hull is a bad idea. A displacement hull creates a bow wave and stern wave, and the wavelength is dependent on the waterline length of the boat. We also know that the speed a wave can move through the water is dependent on its wavelength: longer wavelength = faster speed through the water (speed=wavelength/period.) (This is why waterline length can be such a determinant for top end speed of a displacement sailboat.) Once you hit hull speed, yes, you need exponentially more power to make it go any faster. However, as you do so, the power goes into making the amplitude of the wave greater. This means that as you apply more power to the displacement hull, the bow and stern waves get taller. As Chapman's points out, at the extreme, this can cause the middle of the boat to be unsupported by the water, and can cause hull damage. Honestly, I think they really mean damage in ships, barges and the like, not so much the average sailboat.

Since we don't know what kind of boat we're trying to hot rod, but we do know it's a free sailboat, I think we can safely assume that if it's big enough to house a V-8, it's a big displacement hull. Wedge shaped, flat bottom sleds like the VOR boats, or a Pogo cruising boat, which can actually plane, are unlikely to be given away for free.

I know a guy who has been playing around with West Wight Potters. He added chine foils to a 15, and then put a 35hp 2 stroke Mariner on it. It turned the semi-displacment hull into a planing hull. He has been working on doing the same to a Potter 19, which is also a semi-planing hull. For that matter, I know of a sail dealer who customized a WWP 19 with a lead bulb lifting keel (for appropriate righting moment) and then put a Code 0 with top down furler on a long sprit. I don't think that it will pull the boat onto a full plane, but she reports the ride is very stable and she chases down 27 footers...

I think if you wanted to sacrifice the cockpit floor, and do extensive modifications for structural integrity, you could put a V-8 into a Macgregor 19 or a 26X, and get all kinds of planing and speed. Or maybe a J70, or other sportboat, they plane too. But you ain't gettin' a J70 for free!
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
...Since we don't know what kind of boat we're trying to hot rod...!
Well, it won't be a Hot Rod Lincoln. However, Chrysler made some boats....

I think he deserves an EPA grant for his efforts to find an "alternitive power source". You tax dollars at work!
 

pateco

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Aug 12, 2014
2,207
Hunter 31 (1983) Pompano Beach FL
Well, it won't be a Hot Rod Lincoln. However, Chrysler made some boats....

I think he deserves an EPA grant for his efforts to find an "alternitive power source". You tax dollars at work!
The thought of a Hemi Chrysler Daysailer made me laugh.
 
Feb 14, 2007
166
Ranger33 25 NewOrleans
Why was the question asked to begin with as it was a questionable to begin with wasting our time sir?
Just having a little fun. but a little extra power would'nt hurt to get off a sand bar or out of a rocky situation in a blow when that 2 , 3,or 4 banger isn't getting it.
 
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
An Aussie 18 with a pendulum mounted cast iron block for propulsion and moveable ballast.
 
Sep 28, 2008
922
Canadian Sailcraft CS27 Victoria B.C.
Funny that nobody has mentioned the cooling system needed for a V-8 in a boat, nor the transmission it requires. By the time it is marinized it could cost quite a bit.