MacGregorSailors.com

DaveB wrote:......

It's important not to have your outboard past the beam docking.

Dave

what exactly does this mean?





?

You don't want the kicker sticking outside the beam, or width, of the boat.....or it will get ripped off or knocked off....

Catigale wrote:You don't want the kicker sticking outside the beam, or width, of the boat.....or it will get ripped off or knocked off....

Got it.

Many thanks.

Catigale wrote:You don't want the kicker sticking outside the beam, or width, of the boat.....or it will get ripped off or knocked off....

Or you tie to a starboard side dock, as I do.
And if one's not available in your visiting marina (during a hurricane), you turn the boat around.
Life is compromises. My 3 priorities were 1) having a working backup motor, which would 2) keep clear of the rudders and 3) be transferable to my dinghy.

I achieved all three, and am very happy with the setup. Real estate at the stern is limited, but workable for this application.

Adding an aux drive was a must before cruising the Aegean islands.
I found an 8hp and made up a system which has been called on a few times already. Once we were in quite a nasty situation with the main full of water and us bouncing off a concrete wall in very bouncy water.
I use the backstay tensioner block as a hoist to heave the engine up & down. Note our X has an M style bimini, made up with pretty robust ss poles which divert the backstay out over the transom. Lifting the engine when moving is quite straight forward.
As it slots into a modified rudder bracket it still steers. However, as I decided to retain kick up facilities, reverse is not much use! I may add a mod to lock that down as to be fair I like using this sometimes just to conserve fuel if we're out somewhere particularly remote.




The write up for this is here: http://www.ironengineer.com/mac/minimod ... index.html

and the story of how it saved us is here: http://www.ironengineer.com/mac/Stories ... index.html

Thanks for all the helpful input.
Rick

I purchased a small Yamaha 4hp 2 stroke from a guy last month. It's about 30 lbs and was never used accept as a display at boat shows. I mounted it on a lifting bracket and stays pretty dry while sailing. I can lower it down to water level for an easy transfer to the dinghy and in a pinch, use it to propel the Mac. I will get a top speed on it for you next time I'm out. Cool thing is that it has an integrated fuel tank so no messy hoses or tanks to deal with. I can spin it 360 degrees too!! Worked great on the 9 foot inflatable.

JT

Back in the early 80's on my 3 Year Carribean trip I had a 3 hp Yamaha 2cycle that I loved. In Venzuala I bought a new one as the old one got stolen.
I didn't know they made a 4 hp 2 cycle, as I recall my 3hp weighed in at 26 lbs.
Dave

dive4it wrote:I purchased a small Yamaha 4hp 2 stroke from a guy last month. It's about 30 lbs and was never used accept as a display at boat shows. I mounted it on a lifting bracket and stays pretty dry while sailing. I can lower it down to water level for an easy transfer to the dinghy and in a pinch, use it to propel the Mac. I will get a top speed on it for you next time I'm out. Cool thing is that it has an integrated fuel tank so no messy hoses or tanks to deal with. I can spin it 360 degrees too!! Worked great on the 9 foot inflatable.

JT

DaveB wrote:Back in the early 80's on my 3 Year Carribean trip I had a 3 hp Yamaha 2cycle that I loved. In Venzuala I bought a new one as the old one got stolen.
I didn't know they made a 4 hp 2 cycle, as I recall my 3hp weighed in at 26 lbs.
Dave

Yeah Dave, I saw it on Craigslist and googled it but all I got was little 4 strokes. I went to look at it and found out it was about 8 years old but still had the spark plug in a bag along with the manual, etc. I snatched it up in a heartbeat as soon as I lifted it off the stand and realized it weighed about the same as a 36lb thrust Minkota (my origional plan). I can carry it with one hand and that makes it really easy to transfer from Mac to dinghy....with no hoses or tanks to deal with too. It has a fuel shutoff as well as a fuel tank shutoff (for the vent in the cap integrated with the motor) so it can be stored in any position too.

JT