Hi guys,
I'm planning on going on a trip in my weekender in a months' time with one of my friends. We are planning to sail each day until we are bored, and then go ashore and camp. One of us will sleep in the boat, and the other in a tent on shore. Our wives have talked me into getting an outboard motor for safety. And also to make sure we get back in time to go to work.
I've pretty much settled on the "Lehr" 2.5hp propane-fired outboard. Reviews indicate it's reliable, easy to start, and fuel-efficient. I like the propane also because I can ship the motor and keep it in the cabin without stinky gasoline.
I'm trying to figure out how to mount the darn thing. It only has a 15" leg, so it's got to hang off a bracket. I want a removeable braket because they're ugly and I only want the bracket to be there when I'm using the motor.
Can anyone make a suggestion? I've got a couple of ideas but I'd like to see what others have done.
Storing a propane tank in your cabin is a dangerous idea, and may even be illegal. The slightest leak can cause a potentially explosive and deadly scenario. Propane is heavier than air and will settle in the lowest reaches of your cabin. if you sleep on the floor of a flat-bottomed boat like a weekender you'll be breathing propane gas too, again, if there is the slightest leak.
Boats that use propane have vented tank lockers for a reason. And the venting must drain the gas over the side from the bottom of the compartment.
Good point, I did read that, but this motor is one of the really little ones that uses a little camp-stove cylinder that plugs into the top of the motor. I can take the cylinder off it before stowing. Still, you're right, I still need someplace to keep the unused cylinders. Better think this over carefully. Thanks for the concern.
I think that would be a fine choice for a motor on a weekender. I am pretty happy with my Yamaha 2.5 horse four stroke except that it weighs more than I would like. When I use my motor, I never get much above a high idle. I would recommend that you take a full can out and see how far it will take you before you need to rely on it to get you home. I can get about 4 miles on a quart of gas, so about 20 miles per gallon.
Another thing to try is motor sailing. Just that little bump will let you sail higher, and faster all the while using almost no gas. I did it on a trip a while back and it was a blast. I had given up on sailing home and was too lazy to strike the sails before firing up the motor. The wind came up after a while and boy did I take off. It was pretty cool, but I wouldn't do it as a regular thing because well, why did I spend all that money on those sails?
You are a pilot. You'll figure out a safe place to store canisters.
Al
I've heard of boaters stowing several Coleman propane canisters inside a section of 4 inch PVC pipe, with a glued cap on one end and screw cap on the other. A small hole at the bottom drains any out-gassing, and a small diameter flexible hose can be fitted to this to drain over the side. Usually mounted to the back rail. You'd have to be a bit creative mounting something like this to your Weekender. Maybe to the mast or if you've installed one, your boom crutch.
That's clever. Good idea.
What do you guys think of the "Aqua bug" motors? There's a 1.2 horsepower four-stroke that looks like a weed whacker (but it's four stroke). They're meant for canoes. Looks like just the ticket for a weekender.
https://bikebug.net/collections/aqua-bug...y-bike-bug
I used to have a 1.5 horse for my canoe when I was a kid. I would try one again if I ever found one. Watch Andrew Linn's video of his weekender bouncing along the Columbian river with a two horse Honda. I think that you might be able to get along with just about anything. I can put out almost a half horse rowing, which pushes me along okay, so twice that should push you along okay too. Probably in a pinch a two horse will move you best though.
Keep it up out of the water though, otherwise you might as well be pulling a six pack.
Al
RE: Aqua bug.
I've heard that these are incredibly noisy for their size and HP. If you've ever operated a gas-powered weedeater then you might have a good comparison. (Ear protection required!) I'd also be concerned about reliability and durability because:
1. Typically made in China
2. Air-cooled engine
3. Engine designed for weedeaters, not marine use. A weedeater basically freewheels, not under constant load like a marine engine.
Have you considered an electric outboard like a Minn-Kota or a Torqueedo? Minn-Kotas are comparatively inexpensive, which frees up money for extra batteries. And if you buy AGM batteries like deep cycle Optimas, you can store them anywhere and in any orientation. Plus, the weight of batteries stored down low might improve the boat's stability and righting moment.
I'm really considering calling those "bike bug" people to see how fast they can ship one of those little motors. Mark's warning has caused me to think more seriously about the propane storage issue, plus I am trying not to disfigure my pretty boat with a great hunk of motor-mount crap screwed to the transom. A little 1.2 horse weed whacker on a removeable gunwhale braket sounds like my kind of thing.
Jeez, this motor thing is giving me bad dreams. I never wanted one of the b#%$$y things anywhere near my boat in the first place. Now everything is a bad idea unless I subject my poor boat to extreme carpentry so I can put some big stinky honda or evinrude on the back of it. Everything about building your own boat involves these blood-pressure raising dilemmas, even fifteen years after it's "finished". I hate it. I'm never building a boat again.
I hate motoring, and I'm only considering it because of the length of the trip I'm planning, and there are no facilities once I leave other than where I'm leaving from. We're planning to spend two weeks hiding in bays and sneaking from hidng-spot to hiding-spot along the shore of a lake that's 200 miles long and 100 miles wide. I would be worried that the battery capacity of an electric motor would not be sufficient if we ran into ill winds on the way back, whereas if we had a gas-burner we could concievably bum fuel from passig motorboats or have some flown out to us (we work for a seaplane airline).
I am frustrated because I thought there would be an easy answer to this