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After trying several different setups, I decided to do away with my wheel and use a tiller instead. This is NOT my preferred option, but the wheel just wasn’t working out. I replaced the eyebolt gudgeons with a ‘real’ pintle and gudgeon setup and made a pretty nice rudderhead setup – keeping the swinging rudder from the original build. This was not my preferred plan, but I just didn’t like the lag in the steering.

The issue now is: what to do with that empty lazerrette?

Has anyone installed well and an outboard on their Weekender? My thought is to hack and slash the lazerette into an outboard well for my 3.5hp Tohatsu.I am just wondering if anyone has done this before and how they liked it or what they would change now.
Andrew

Ahoy,

Chris Gerkin did do something similar to what you are describing. His boat, though, was a modified Vacationer, but you probably could do something similar with yours.

I may even have a photo of Chris's fine boat and the modification. If I can find the photo, I will post it for you.

I've seen two modified Weekenders with outboard wells built into the lazerette. One on the scrap heap with severe neglect, the other sitting in the back of a storage yard with a totally forelorn look about it.

Both had been modified after having had wheels removed and going to tillers instead. From the looks of them there was significant water damage to the wells and damage from vibration. So some significant strengthening of the lazerette and the sides of the new well might well be inorder. Also the rudder boxes on both of these had been modified heavily, no rudders on either of them just the remains of the boxes, but I would think that they probably had handling issues with them with a stock rudder and a hole were there was bottom and keel before.

Drag is a huge issue on this small a boat with an outboard hanging down into the flow beneath the hull and with an open well. So I would think that the performance suffered a lot. If the motor well were such that you could somehow raise the ouboards and close up a hatch in the bottom, you could perhaps make it work better, but the challenges of trying to do that may be more than you would want to take on.

Just leaving a trolling motor over the stern creates some significant drag issues, a gas outboard will be even more. But it is possible to fair in around the shafts to some extent and that would prevent some of the turbulance from getting up into the well.

I am glad to hear it has been tried before - and I am glad you mentioned to ensure extra strengthening the well and lazerett should I follow through with this idea. I will be sailing in the San Juans and be going for several days, so an electric won't work.

I have 2 big motivations for going this route:
I am concerned about putting a standard motor mount and hanging my 29lbs motor off the back. I had to sail my Newport 16 from the front end of the cockpit to get it to trim right and I don't like that.

My other motivation is having the motor in the well would keep the lines nice and pretty, don't you think? Adn I just can't stand the thought of that lazerett space going unused.
Andrew

Hanging 29# of motor and a swing up motor mount would be highly preferrable to me when compared to making up well that will keep the motor in the water and then trying to deal with all the drag from the prop and lower housing. The difference between placing it in the lazerette and off the transom is not going to make much of a difference in trim. Place a good marine battery in the forepeak and you will offset that quite abit and help keep the bow down which will do wonders if you are planning on sailing in the San Juans. You will be dealing with some pretty strong currents and making headway is always a challenge up there. The extra drag created by the modification will certainly be felt and the difference in performance may be so great as to negate any positive aspects of having the nice lines you mention.

I sail in Puget Sound with a friend w/ long shaft Johnson hanging off the transom. Never had a trim issue with it hanging there. He moved his marine battery to the forepeak and that took care of it totally.

I would also recommend that you think carefully if you were planning on enclosing that outboard within the lazerette. Not a good plan from a fuel and potential fume issue/problem/explosive potential.
It isn't hard to build a removable side deck mount that you could hang out there with your motor on it when needed instead and keep the bottom clean. Also a lot less in the way of trim issues with it that way. Lots of small sailboats use that configuration.
Then just stowe the outboard in the cabin while sailing.

I would really recommend that you study some other design considerations first before going on this particular tack.

Andrew, I have to agree with Barry on the added complication and drag of a motor well. There are some plans out there for boats with motor wells from designers such as Oughtred if you want to reference but even then you are adding complexity, taking away good storage space, adding drag, and maybe even intruding a bit on the cockpit. You will want to raise the motor when you are sailing and unless you have a lift system (making the motor visible) that means you will have to take the motor off or have a slot in the transom to allow the motor to tilt.

However, I do agree with you on the negative effects of hanging an outboard off the back of a sailboat. So, I have another suggestion for you to consider. Why not build in a motor mount to your transom? Basically, you make a well in the top of your lazarette for the clamps of the motor to fit in? You might even need to make a cutout in your transom to lower the motor a bit unless you have a longshaft. This would move the weight of the motor inboard by about 5" or so (width of your motor mount), makes your motor easier to reach, allows you to tilt the motor out of the water when sailing, doesn't require a hole through the bottom of your hull, and makes it easier in the even you do want to take off the motor while on the water.

Here is a picture of a small motor mount well that I did on my rebuilt of a 12' V bottomed catboat I am working on. I only use small motors with this (4hp or a cruize n carry) and the transom isn't as high as a weekenders which is why it is rather small. I still need to make a drain hole in the aft part.

I've had the pleasure to design a few small craft with outboards in wells and can tell you it's quite a difficult feat. To accommodate the arrangement, with low or submerged transoms, as Weekender has, the drag penalty it substantial, forcing me to not recommend it on boats with LWL under 17' or any vessel with a limited amount of aft over hang. If you'd like an idea of the performance degradation you'll experience with a well hole in the middle of the boat's "run", then tie a hefty line to a 5 gallon bucket, cleat this line and toss the bucket over the stern, while underway. Take note of the boat speed and maneuverability before and after you deploy the bucket.

This isn't to say it can't be done, it can and has been, but some designs are better suited for the modification than others. I went to a lot of trouble to get Kestrel's stern high enough to support an outboard in a well, with a minimum drag penalty. Under most conditions, the well hole will not contact the water, which is the goal, but sometimes the hole will and the boat will suffer. I countered this eventuality by having a hole in the lower portion of the transom too, so water can escape when the boat squats, or a following sea over takes.

Other issues, typically needing addressing in this configuration are: engine cooling, clean, fresh air for the intake, heat build up in the compartment, insulation and a few other things, like athwartship stiffness, longitudinal rigidity, etc.
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/desi...ality=Full

Ahoy Andrew,

I was not able to find the photos of Chris Gerkin's boat, but I did find some photos of what looks to be a Weekender with a well similar, perhaps, to what you are describing.

The Gerkin boat, of course, was a modified Vacationer with a spacious cockpit. I believe that Chris mentioned to me that he was not altogether happy with the modification he had made. Perhaps it was the aesthetics, or it maybe it was the performance caused by the resultant drag. It may have been the resultant loss of space in the cockpit. Chris, of course, had built a nice wood housing to enclose both motor and well.

In the following photos of the Weekend, the motor is exposed. Building a well on a Weekender can be done, but it's not something I would want to do. From a design perspective, the motor intruding into the small cockpit and uncovered seems somewhat harsh.

What I notice from the photos is that the Weekender seems surrounded by power boats. No respectable sailing craft is in sight. Indeed, the lack of a mast on the Weekender suggests that maybe this particular Weekender itself has been converted to a power boat. To each his own, I say, but this is not something I would want to do.

Ahoy Andrew,

We have fair winds today. I did manage to find a few photos of Chris Gerkin's fine boat. However, I could not find any of what he may have done below the waterline.

At any rate, I think you'll appreciate Chris' fine design and craftsmanship.

Paul, that Kestrel is gorgeous! Looks like a flat bottomed sharpie with a round stern which is one design I have toyed with off and on building. Has anyone built it yet? Is there more information on the web?