I have to admit I really don’t like internal combustion engines when they are part of a sailboat. Partly because they’re dirty foul things that take a disproportionate chunk of the cost of owning a boat.
I mention this because I recently caught a review of a Sigmadrive unit that made a strong case for installing one in my drive train. While the cost seemed a tad pricey, I seriously considered buying one.
The problem is that the unit no longer sells for $500 and $1000 and change is way above my comfort zone. The engine in the Islander has been grumpily working for at least forty-odd years so we’ll continue with what’s working. I’m OK with that.
Still, I find the fact that the cost has more than doubled in the last eight years. While boat stuff is always pricey, engines and engine parts seem to be the most obvious culprit in the whole cost for usefulness formula.
Now, while I’m still going to build a yuloh for the Islander, the idea of a side mounted outboard is becoming more and more attractive.
More on the subject later…
* Too Fucking High
Looked at an interesting electric motor system from Rim Drive. Either outboard or pod, it is a ducted fan system. Looks efficient but very expensive. The shaft is tiny compared to a gas outboard. Less drag more thrust. I see that Yamaha is adopting rimdrive for its electric outboards in Europe too.
Had some german friends who had a sidemount outboard. They killed a few outboards from submergence. They had a boat that made an inboard/outboard well problematic and due to a long counter stern a bracket a non-starter. A sister ship had a 1GM10 and no issues.