Propulsion

Today’s task…

I really should quit reading the news in the morning. Now, what I really want to do this morning is to build some trolling lures. I could sit in the cockpit and cobble fish seducing works of art while listening to some great music. That would be right in the middle of one of my …

Today’s task… Read More »

TFH*…

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 …

TFH*… Read More »

If it ain’t broke…

The late, great Thomas Colvin advised that one needed about 1HP per ton of displacement for one’s auxiliary engine. Note the emphasis on the word auxiliary. Using Colvin’s formula, that works out to an 8HP engine for the Islander 36. Our current raw water cooled Yanmar 3HM is a 27HP. Of course, Tom Colvin was …

If it ain’t broke… Read More »

a moan inducing project…

I’ve not forgotten the DIY self-steering post that sits unfinished on my desktop. Truth is, I’d much prefer finishing it rather than the internal combustion clusterfuck I’m sorta/kinda dealing with. The problem is mostly that I just don’t like working on engines for starters as engines are, more often than not, oily messy contraptions that …

a moan inducing project… Read More »

needful stuff…

Every day or so, West Marine sends me an email trying to sell me something and, while I seldom ever buy anything from them, it is a connection I keep an eye on in the hope that, one of these days, they’ll come up with something truly needful. I’m still waiting on that but my …

needful stuff… Read More »

Scroll to Top