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Outboard Engine Advice - Springer Narrowboat


Ichbinrory

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Hello! Owner of a Springer Narrowboat and looking some engine advice.


Essentially the boat itself is a compact live aboard and I bought it as a project boat. The inboard engine was removed many moons ago prior to my purchase and let’s just say reinstalling an inboard engine is of great difficulty as a lot of the fixtures and fittings in the engine bay are broken/decommissioned.

 

The simplest fix for the issue of mobility is an outboard. That being said, I’m trying to deduce which size/spec of outboard to get.

 

The boat itself is steel, 28ft long and a 7ft beam. I don’t intend to do really long cruises.  There is a bracket already in place for the outboard and steering won’t be much of a problem as I’m removing the built in tiller/rudder and plan to steer from the outboard using a tiller extension.

 

So essentially my question.

 

What's the cheapest most effective outboard I’m looking for here? Horse Power recommendations also welcome.

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Aren't those short Springers called Waterbugs? I think you'd probably need 15hp at least but others will offer better advice. The leg length will be important. With the outboard mounted you want it shorter than the draft at the stern to protect the prop, but longer than the uxter plate depth so that water can get to the prop - assuming it has narrowboat-style swims.

Edited by blackrose
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3 hours ago, blackrose said:

Aren't those short Springers called Waterbugs?

 

The "Waterbugs" were the 23 foot versions and were built with 3.75mm thick steel

 

8 hours ago, Ichbinrory said:

The simplest fix for the issue of mobility is an outboard. That being said, I’m trying to deduce which size/spec of outboard to get.

If you are using it (only) on 'still water' canals then you could manage with a 10hp as a MINIMUM, as Blackrose suggests 15hp would be better.

 

The 'leg length' is critical to function so you will need to measure the height from the top of your outboard bracket to the bottom of the boat :

 

 

 

Transom Leg length.jpg

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as noted on another thread, the most important factor is where the boat will be used.

 

a 15hp motor, preferably equipped with a high thrust prop, will be adequate for canals.  If you venture onto rivers in anything other than ideal conditions (low flow and no high winds) then you may need more to be able to avoid hazardous situations.

 

you also need to consider where you will buy petrol (not normally available from marinas) and how you will charge your batteries.  

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4 stroke will be more economical, (2 stroke no longer legally sellable new anyway) Honda and some others make versions with special low speed prop check the charging ability which will be less than an inboard and unlikely to run a fridge (unless you are plugged in to mains at the mooring) and add some solar as well (though not much use in winter!

 

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48 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The 'leg length' is critical to function so you will need to measure the height from the top of your outboard bracket to the bottom of the boat :

 

Transom Leg length.jpg

 

To clarify, that's fine for a dinghy but I don't think the leg should hang below the bottom of a narrow boat otherwise it will hit the bottom of the canal or river. As I said previously it needs to hang below the uxter plate but above the bottom of the boat.

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Just now, blackrose said:

To clarify, that's fine for a dinghy but I don't think the leg should hang below the bottom of a narrow boat otherwise it will hit the bottom of the canal or river. As I said previously it needs to hang below the uxter plate but above the bottom of the boat.

Agreed - ideally at the level of the 'old prop' .

Should be easy enough to measure as it previously had an inboard (so should have a 'hole in the back' where the shaft exited).

 

As a guess, if the cavitation plate was level with the uxter plate the prop wouldn't be too far off the correct height.

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Hello all!

 

Thanks for the input!

 

No it’s definitely not a water bug, the extra few ft of space makes an incredible amount of difference compared to them.

 

At present I’ve no intention of taking on any tidal waterways at present. I’m sticking to canals and canalised rivers.

 

10-15hp was what I was assuming. Hearing it from others has clarified this for me. Thank you!

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7 hours ago, blackrose said:

Aren't those short Springers called Waterbugs? 

Some of them, yes. The Waterbug was a particular style. So, all Springer Waterbugs were short, but not all short Springers were Waterbugs.

 

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4 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

The "Waterbugs" were the 23 foot versions and were built with 3.75mm thick steel

 

If you are using it (only) on 'still water' canals then you could manage with a 10hp as a MINIMUM, as Blackrose suggests 15hp would be better.

 

:

 

 

 

 

Some of them, yes. The minimum length offered was 20 feet, not sure what the maximum was, but 23' was probably the most popular. They were sold as outboard-propelled, and it's worth noting that the standard power unit was 10 h.p.

So, if the Springer used to have an inboard engine, it probably isn't a Waterbug - but there were many customised variations

in the firm's output, and some may have had Thornycrofts.

 

 

Edited by Athy
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12 minutes ago, Athy said:

Some of them, yes. The minimum length offered was 20 feet, not sure what the maximum was, but 23' was probably the most popular. They were sold as outboard-propelled, and it's worth noting that the standard power unit was 10 h.p.

So, if the Springer used to have an inboard engine, it probably isn't a Waterbug - but there were enough customised variations in the firm's output that we should never say never.

 

 

The OP says it's 28 feet so it isn't a Waterbug

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i think the waterbugs were the ones with no well deck...  mines a 23ft with well deck and was told its not a waterbug...  mine has a 3 pot kubota engine...   i would look for a honda outboard as there pretty reliable ..

 

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My sister has a 23 foot waterbug with enclosed front deck with escape window. 

I have seen them as 23ft with open well deck and enclosed.

It is also fitted with a 2 cylinder inboard diesel.

I quite like it as a boat and a good layout although used one of the dinette seating areas for a solid fuel stove.

Need to clean the engine bay and paint it!

 

James.

WP_20181211_13_21_53_Pro.jpg

WP_20181211_13_56_49_Pro.jpg

WP_20191018_16_47_29_Pro.jpg

Edited by canals are us?
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