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Auxiliary outboard engine


andy4502

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Hi Hive mind - question for you :

 

I am currently moored at Tewkesbury (for the next 12 months) and therefore need to get up - against the flow!! - of the Avon and Severn. While my old and tired engine can just about do this, I do get worried about what happens if i break down. Breaking down and my engine are not unconnected and this stresses me as i really dont want to have to use my anchor and wait for help.

 

So - what do people think about an outboard as an emergency get you home engine? Also what HP would i need to creep home (10 ton 45 ft V hull narrowboat)

 

thoughts?

oh - and i could potentially use it to assist my rather tired 3cylinder 21HP (in 1993 so likely to be somewhat less now) in pushing against the flow. Boat was originally build and therefore engine'd for the Mon and Brec

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2 minutes ago, andy4502 said:

Hi Hive mind - question for you :

 

I am currently moored at Tewkesbury (for the next 12 months) and therefore need to get up - against the flow!! - of the Avon and Severn. While my old and tired engine can just about do this, I do get worried about what happens if i break down. Breaking down and my engine are not unconnected and this stresses me as i really dont want to have to use my anchor and wait for help.

 

So - what do people think about an outboard as an emergency get you home engine? Also what HP would i need to creep home (10 ton 45 ft V hull narrowboat)

 

thoughts?

 

On a River with a bit of flow on = 20 HP.

On a river with a lot of flow on it = TIE UP IMMEDIATELY

 

You 'big' engine probably has a 16" or 18" prop on it, most outboards have little 'egg whisk' (6") propeller so it is not all about HP but mainly 'how much water the prop is moving'

 

I would be very reluctant to take any steel NB on a flowing (or god forbid) tidal river with a 'small' outboard with a 'tiny' prop.

 

If you are buying an OB engine make sure that you attach the mountings in the correct place, AND that you get the CORRECT leg length. The prop needs to be in clear water - not 'shielded' by the boat or existing prop.

If you offset the engine to the side of the rudder you will be fighting a nightmare trying to steer.

 

 

 

Transom Leg length.jpg

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Hi both - I had thought of this (how to fit/shaft length etc).

 

I would not be using it to replace the engine - just as a 'get you out of jail free' card - that must be the reason so many yogurt pots have them surely?

 

(and i am looking at engine replacement but reluctant to do this until the engine finally dies)

 

 

Edited by andy4502
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I decent reliable 20 to 40hp o/b engine is going to cost you a lot of money, you need proper mounting kit as well. The propeller needs to be large and well below the water as any river can be choppy enough to cause cavitation. Much better to fix up your existing engine. Most diesels don't fail that quickly if they are fed with fuel,oil and cooling. If it that bad get it looked at first.

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3 minutes ago, andy4502 said:

i am looking at engine replacement but reluctant to do this until the engine finally dies

 

If you don't trust it on the two rivers you use, it's dead enough to replace or repair in my book.

 

A big powerful outboard (not a poxy little one - think 30 or 40 hp, not 4 or 10 hp) will probably cost more than sorting the main engine.  The 3 ton boats with the 2.5 hp engines as auxiliaries *might* be able to get to the side with them if they are lucky.  In many cases, the auxiliary bracket is just somewhere handy to store the outboard for the tender!

 

 In a 45 ft steel boat you are unlikely to be able to get to the side in time if the rivers have some fresh on them, and you will certainly struggle to stop the boat long enough to tie up.

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1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Do you have a good anchor, chain, rope on board? If your inboard engine fails this will hopefully set and stop you being swept away while you get it going again.Much cheaper and easier to set up than a second engine.

Jen

 

He has, but doesn't really want to have to use it. 

 

On the Warwickshire Avon and the Severn, that's not unreasonable as there are some big nasty weirs out there, and also why we are not recommending a little "get-you-home" outboard.   Trying to start an old seagull or similar  while being swept towards a big weir is more exciting than I'd want to try in a narrowboat ...

  • Greenie 1
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I have another suggestion. Get yourself a large sweep(oar) and find a suitable location(s) to mount a swivel for it. You will be surprised how you can control a heavy boat and get it to a safe location. I remember being shown how to do this on the tidal Thames taking an unpowered  Small Thames Lighter all the way from Limehouse to Brentford just with two oars in the 1970's

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