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Is this boat worth saving?

3K views 18 replies 8 participants last post by  tdw 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Dylan,
Take you all summer just to get the thing in useable condition. You reckon the sails are OK , what about standing and running rigging ? Everything new down below. even the freaking cockpit locker covers are gone. Then you'd have to go out and buy an outboard ? Sounds horrifying to me but I'd like to see what the accomodation is like.

Outboard raised , as you say probably sail better than the Slug. I cannot find anything about a "SeaWitch" as such. That spelling correct ?

If the SLugs engine problems are now down to the mounts and the rest of the donk is OK, then fix 'em and be done with. Mind you four stroke outboards are verra quiet.
 
#4 ·
Dylan, it's a bilge-keeler FFS - a rusty bilge-keeler at that! ..I imagine a raft of 44-gallon drums would sail better than that.

Unless you plan to turn your Island Cruise into a Slug Restoration blog - run! run far away!!.. and forget about it. No-one (especially someone like you) needs something like that - even for free! :eek:
 
#7 ·
Dylan, it's a bilge-keeler FFS - a rusty bilge-keeler at that! ..I imagine a raft of 44-gallon drums would sail better than that.

Unless you plan to turn your Island Cruise into a Slug Restoration blog - run! run far away!!.. and forget about it. No-one (especially someone like you) needs something like that - even for free! :eek:
Hartley old man have you ever seen the Slug out of the water ? The British National Health Service performs better to windward. The Sea Witch may well be a bilger but she's a deeper bilger than Yon Slug and that must count for something.

OTOH, Yon Slug is still afloat when seagulls have run aground and deep water anchorages are of no interest whatsoever. What's more she can boil her master a tin of soup without piercing the lid first.

DW, further to fixing the diesel. Why not just fling the bloody Volvo overboard and get the slug an outboard. Slug would sail better probably use about the same amount of fuel and you'd pick up a used fourstroke outboard for what it will cost you to fix the Volvo.
 
#6 ·
Funny thing.. I follow you on Youtube and then I see you here.

From what I have seen of your boat and what I see here, the Slug as you call her, seems it MUCH better shape. This one looks like almost a total loss unless it is free.
 
#10 ·
Oh , so the thing is called a SeaWych. Sorry but they are ugly. The Slug may well be aptly named but she has pedigree and looks the part. Drop the diesel overboard and get a four stroke.
 
#11 ·
boat aesthetics and inboards v outboards



not many bilge keelers look good out of the water

the fact that I can sail the slug is 2 feet of water is a great bonus

The inboard has been wonderful

Its true in flat water where the prop can be working at a reasonable depth to deliver everything it has got to give to the boat and outboard can push any boat along at a good speed

It also has the advantage of being off to one side so it is firing all its power away from the boat.

The slugs prop is right under my feet - in front of the tiller

That has two effects - first there is some loss of forward power because the flow from the prop runs into the rudder - no idea how much it is but it must disrupt the flow

the upside of that is that when you want the boat to respond to the tiller - it does it

Then the prop on the slug is big - much bigger than an outboard prop

it is turning deeper in the water - with all that weight of water above it to make it more effective

and it is sweeping a bigger area of water - but moving it more slowly

when a wave tries to push the slugs bow out of line then the rudder working in the flow from the outboard delivers that turning motion.

I have tried pushing through big waves with an outboard - it was not very satisfactory

I know that an outboard on the back of the boat will sometimes require me to place my hands on both the outboard and the tiller to vector it

I sail single handed - so coming into quays needs to be done slowly and under control. Onre hand for the tiller, the other for the mooring lines

The turning prop is well out of the way of errant lines - all my mooring lines are bouyant

In my opinion there is no doubting that the advantages of an inboard are massive when it comes to single handed sailing and safety in a small boat.

But.... keeping an old one going is stupidly expensive

so I really would like to keep the inboard

However,

I have now had the first assessment and guess at a price for fixing it from the engineer in Wisbech

the first email, which was a long one ended with

"I am sorry the news is not good

Robin Dunn"

the second email, which was much shorter ended with

"I am sorry the news is bad

Robin Dunn"

I wil put the emails on my website if anyone is interested

Dylan
 
#13 ·
Hmmm... I'll go have a look a the site but I'm tneding to agree with young Cameron on this.

My proviso would be that I hadn't thought that Dylan and de Slug would be motoring at sea despite of course having seen you doing it on your vids. Dumb fuzzball. However, you were motoring in calm conditions.

Anywho .. off to check up on website emails.
 
#15 · (Edited)
thanks for your input

wells bar - take a look

vlog 100 Wells to Wisbech « Keep Turning Left

I don't think it would be possible to sail through the bar no matter how experienced you are

and it would certainly have an outboard cavitating

the channel took me at right angles to the breaking waves

and wells is far from exceptional

there is one other factor... and that is battery charging

in my experience few outboards can do much for keeping pace with current demand for charging cameras and the laptop

winter sailing with an outboard would also be tougher

the beast really helps to keep the cabin dry - which is how I am able to look after the welfare of the cameras

I would not be able to run the proper HD cameras in the winter - keeping the moisture out of them would be really tough

I need to think it through pretty carefully - there are a lot of repercussions
 
#19 ·
vlog 100 Wells to Wisbech « Keep Turning Left

Good lord !!

OK so the diesel and its lovely big propellor and low down grunt stays.

Hey Dylan, why not post emails here instead of the site. I want to know what the engine story really is. My thought was that you just had a problem with engine mounts. I didn't think that would be ruinously expensive to do, esspecially with such a small donk. Obviously I am misssing part of the puzzle.
 
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