If we get enough action here we may get our own Thread, but these beautiful boats are few & far between.!!
The cable attach point is a compromise in every sense. Too close to the top & you have no moment from the pivot point to raise the keel easily, too far from the top the cable comes out of the hull at too much of an angle. I think mine was about 1 ft below the pivot pin hole.The cable through the fuel hose seems to be working fairly well for friction. The fuel hose was epoxied into the previous hole for water tightness and stability.
The main issue left is where exactly on the centerboard the cable attaches. I think right near the bottom of the centerboard cavity. Any input on that?
The issue with an outboard is not max hull speed cause due to hull design, boats are rated at the max speed they can do, unless they can plane...our boats do not plane! LOL What the issue is concerns low speed controllability. The engine I mounted was a Mercury Bigfoot, which is lower geared & has a 20% larger prop. This will allow better response at lower speeds. Alas no I have not had it out yet the boat is on the hard for the winter.Nice call on the ice box and fuel tank! I may have to look into doing that myself.
When I pull my boat out I walk it up the dock with a bow and stern dock line. Works great so far. My motor is port with my batteries and fuel tank to starboard. 4 stroke 7.5 hp Honda
windyway have you tried the motor yet? What speeds to you get? I push at about 6.2 with mine
The question should be will the drop keel raise. Not deploy. The shear weight will lower the keel if the cable is broken but you will not be able to raise it. Did you check the condition of the cable? Now would be a good time to change it if it is frayed. Unless it was recently changed I'll bet it's frayed.now the cooler weather is here(Central Texas) made some good progess recently. All wood work has been replaced, fordeck hatch made from original mold using ply and several layers biaxial 6 oz cloth, hull (below waterline) sanded, small blisters ground out and filled/faired with epoxy goopie ready for epoxy/grafite bottom coat, mast/boom inspected some jury rigged hardware (non stainless) replaced with stainless also some new blocks.
But niggling in the back of my mind now for some while has been, will the drop keel deploy when I get her on the water, so with the help of a couple of friends, got the stern lifted high enough to lower the keel partialy and all was good, big relief.
now onto making a gally box, dining table, calking windows,curtain rails/curtains.
Then try and figger out how to raise/lower mast on my own ??
also have a concern that the 4 horse nissan is not sufficient for this boat, Thoughts ???
The winch end of the cable is always good. The cable wears & chafes on the fitting leaving the boat inside the keel trunk. The angle to the keel attach point is about 120 deg. That's why I put a pulley up there.Windy
The cable (at the winch end) looks to be in good shape I did run oil into the sheath/cable junction while tentioning/slacking cable. if I could see/access to the lower attachment I would replace it as a precaution but don't see how?.
One of the many blisters I ground out and filled was right at the water line,and went right through the hull,fortunatly it's location, port side storage locker, meant access to install glass/epoxy patch was easy. Hull in this area is about 5-6 mm thick, not what I was expecting!!
Having only one experience (the day I took delivery) using the 4 HP (stiff winds close quarters) which went OK I still have reservations and agree with you on a bigger motor.I'll keep the 4 HP for the small boats I build and start looking for a good used 8-10 unit, with charging and or remote facilities.
Thanks very much for your responce.
John Farrell