There is a middle ground that everyone seems to forget. GO ELECTRIC. A small electric outboard or trolling motor will get you back when the wind dies down and you just have to get to your granddaughter's birthday. This is without the smell, fumes, noise and leaking fuel cans. A lithium iron phosphate battery can last 10 years (I have some that are still working after 12 years). A solar panel will recharge it even if you can't plug in. It will also power your electronics if you cannot live without them. There are only two moving parts: the rotor on the motor and the throttle.
I've not long got home from a 9 day "raid" on a 15ft boat, we had an E Lite "outboard motor", a 50 watt flex solar panel on the foredeck and an extra LI battery in the circuit. At the end of the event, even with quite a lot of use, we still had 90% charge left. The motor itself was great, lots of push, instant response and very quiet.
I keep an electric outboard on my Monty. Not only is it a silent partner to a life under sail, but a willing one. I have never had it fail to start or get grumpy halfway through. It also fails to get hot or spill fuel and oil at the most inopportune of moments.
As it breaks down into three lighter parts, four if you consider the mount, affixing it to my small boat's stern is an easy chore both before and during a sail.
No, I am down for saying down with internal combustion!
I'm on board for Electric (boat motors) also, when the prices come down some. Can't see electric cars in my life style but can't wait to be 70, or 78 on an electric bike going down our path to the market! Totally makes sense. I'm loving playing with LiFePO4 batteries. 50ah in my shed for lights, bluetooth speaker etc. 100ah in the boat for bildge pump, chart plotter, tent and anchore lights, charging VHF, speaker and phone etc. etc. Haven't bought solar panels yet...
The LFP prices keep coming down -- and their features increase -- as the production volume continues to climb. No reason to buy lead-acid batteries anymore, except maybe for engine starting, and that's already changing. And it's been great to see ePropulsion continue to drive innovations in small electric outboards.
In more than 40 years of cruising, my favorite interval—by a country mile—was the three years I spent cruising engineless in my Folkboat.
Was it harder? Not really, certainly not on the Chesapeake, with its gentle tides and mud bottom. Sailing engineless forces you to plan ahead carefully, including always having a couple of bail-out options. Not a bad thing to do even if you have an engine.
I've missed more sailing hours because of a faulty engine than for any other cause. Makes you ponder your priorities...
Great narrative of a condition which begins from choice. Lots of good information. Except I would have added the one positive an engine offers; your best ballast, running or not under sail.
Josh is kindly reposting my blog (triloboats.blogspot.com) from the beginning, where themes are appropriate for SCA. In general, the blog is written for a different audience largely composed of those still working their way toward the water, and is intended to demonstrate the low bar possible economically, tactically and lifestyle-wise. We set a low bar! I don't generally intend advocacy, but rather possibility.
Dave Z
@Thomas Hruby -- Electric engines are a great option for very many folks, and certainly solve the noise and exhaust issues! With solar, if it can keep up with need, being renewable, the 'tether' is long indeed.
In our case the cost/benefit doesn't work out positive, but as you say, they have their place.
@Jim Barden -- Beautiful poem... deserves being set to music! 8)
@Andrew Nemier -- We're aboard WAYWARD, our 32ft x 8ft x 1ft Triloboat (box barge/scow). Lot's to see on the web, if you're interested.
@Rob Kunzig -- We sailed a few years in Puget Sound and the last 30 in SE Alaska, mostly on square boats.
Our only bad windless experience was a relatively short, offshore hop along the outer coast of Chichagof Island. It was a wildly sloppy, exposed passage with no anchorage. Supposed to be a following wind, but very late coming. We were rowing MUSTELID and I nearly exhausted myself. I was getting pretty worried when the wind finally showed. Normally, we're have plenty of fail-safer options, but that day? Spooky.
We do have a book out, Sailing in Place (Amazon), and MUSTELID Venture (Youtube series) if you're interested. The series has a taste of that passage in Episode 9.
My only quibble with this is that, in our increasingly technology-based world, some source of power is required, even if it is only for electricity to keep radio and other peripheral devices like a depth sounder working. These can be powered by wind, water or sun, but they still add at least one level of complexity to our lives.
The last engine I had was 1 1/2 horsepower Johnson that I used for 40 years, including to tow my schooner to its Winter slip in a storm. It was stolen when the work room at my club was burgled. Turns out, I have gotten along without it quite well.
On my recent boats, I have relied on wind and muscle power to keep my boat happy, but I currently limit myself to daysailing and handheld devices.
This week’s story of sailing engine-free is beautiful—romantic, even. But to me, it feels a bit Pollyanna and doesn’t quite match my own time on the water.
As a sailor, I’ve mostly stuck to lakes and bays, with dreams of someday completing the Great Loop a few times just for the experience.
I’m 63 now, and back in the day I had a 16’ Catalina Capri with no engine at all. You just made it work—just like the story described.
HOWEVER…
I missed thousands of opportunities to enjoy Puget Sound, the San Francisco Bay, and San Diego because I couldn’t fight the current or safely maneuver into a marina for rest. I had to just stick it out and find s place to hide until tide changed or the traffic lessened. (Now it’s called “dinghy camping” and it’s done with prep and purpose. Back then? I was just trying not to get run over by a WSF ferry, a mile-long log boom, or a barge tug.)
Oh—and let’s not forget the four-times-daily, three-foot weirs in La Conner and Deception Pass that eat small boats for lunch.
I can count thousands of times my noisy old 5-hp Clinton two-stroke could’ve saved my a--. It could’ve gotten me out of harm’s way, or helped me enjoy the Lake Washington canal system and Seattle in a safer, more relaxed way.
But no—I was a purist.
And a fool.
My next boat will be a proper excursion/camping dinghy, and yes—it’ll have supplemental power. Probably electric. Maybe even take my small, quiet Harbor Freight generator for longer trips when the sun won’t show up, and for safety.
I thought that I was going to be 'retired", but some days it feels as though I only got the "tired" part. But it does mean that I have a lot more flexibility in my schedule than those who have to be back at work on Monday morning.
An engine will allow those people to explore a little further knowing that they'll be able to be home on time, but I designed my Long Steps boat as pure sail and oar, working the weather and the tides is a whole different game, a fascinating one when those limitations have to be considered.
LS is almost 20 ft long, and with ballast, me, stores and equipment on board there is roughly half a ton to move, but that said, in flat water I can move her at around 3 knots and have covered quite long distances to make a safe anchorage when the wind died in the evening.
I do enjoy the challenge of going engineless, it puts a whole different perspective on voyaging in a small craft.
I concur regarding combustion style motors; the only fuel I carry is for my campstove. Last years Texas 200 pointed out two failings of depending on my AD scull. First it is useless in very shoalwater with an oozy bottom. Second it (I) don't have the power to maneuver upwind in a marina type setting.
Since I've found a place to moor the boat in a cove behind the house, I've ordered a small electric outboard to facilitate getting out into open water.
While I agree that they have correctly shown reason enough for them, and after all it is they who are responsible for their own boat and time spent. This stuff depends so much on where and how one sails and also the luck of the draw on gear failure (or engine failure), location of hazards, wind strength, wave action, currents, visibility, tired crew, temperature of the wind, temperature of the water, depth of the water, traffic whether expected or not, and other things that may or may not be part of a particular situation that I get a little tired of it all. I recommend we try to make a plan, prepare the boat and ourselves, and try not to be the one who needs rescuing. My desire for a romantic sail may be enough for the adventure, but will it be enough to forestall negative events? Many have gone engineless and circumnavigated the globe, but quite a few are out there that wish they had collected more options. Some of you limit things by choices of cruising grounds. Other by avoiding certain variables, make things easier. If you have the skills and know where to go and how to get there, great! If there is a question about that, then what? Engine or not, you still have more to answer to than some think.
Awesome write up. I'll still keep my little outboard though. I love to motor along. And I would never "urge my friends to go motorized". They'd be too far behind even if I wanted too!
They are both great designs, and as always… worlds apart! 😵💫🤔🙈
I’m in the same quandary…
Do I want to care for and paint two hulls, need a special trailer, and, because of the Tiki 26 catamaran’s width, possibly miss out on many gunkholing opportunities – all for a more stable and potentially more spacious deck that has a more stooped and cramped living space?
Or…
Should I go with the Terrapin 25, which can float in a cup of water, has more living space, only one hull to paint and care for, and can fit into skinny slips so I’m not charged for a wide cat slip?
Augh… but I do like that big, wide, comfy cruising deck of the Tiki 26.
There is a middle ground that everyone seems to forget. GO ELECTRIC. A small electric outboard or trolling motor will get you back when the wind dies down and you just have to get to your granddaughter's birthday. This is without the smell, fumes, noise and leaking fuel cans. A lithium iron phosphate battery can last 10 years (I have some that are still working after 12 years). A solar panel will recharge it even if you can't plug in. It will also power your electronics if you cannot live without them. There are only two moving parts: the rotor on the motor and the throttle.
I've not long got home from a 9 day "raid" on a 15ft boat, we had an E Lite "outboard motor", a 50 watt flex solar panel on the foredeck and an extra LI battery in the circuit. At the end of the event, even with quite a lot of use, we still had 90% charge left. The motor itself was great, lots of push, instant response and very quiet.
I keep an electric outboard on my Monty. Not only is it a silent partner to a life under sail, but a willing one. I have never had it fail to start or get grumpy halfway through. It also fails to get hot or spill fuel and oil at the most inopportune of moments.
As it breaks down into three lighter parts, four if you consider the mount, affixing it to my small boat's stern is an easy chore both before and during a sail.
No, I am down for saying down with internal combustion!
I'm on board for Electric (boat motors) also, when the prices come down some. Can't see electric cars in my life style but can't wait to be 70, or 78 on an electric bike going down our path to the market! Totally makes sense. I'm loving playing with LiFePO4 batteries. 50ah in my shed for lights, bluetooth speaker etc. 100ah in the boat for bildge pump, chart plotter, tent and anchore lights, charging VHF, speaker and phone etc. etc. Haven't bought solar panels yet...
The LFP prices keep coming down -- and their features increase -- as the production volume continues to climb. No reason to buy lead-acid batteries anymore, except maybe for engine starting, and that's already changing. And it's been great to see ePropulsion continue to drive innovations in small electric outboards.
Amen Brother, Amen!
Besides, where would I mount a motor on my 12 foot sailboat?
That was a nice read!
In more than 40 years of cruising, my favorite interval—by a country mile—was the three years I spent cruising engineless in my Folkboat.
Was it harder? Not really, certainly not on the Chesapeake, with its gentle tides and mud bottom. Sailing engineless forces you to plan ahead carefully, including always having a couple of bail-out options. Not a bad thing to do even if you have an engine.
I've missed more sailing hours because of a faulty engine than for any other cause. Makes you ponder your priorities...
I frequently sail engineless, sometimes intentionally.
Great narrative of a condition which begins from choice. Lots of good information. Except I would have added the one positive an engine offers; your best ballast, running or not under sail.
I wrote you a Haiku:
Engineless
no wind
on a sea sail.
Night rain
blends tomorrow's rise to sunrise
into gray for another visual,
While today's nothingness
goes nowhere,
for me. Jb
Hi Friends,
Josh is kindly reposting my blog (triloboats.blogspot.com) from the beginning, where themes are appropriate for SCA. In general, the blog is written for a different audience largely composed of those still working their way toward the water, and is intended to demonstrate the low bar possible economically, tactically and lifestyle-wise. We set a low bar! I don't generally intend advocacy, but rather possibility.
Dave Z
@Thomas Hruby -- Electric engines are a great option for very many folks, and certainly solve the noise and exhaust issues! With solar, if it can keep up with need, being renewable, the 'tether' is long indeed.
In our case the cost/benefit doesn't work out positive, but as you say, they have their place.
@Jim Barden -- Beautiful poem... deserves being set to music! 8)
@Andrew Nemier -- We're aboard WAYWARD, our 32ft x 8ft x 1ft Triloboat (box barge/scow). Lot's to see on the web, if you're interested.
@Rob Kunzig -- We sailed a few years in Puget Sound and the last 30 in SE Alaska, mostly on square boats.
Our only bad windless experience was a relatively short, offshore hop along the outer coast of Chichagof Island. It was a wildly sloppy, exposed passage with no anchorage. Supposed to be a following wind, but very late coming. We were rowing MUSTELID and I nearly exhausted myself. I was getting pretty worried when the wind finally showed. Normally, we're have plenty of fail-safer options, but that day? Spooky.
We do have a book out, Sailing in Place (Amazon), and MUSTELID Venture (Youtube series) if you're interested. The series has a taste of that passage in Episode 9.
My only quibble with this is that, in our increasingly technology-based world, some source of power is required, even if it is only for electricity to keep radio and other peripheral devices like a depth sounder working. These can be powered by wind, water or sun, but they still add at least one level of complexity to our lives.
The last engine I had was 1 1/2 horsepower Johnson that I used for 40 years, including to tow my schooner to its Winter slip in a storm. It was stolen when the work room at my club was burgled. Turns out, I have gotten along without it quite well.
On my recent boats, I have relied on wind and muscle power to keep my boat happy, but I currently limit myself to daysailing and handheld devices.
This week’s story of sailing engine-free is beautiful—romantic, even. But to me, it feels a bit Pollyanna and doesn’t quite match my own time on the water.
As a sailor, I’ve mostly stuck to lakes and bays, with dreams of someday completing the Great Loop a few times just for the experience.
I’m 63 now, and back in the day I had a 16’ Catalina Capri with no engine at all. You just made it work—just like the story described.
HOWEVER…
I missed thousands of opportunities to enjoy Puget Sound, the San Francisco Bay, and San Diego because I couldn’t fight the current or safely maneuver into a marina for rest. I had to just stick it out and find s place to hide until tide changed or the traffic lessened. (Now it’s called “dinghy camping” and it’s done with prep and purpose. Back then? I was just trying not to get run over by a WSF ferry, a mile-long log boom, or a barge tug.)
Oh—and let’s not forget the four-times-daily, three-foot weirs in La Conner and Deception Pass that eat small boats for lunch.
I can count thousands of times my noisy old 5-hp Clinton two-stroke could’ve saved my a--. It could’ve gotten me out of harm’s way, or helped me enjoy the Lake Washington canal system and Seattle in a safer, more relaxed way.
But no—I was a purist.
And a fool.
My next boat will be a proper excursion/camping dinghy, and yes—it’ll have supplemental power. Probably electric. Maybe even take my small, quiet Harbor Freight generator for longer trips when the sun won’t show up, and for safety.
That’s it.
No more going commando. 👍🤞🙏
⸻
... and mounts. Don't forget all the mounts.
I thought that I was going to be 'retired", but some days it feels as though I only got the "tired" part. But it does mean that I have a lot more flexibility in my schedule than those who have to be back at work on Monday morning.
An engine will allow those people to explore a little further knowing that they'll be able to be home on time, but I designed my Long Steps boat as pure sail and oar, working the weather and the tides is a whole different game, a fascinating one when those limitations have to be considered.
LS is almost 20 ft long, and with ballast, me, stores and equipment on board there is roughly half a ton to move, but that said, in flat water I can move her at around 3 knots and have covered quite long distances to make a safe anchorage when the wind died in the evening.
I do enjoy the challenge of going engineless, it puts a whole different perspective on voyaging in a small craft.
I concur regarding combustion style motors; the only fuel I carry is for my campstove. Last years Texas 200 pointed out two failings of depending on my AD scull. First it is useless in very shoalwater with an oozy bottom. Second it (I) don't have the power to maneuver upwind in a marina type setting.
Since I've found a place to moor the boat in a cove behind the house, I've ordered a small electric outboard to facilitate getting out into open water.
While I agree that they have correctly shown reason enough for them, and after all it is they who are responsible for their own boat and time spent. This stuff depends so much on where and how one sails and also the luck of the draw on gear failure (or engine failure), location of hazards, wind strength, wave action, currents, visibility, tired crew, temperature of the wind, temperature of the water, depth of the water, traffic whether expected or not, and other things that may or may not be part of a particular situation that I get a little tired of it all. I recommend we try to make a plan, prepare the boat and ourselves, and try not to be the one who needs rescuing. My desire for a romantic sail may be enough for the adventure, but will it be enough to forestall negative events? Many have gone engineless and circumnavigated the globe, but quite a few are out there that wish they had collected more options. Some of you limit things by choices of cruising grounds. Other by avoiding certain variables, make things easier. If you have the skills and know where to go and how to get there, great! If there is a question about that, then what? Engine or not, you still have more to answer to than some think.
Awesome write up. I'll still keep my little outboard though. I love to motor along. And I would never "urge my friends to go motorized". They'd be too far behind even if I wanted too!
I am currently conjuring up my 'last boat', which will be an engineless Terrapin 25, drawn by Reuel Parker. (Originally I was thinking of a Tiki 26).
But Simple is the main criteria for me, and the mono won out. It's been a fun exercise so far. What boat do you have please?
They are both great designs, and as always… worlds apart! 😵💫🤔🙈
I’m in the same quandary…
Do I want to care for and paint two hulls, need a special trailer, and, because of the Tiki 26 catamaran’s width, possibly miss out on many gunkholing opportunities – all for a more stable and potentially more spacious deck that has a more stooped and cramped living space?
Or…
Should I go with the Terrapin 25, which can float in a cup of water, has more living space, only one hull to paint and care for, and can fit into skinny slips so I’m not charged for a wide cat slip?
Augh… but I do like that big, wide, comfy cruising deck of the Tiki 26.
🤔🤨😵💫🤨🙈🙏🙏🙏
Dave,
Please follow up with a list of where you have been - which cruise tested you the most with windlessness? or maybe you already have a book out there?
There is the marina and stacked up boat ramp problem.....