A friend sent me this link:

http://www.passagemaker....1/mid/1158/Default.aspx

Worth a read

Fred

Jeff,

I think he was talking above the waterline.

Fred

The Coast Guard Aluminum hulls are powered by large outboard engines that can be lifted from the water while moored. I am seriously contemplating updating my 1966 28 footer to outboard power. A new power plant is a good idea, I am not a traditionalist, I like to have what works go for me. There are several outboard bracket conversions on the market. Cutting out the struts, rudder and propeller shaft openings and filling them with welding from inside the hull seems possible. New steering and controls are needed. The swim platform will be modified to install the bracket. Gasoline tanks needed cleaning and new plumbing fittings with filter and water separators. Engine size and propeller choice is not determined yet and suggestions are welcome. There will be a 300 HP Chrysler and marine gear, shafts, controls and rudder to get rid of. I think this will extend the useful life of the boat for another twenty years. The generator will be removed. Storage batterys and inverters will be installed. A freezer to make ice will be installed in the engine space. The ice will be for food storage while underway. A sanitary holding tank will be installed in the engine space. LED lights will be installed where navigation and main lights are used. Cooking will have to be moved out of the cabin and outdoors while underway.
Anyway, if you have any thoughts, they would be appreciated.

Thoughts (or ramblings):

The article says: "What you'll notice, other than the familiar diagonal red, white, and blue Coastie stripe and bottom antifoulant, is that these vessels are unpainted." When I was in Florida recently, I left my small Boston Whaler, that normally lives on a trailer, in the water for just over a week. There are now small barnacles all over it, and I am hoping that they will dry up and blow away now that they are in the air.

These days I think that outboard power is great for a 28-footer, and if I were buying new it would be no contest. But weight distribution will be a problem with the inboard removed and weight hung off the transom. I would go for twin Evinrude E-tecs. (disclosure: I once worked for Bombardier) Convert to hydraulic steering. The gauges and controls for outboards are included with them. An outfit in Ft. Lauderdale makes beautiful outboard extensions, with swim platform and stairs built-in.

I have been agonizing over a generator. Like jimski2, I would like to run large electrical loads without one. My requirement is three days at anchor without running an engine. I am currently evaluating solar cells to provide 25-30 amps of 12V power when the sun shines (it is Florida) and that would be enough for everything but a freezer and air conditioning, at less initial cost than a generator and no running cost.

There is little reason to convert navigation lights to LED, unless you just want to. They are only on when the engine is running, so the power drain doesn't matter. Cabin lights are a different story. I have converted all of mine to LEDs by using automotive LED back-up bulbs as a replacement for the original bulbs, as discussed at length in another thread.

Cooking while underway has its disadvantages, but I will make sandwiches and simple stuff while in motion. I am wondering why cooking would be moved outdoors while underway. I have a nice grill behind the sternrail and Liz does her famous barbecue chicken on it, if I am lucky. She hails from southwest Georgia, where it's God, Country, and Barbecue; not necessarily in that order.

I would need a diesel-powered generator, and a new one is at least $5000, with good used ones running half that or more. As a matter of principle, I carry no gasoline on board, even though I know that it is safe with proper handling.

I have a cover over the cockpit which is the usual heavy canvas supported by 7/8" stainless tubing. The advantage of canvas - that it can be folded up - really isn't valid because the frame doesn't fold easily. It is a permanent structure made of a temporary material.

I thought that I might remove the canvas, and replace it with solar cells. The cells come in an aluminum frame, and could be mounted above the bows using cable clamps or some such to hold them in place. Appearance would be a little odd, so i would make trim out of starboard to put around the edges to fair into the lines of the boat. A piece of material snapped up from underneath would finish the underside.

Cost looks like about $2500 for the cells, getting them through the Solar Energy Center in Florida. Another hundred or so for a good regulator, and I would be a chargin' fool.

I believe that I could get 100 A-hr of charge a day, most days, and that would be enough to run microwave, stovetop, reefer, and lights for a normal day.

Air conditioning is just not possible without a generator, but one can get out on the water where it is not needed. The freezer sounds nice, perhaps it too could run on the sun.