Could you sail engine-less?
For a number of years I’ve been advocating the removal of diesel engines from sailing yachts. An electric motor, solar panels and a wind generator would easily satisfy 80 per cent of sailors’ auxiliary needs. Most of the remainder could be supplemented easily by a small petrol generator tucked away in some vented cubby.
The list of positives is extensive. The total power-related costs of a mid-size cruising boat would be cut by at least two-thirds and resale values would improve because you’d never find yourself in the position of trying to sell a boat in need of an expensive engine job. Electric motors produce no vibrations so things like prop shaft seals would last practically forever.
Lester Morgan
A friend removed the engine from his 27ft sloop. He crafted a sculling oar that could move the boat at just over a knot.
I crewed in several multi-day trips with him. Not having an engine forces you to really learn how to sail or, more accurately, move the boat in all conditions by oar, currents and anchor.
An engineless skipper taps into a myriad of nearly lost skills and knowledge from the days of sail. You can’t be in a hurry. On one particularly calm summer run we made 28 miles over three days. If you are in a rush, keep the motor.
Pat Gallagher
My father owned a 30ft Graves Constellation in the 1960s. Our dock was about half a mile up the Vermilion River, Ohio, that flows into Lake Erie.
Before eventually fitting an outboard engine, we always sailed in to the dock. This involved sailing around some very wide river bends, circling most points of the compass. I was 12 years old and learned invaluable lessons that I remember to this day.
Virginia Navalinsky