[PUP] Motor+sailer vs Motor-or-Sailer

[Scott E. Bulger]

Ken asked:  I'm assuming that power boats are not designed to be
great sail boats, but why wouldn't 2 knots be a step up from 0 knots? Your
posting seems to imply that such a setup would be un-maneuverable.

Scott replies (clearly with no credibility, so he waits anxiously for Bob or
others to confirm or correct):  Yes Ken, it would be virtually
un-maneuverable.  This isn't me talking it's Beebe and others.  For a
downwind/trade wind route, you might be able to move the boat.  Perhaps a
kite could get you 20 to 40 degrees off dead downwind (despite 100 google
attempts and an hour of reading, I couldn't garner any info on the
non-downwind performance of the kites?)?  Hell, if you go long enough your
going to hit a continent someplace, so maybe that's the rational of the kite
or sale for backup?

The point of a Diesel Passagemaker is you put the effort to back the
propulsion up via a second source of POWER.  Your a floating storage tank
full of dead dinosaurs anyway, so put it to use.  If lightning is your
primary concern (a fear of mine as well, perhaps irrational, like my fear of
pirates, arrg) put some time into a way to isolate the wing engine.  Crap,
all it needs is a way to turn it over and fire and a supply of fuel and it's
going to turn the prop.  A single surviving 8D and a set of jumper cables
should get the thing to fire.   Your hand held GPS and sole surviving laptop
with your back up charts is going to get you where you need/want to be.

Assuming no one is hurt in the strike, hopefully your biggest problem is the
watermaker and freezer are dead so you have to ration water and eat
everything before it spoils, then it's top ramen for the rest of the journey
to port.  Of course this may mean, if you have elected to have a non
hydraulic steering system (damn those copper flair fittings!) and it's dead
you might be standing in the cockpit steering the rudder by hand  :)

Point is, your not praying a boat comes along so they salvage you and lay
claim to your beautiful boat.  Be it a genset with PTO swinging your prop or
a wing engine with a nastily asymmetric thrust that causes you to steer with
the rudder at 20 degrees, some form of ozone depleting, global warming
contributing, sooty internal combustion process is going to bring you home.
And Thank the Gods for that!

Scott.

Now this is a reasonble discussion!