>>>>Has anyone considered a motor well with the motor fixed and using the rudder for steering? I would think that perhaps the motor ( a 2-3 hp) could be lifted partway up when not in use.
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Depends on what you mean by a "motor well." I've seen at least two PocketShips with the outboard hung right on the transom, which requires that you cut a big notch in the transom and transom skirt. The advantage to this is that the motor and its controls are a few inches closer to the skipper---you don't need to lean as far astern. The disadvantage of this location is that the rudder can now swing into the propeller blade. I consider this a critical disadvantage. I've owned two sailboats where this was possible; both acquired deep gouges in their rudders. Murphy's Law requires that no matter what gadgetry you deploy to try to hard-lock the rudder from hitting the prop, at some point it won't be in place when it needs to be. Also, limiting the swing of the rudder while you're under power is a bad idea. The outboard is usually running when you maneuver in confined spaces, not an occasion when you want limited rudder movement.
If you sling the outboard on a transom bracket, as it is on mine, then the rudder swings freely at all times. It's also a zillion times easier to mount a bracket than it is to carve up the transom. The disadvantages are that the outboard is further from the center of gravity, increasing the moment of inertia slightly, and that the outboard is a little more exposed.
Some big sailboats have the outboard mounted in a well, forward of the transom. This is not practical in PocketShip. There isn't enough room in the cockpit, the buoyancy loss is too great in a boat this size, and the parasitic drag from the opening in the bottom would be serious. (The lower unit of the outboard dragging in the water can erase 25% of PocketShip's speed.)
You can buy an outboard bracket off the shelf. I built mine:
http://www.clcboats.com/shopcam/20090824.htmlI made my bracket about a half-inch too short, so the lower unit just touches the water when the outboard is stowed. No real drag under sail, but lubberly. Another half-inch and the lower unit would lift well clear of the water. We can all agree that engines on sailboats are an eyesore.
- PocketShip Outboard.JPG (1.21 MiB) Viewed 6802 times