I can't imagine using a 5hp motor on an M15
I couldn't argue that you're wrong, it did make things a little bum-heavy. The adjective "manageable" was the best I could come up with, but it wasn't terrible. There's a picture at http://www.angelfire.com/art/2by4/Boats/index.html ("Umiaq" in the left-hand menu) showing us at anchor with that motor. I think it's 62 pounds, and it was great for towing skiers. I absolutely agree on sailing wherever you can -- the older engine was unreliable and the sails sometimes had to go up in a hurry. Unfortunately, with a larger boat (Vancouver 25) power boaters tend to get rather, um... "freaked" when they see a boat under sail in close quarters. Seeing a large fleet of J-24s coming back to the club in (crowded) Spa Creek Annapolis after a race (none of them with engines) is a real pleasure as you see how well it can be done. My dad never had an auxiliary engine in his life, even on the Thames barge, but that was a long time (40+ years) ago. Giles