Here's a site that may be of interest. Joe ----- Original Message ----- From: Tom Jenkins To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 2:35 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: Propane Conversion kits for Outboard outboards Rik, I too thank you for passing this along. You gotta love those inventors. Now all Duckworks needs to do is fabricate a padded oarlock assembly that clamps on the transom, and sell it as a unit with the Scullmatix. Failing that, I might even try to whip up a version myself. Tom On Nov 26, 2012, at 6:39 PM, Rik Sandberg wrote:
Hi guys,
You can get that sculling fixtureJoe mentioned from Duckworks. It's called a Scullmatix
Here's a link
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/gear/scullmatix/index.htm
Rik
On Mon, Nov 26, 2012 at 1:58 PM, Joe Murphy <seagray@embarqmail.com> wrote:
The Pardey's have a chapter in one of their books about sculling. If they can push a 5 ton cutter I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to push a Monty. I saw a device to make a sculling oar from a long oar. It consisted of two 6" tubes. They were welded on top of each other with a spacer that offset the two tubes by about 20-25 degrees. The idea is to take an oar and cut it in two. Put the blade end in the lower part and the handle end in the top part. This does two things. First, you don't have to hold the oar as high as you would with one straight oar. And secondly, the space between the tow creates the right twist. Another consideration is the chinese yuloh. Although I have no idea where to find one and I have no woodworking shop, not to mention skills to make one..... Joe ----- Original Message ----- From: Tom Jenkins To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 2:13 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: Propane Conversion kits for Outboard outboards
Joe,
Good news about "paddle-ability" of the 17. I don't carry paddles so I have not tried it, but I might just give it a go. I always think in terms of doing the paddling alone, which would be more of a challenge, so I have confined myself to sculling with the rudder when the distance was small and the need was great. Too bad someone with engineer/fabrication talent doesn't fashion a real sculling oar attachment to the Ruddercraft unit, since sculling has moved small working sailboats for thousands of years.
Tom M17 Scintilla
On Nov 26, 2012, at 9:04 AM, Joe Murphy wrote:
A while back I took my OB in the shop to be fitted with an alternator. Not wanting to miss a great sail day a friend of mine and I took SeaFrog out. We used the oars from a dinghy. I was amazed how easy it was for the two of us to paddle out of the inlet to the ICW wth the tiller tamer locked down. I still have the OB but it's nice to know that these 17's can be rowed so easily. BTW, I nixed the alternator after the mechanic told me I'd be very disappointed. He said I'd be better off with a 5w solar panel. Joe SeaFrog M17 ----- Original Message ----- From: Tom Jenkins To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2012 5:36 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: Propane Conversion kits for Outboard outboards
Jim,
Unless one frequents waters where the winds and currents require more than a few miles of motoring at speeds over 3 knots, I suspect that my Torqeedo Travel 1003 electric outboard is about as green and practical as you are going to get for at least several years. I carry an extra battery, plus a small inverter to run the unit off my main battery, but I have never not used either backup for lake or bay travel. A much cheaper solution is a regular trolling motor, but the lead-acid battery that powers them is much less efficient than my lithium-ion in terms of energy stored vs. weight.
As for the internal combustion engine, I hate the smell, noise, occasional unreliability, and the care one must use to avoid explosion, but, if one must have the extra energy stored onboard, propane holds little advantage over gasoline in carbon emissions (2.3 carbon atoms per hydrogen atom vs. about 2.6). Methane is a marginally better (4 H per C), but no one would contemplate bringing liquified natural gas aboard a small sailboat.
I know that a few other boaters use Torqeedos or trolling motors, so it would be nice to hear from you out there about your experiences so everyone could use the information. I generally sail when the slightest breeze is up, so I have not probed the distance limits of my gear, but someone might have better data that all of us could profit from.
As a final comment, I have noticed that sailboaters can run out of gas through miscalculation, and their motors can quit due to dirty fuel or the like, while electric motors can be recharged with a solar cell if one has the time--my point being that chosing one or the other for range vs reliability, etc., requires balancing a number of variables.
Tom Jenkins Montgomery 17 Scintilla
On Nov 24, 2012, at 9:08 PM, jimdahlquist@gmail.com wrote:
No question that is right. So I will suffer my present motor for another year. I have plenty more to do. I have noticed some small 4-cycles that weigh less than my 20 year old 60 pound 2-cycle. Maybe by then there will technology to enable me to forget about combustion altogether. Miracles have been alluded to.
JimD
Sent from Windows Mail
From: August Trometer Sent: November 24, 2012 4:09 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: Re: M_Boats: Propane Conversion kits for Outboard outboards
The common generator for that is the Honda (4 stroke).
Sent from my iPhone August & Susan Trometer 239 849 4681 North Fort Myers, FL atrometer@gmail.com
On Nov 24, 2012, at 1:51 PM, Rik Sandberg <sanderico1@gmail.com> wrote:
Jim,
Don't think that's gonna work too well. On a two stroke, the fuel is also the lubricant (gas and oil mixed) I'm not sure how you would get the vaporous propane to carry the oil into the engine.
Every propane generator conversion I've seen has a 4 stroke engine. Lubricant is in the crankcase. Big difference.
I think if you want a propane outboard, the only way it's gonna work is to start with a 4 stroke. Hopefully somebody can prove me wrong.
Rik
On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 12:35 PM, Jim Dahlquist < jimdahlquist@gmail.com>wrote:
I have seen a video on youtube showing how to convert a portable generator from gasoline to propane. Now I would like to explore the idea of converting my old Suzuki DT4 2-cycle outboard if I could find a compatible kit. I think this would be cleaner and would not require any winter maintenance. So far I haven't been able to find anything. Maybe because generators are way too popular right now. But I wanted to at least get this idea on the list.
BTW: It appears that searching the archives requires downloading the full data first. Is that correct?
Jim Dahlquist jimdahlquist@gmail.com
--
"Since this is an era when many people are concerned about 'fairness' and 'social justice,' what is your 'fair share' of what someone else has worked for?" …. Thomas Sowell
--
"Since this is an era when many people are concerned about 'fairness' and 'social justice,' what is your 'fair share' of what someone else has worked for?" …. Thomas Sowell