Comments on: From Sailboat to Motorboat https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/ Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:28:05 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: deryk_macleod@hotmail.com https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-157846 Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:28:05 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-157846 Awesome Idea! I am working on an older West Wight Potter 19, turning its semi-displacement hull into a little trawler! I ordered a few sheets of fiberglass Coosa board, several gallons of epoxy and different weight cloth, and 6 RV 22″ x 15″ screened opening windows. I found out this week my Suzuki 25″ 9.9hp outboard finally arrived from Japan and should be in NJ in 10 days. I can’t wait till it warms up a little to get to working on my beachable trailered boat!

]]> By: Eugene Bellows https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-137795 Tue, 01 Oct 2024 19:09:54 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-137795 Great use of an older sail boat hull. I have been thinking of the same idea. Love the look of your boat, nice job.

]]> By: John Nystrom https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-130327 Tue, 30 Jul 2024 14:10:01 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-130327 In reply to Wills Travels.

I’ve long contemplated the same sort of conversion, but want to be able to beach, so am leery of any protruding keel. Plan is on hold for now, as I’m acquiring a Bolger Micro this summer, so anticipate sailing for a bit more time. I’ve leaned towards MacGregors, Aquarius, or Catalina 22, but am open for suggestions. Maybe someday I’ll just have to convert the Micro in spite of the keel.

]]> By: Wills Travels https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-129203 Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:00:49 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-129203 I’m currently doing something similar. I recently rescued a 1976 Balboa 26′ SK, a boat I have always wanted. After a few months of considering what to do with it, I decided to build a motorsailer. The foredeck and part of the cabin top were delaminated from water intrusion to the core, so I’ve cut it all out internally by removing the interior ceiling. It was after this operation that I decided the boat needed more headroom. I’ve removed all the stainless and teak and am now planning my new cabin top/trunk structure. The aft end is getting a transom overhaul with a drop in motorwell, with a removable enclosure and a kick-up rudder mounted on center. The plan is to redo the interior layout with a galley to starboard and keep the original placement of the dinette but add some new woodwork and cushions. I’ve removed all the old bulkheads and knees that join the cabin top to the hull. It’s still going to have a functional sail rig but shorter and with less sail area. The original swing keel is getting removed altogether in lieu of two short bilge keels and I’m filling the old SK trunk in with a slurry mixture and glassing it over to keep about the same weight. The boat should float in less than two feet of water and launched and retrieved from a flat trailer. The boat is slated to be my Great Loop cruiser, as I bought a few acres of property on Kentucky Lake, which is on the Loop. I’m planning on spending my days exploring the estuaries and tributaries in that area for the next decade or so. When I’m finished, I really want to build a Mustelid—I’m in love with that boat—but found it just as I was getting the Balboa ready for it’s trip home…so many boats and so little time.

]]> By: Gavin Watson https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-129082 Thu, 18 Jul 2024 11:26:35 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-129082 Excellent idea. Sailboats make great easily driven hulls and you can find inexpensive ones to convert.
I love your boat’s style and lines. Getting it to function well and look good is not easy.

]]> By: charles parker https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-129039 Thu, 18 Jul 2024 01:05:44 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-129039 Just love your generosity to your wife Quentin…Your own snoring parlor…

]]> By: Jim Jones https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-129037 Wed, 17 Jul 2024 23:53:30 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-129037 Great job, Quentin. We are in the same camp – I repurposed Independent Shipwrights’ 21’ hull. Modeled the Pilothouse after my 30’ Willard Pilothouse.

Here’s a picture. Love your choice of hull color as well

]]> By: Jerry Culik https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-129032 Wed, 17 Jul 2024 20:27:27 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-129032 Thank you, Quentin, Ingrid, and Jenny. Fantastic job, and great article that is really inspiring, especially for showing how to re-purpose a sound sailboat hull. I haven’t even finished my little 14-foot conversion, and now I want a bigger one — with big windows like yours!

]]> By: Kaan Akyol https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-128905 Mon, 15 Jul 2024 11:44:30 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-128905 Love the boat; small, simple, and economical. I want a similar setup, a small powerboat with displacement-hull speeds and a small sailing dinghy on top.

]]> By: Mike Robinson https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/from-sailboat-to-motorboat/#comment-128284 Sun, 07 Jul 2024 18:38:37 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=184554#comment-128284 This is a great idea and practical.

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