Chris 249 said..
Yes, the fact that he had no sails ready to go and was towing even one dinghy shows terrible judgement.
On the other hand, from personal experience a good outboard can be an excellent way of powering a boat even in routine and significant offshore use IF the setup is done the right way. It shouldn’t be ruled out as a realistic way of re-powering an older boat. A good outboard well setup would often be far safer than an ageing diesel in poor condition.
Outboard in a well is a good set-up, the rudder can be behind the prop, plus there is a degree of motor swivel available, so good directional control. I sailed my Bluebird 22 offshore and across bars with that system with no problems. On the other hand, even with the correct set up on a transom mounted outboard, I had an embarrassing failure on the Pittwater bar on a fine, windless day, when the lumpy sea lifted the stern out of the water, the engine revved high, the stern dropped, and the prop hit the water and sheared the safety shear pin. Even though I had a spare shear pin, there was no way to fit it on the water. Got a tow back to the ramp, so no real problem, just teasing from my family. Would be different if we were crossing a real bar.
