Message 10 of 10
Posted by member David evans on Sunday 10 April 2016

Hello Clive and Simon, thank you for your input. Always have been a belt and braces man. I have just left rag n' stick so Clives' suggestion of mast and square sail, whilst extremely well thought out is a bit of a nono as SWMBOs' sun bathing area would be severely affected. I did clamp piece of plywood with a sculling notch to the transom. "Alice" sculled quite easily, but the bow kept blowing downwind even in the lightest breeze. Not enough boat in the water! I could do, as the Dutch do, and fit drop down lee boards but this a bit OTT. I am presently trying to make a temporary rowlock support to test the practicality of rowing. I don't want to drill unnecessary holes in the toe rail or coaming if rowing is not practical. As to an auxiliary outboard alongside the Yamaha, if the Yamaha was'nt bolted in the centre of the transom then that would be possible, but do I need the extra weight aft. I would still have problems accessing it. Would it constantly drag in the water? The outboard agent who supplied the Yamaha spoke most derogatively about the reliability and viability of auxiliary "transom hangers." The good news is that the price I sold the Suzuki aux for, will give me 4 years o Sea Start cover!! regards, David

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Message 8 of 10
Posted by member Clive Ffitch on Friday 8 April 2016

Hi David, Without wishing to add to the gloom on the rowing front, I suspect that to get any joy at all, you would need significantly long oars - sweeps - perhaps most of the 20ft length of your Fishing 20, to get any headway at all with any realistic level of effort. Even given that you were able to stow two such sweeps anywhere practical, I think perhaps you would get better luck from rigging one sweep as a jury mast, rigging the other as a yard to swing up the mast, and with an old duvet sheet lashed on as a makeshift square sail. By the time you had that lot rigged, especially in the Solent with wind and tide and a liberal amount of nautical cursing, and were lined up in any vaguely useful direction, you would probably already find yourself sitting firmly on the putty. Or worse. But enough of that! As a thoroughly more practical suggestion, what about using the trick used in small tenders sometimes, of using a tiller extention - much like a peice of plastic white plumbing pipe rammed over the tiller/thottle arm of your aux outboard? Or something a bit more technically robust, that effectively gives you control in "get out of trouble" situations, from the safety of the cockpit, with minimal time spent in the outboard well starting the aux o/b and attaching the tiller extention. The gear shift may even be accessible in such situations (other than close quarters manoeuvering) with your telescopic boat hook or whatever! We have a Family Pilot which is easier to get access to an aux outboard, but from what I have seen of a local Fishing 20, this may be feasible given access angles available from cockpit to transom? Might be worth more of a thought? Hope that helps just a little - get out of trouble plans are always worth having. Regards, Clive

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Message 6 of 10
Posted by member David evans on Wednesday 16 March 2016

Hello folks, thank you for your input, most helpful. Mike, imagine a Venetian gondolier with two oars, standing, rowing forward. Fortunately no narrow canals here. Due to advancing years, I am converting back to power from rag and stick. One of my previous boats was a six ton sailing cutter, I rigged a sculling oar over the transom which gave me over two knots in calm conditions. The cutter had a long keel which gave her directional stability. The Hardy, shallow draft fwd, might be more difficult to control when sculling, as the bow would tend to wander off. But definitely worth a try. My previous boats have all been built "for comfort not for speed" so going uptide was never an option. I gave up"rush n' urry" some years ago. The biggest problem is where to stow the 8 foot oars. On the cutter the oar slid up the backstay, the Hardy's cockpit is not quite long enough. Anyone else want to put their "oar" into the discussion, please do. regards, David.

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Message 4 of 10
Posted by member mike insall on Saturday 12 March 2016

Yes, I've seen it done in Africa and the Far East, but only on very small lightweight craft! Not sure it would work on a Hardy!! What would be ideal would be one of those very long shaft outboards they use in Thailand. Then you could have the engine well inboard!! As for normal rowing, I'm not sure, but it's an interesting thought! Mike

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Message 2 of 10
Posted by member mike insall on Saturday 12 March 2016

Hi David, my immediate thought is of trying to row a 20 BACKWARDS! I would think that would be VERY difficult! Have you perhaps thought of an electric OB? Where abouts are you in the Solent? I understand what you say about just getting out of trouble, but rowing against the tide in the Solent could be almost impossible at times! I have a Suzuki 2.5 that starts easily but only gives my Navi 17 about 3kts max! If it was too rough to go aft, I think rowing would be one heck of a problem!! So, not sure of the best answer other than a good lightweight OB! Do you belong to SEASTART btw? Also, if yor are really in a bit of trouble a call to the CG will get you help PDQ either from rescue craft, or nearby craft, of which there are normlly plenty in the busy Solent! Sorry to not be of much help! I would be interested to meet up if you're around the Hamble area. Good luck in any event. Mike Maid of China

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