Improving a boat’s ability to sail well and motor well
A few decades ago, the term motorsailer might almost have been regarded as a derogatory description of a hybrid boat that could neither motor as well as a power-boat nor sail as well as a sailboat.Motorsailers had large heavy engines, big fixed propellers, and shorter-than-usual masts, so their performance suffered under both sail and power. Of course, had you been an optimist, you could have pointed out that they sailed better than pure powerboats and motored better than pure sailboats. But the concept never really excited the popular imagination.
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| This John Alden–designed 1930s-era motorsailer looks comfortable and seaworthy. The rig is well balanced and easy to handle, and the long, narrow hull will move easily with the single 165-horsepower diesel specified in the plans. |
Since that time, marine auxiliary engines have been getting lighter and more powerful, so that many of today’s fine auxiliary sailing boats would almost qualify as motorsailers.One classic definition of a motorsailer by the naval architect Francis S. Kinney appears in Skene’s
Elements of Yacht Design. Kinney painted a background of a wind blowing at force 6 (22 to 27 knots) and raising a short, choppy sea. If a sailboat could make way to windward quicker under shortened sail than under her motor alone, she was an auxiliary sailing yacht, Kinney decided. If she could reach her destination to windward more quickly by continuing under power alone, she was a motorsailer.It’s probable that many modern yachts with high-powered auxiliaries would fall into the latter category, and it’s almost certain that today’s real motorsailers— with their feathering or self-pitching props—both sail and power better than ever before.The old-style motorsailer had a sailboat hull with a roomy deck-house that could have been borrowed from a powerboat. She had an enclosed steering station and possibly a flying bridge. Her accommodations were roomier than a sailboat’s but more solidly built than a powerboat’s. Today’s motorsailer looks more like a pure sailboat, and her impressive ability under power alone often comes as a surprise to those who challenge her.See also
Yacht Design.
