I have read lots of posts about what size motor to put on a daysailer. The answers vary quite a bit but people's sailing conditions and skill also varies quite a bit. To give as much information as I can think of: We are new to sailing and have a 16’ 9” Spindrift Daysailer which is a slightly modified O’Day DS1. We sail on the Finger Lakes in areas that are 1 mile or less in width and surrounded by hills. Most of the time, the wind runs up the length of the lake. The launch is at the South end so most days we have to sail against the wind to get back to the launch. We sail for fun, not for how fast we can go.
Last year while sailing, an unforecast strong wind came up creating quite a bit of chop. The wind was so strong that we needed to reef the sail and try to sail back to the launch. We spent 3 hours tacking into the wind and gained a total of about 150’ even with sometimes trying to also run the 55 lb thrust electric motor. Eventually we had to get towed in by some nice people who said they had to tow in other sail boats and that the previous year they had the same problem when sailing. If the lake had been wider than 3/4 of a mile at that point, we might have been able to do better.
Do people feel that a Tohatsu 3.5 HP with I assuime a 20” shaft would be enough to fight the wind and larger waves we were experiencing or should we be looking at the 4 or 5 HP? The 3.5 HP would weigh about the same as the marine battery and electric motor we are using. I will give some specs:
3.5 HP 85.5 cc engine, 41 lbs, Forward and Neutral $1214 list
4 HP 123 cc engine, 57 lbs, Forward - Neutral - Reverse $1424 list
5 HP 123 cc engine, 55 lbs, Forward - Neutral - Reverse, Remote Fuel Tank (which is why I assume it weighs less) $1663 list
Any advice from your experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ken