Re: Escargo
Bryan,
I have enjoyed cruising the English canals in a Narrowboat, so I
remember being intrigued when I saw the Escargo in MAIB. So I dug out
the Nov. 15, 2000 issue for another look. It was designed specifically
for canals. The speed limit in the English canals is usually 3 MPH. The
first thing I noticed was that the swing up Sea Cycle drives were
located a couple feet forward of the transom in wells. In that location,
the prop would always be in solid water. If I were planning to use a gas
outboard on this boat, I would modify the transom to mount the motor
directly on it. I think I would eliminate the rocker aft as well. Bolger
considered this as a potential modification of his Brick design for
better performance with a motor. It, too, has a lot of rocker.
From the pictures on your Web page, it looks like the transom would not
be hard to modify with a cut-out for the motor. You could add some skeg
shaped pontoons under the hull aft just about the profile of the skeg
that is shown in the plans, except these would be be water tight,
flotation chambers and fill clear across the hull. They would, in
effect, eliminate the aft rocker. Their buoyancy would help support the
weight of the larger motor and the fuel for it.
Just a passing thought!
Vince Chew
I have enjoyed cruising the English canals in a Narrowboat, so I
remember being intrigued when I saw the Escargo in MAIB. So I dug out
the Nov. 15, 2000 issue for another look. It was designed specifically
for canals. The speed limit in the English canals is usually 3 MPH. The
first thing I noticed was that the swing up Sea Cycle drives were
located a couple feet forward of the transom in wells. In that location,
the prop would always be in solid water. If I were planning to use a gas
outboard on this boat, I would modify the transom to mount the motor
directly on it. I think I would eliminate the rocker aft as well. Bolger
considered this as a potential modification of his Brick design for
better performance with a motor. It, too, has a lot of rocker.
From the pictures on your Web page, it looks like the transom would not
be hard to modify with a cut-out for the motor. You could add some skeg
shaped pontoons under the hull aft just about the profile of the skeg
that is shown in the plans, except these would be be water tight,
flotation chambers and fill clear across the hull. They would, in
effect, eliminate the aft rocker. Their buoyancy would help support the
weight of the larger motor and the fuel for it.
Just a passing thought!
Vince Chew