convert row boat to sailboat

 Strawlering

It’s amazing how high fuel prices foster ingenuity, especially where fuel economy is concerned. Take that title, above, for example. What the heck is strawlering anyway? An innovative solution to high fuel prices? A cheaper way to go boating? Complete clap-trap?

Strawlering is the conversion of a sailboat into a power boat, a strawler. Sound crazy? Well maybe it is but there are a small but growing number of folks attempting it. Don’t even go here unless you are handy with tools and somewhat fearless.

What’s the advantage? Sailboat hulls are easily driven with low horsepower requirements. As such, they usually get better fuel economy than their more powerful brothers. So, is there a strawler in your future? Probably not. All the ones that I have seen are the work of individuals and have varying degrees of success.

I visited one successful example at the Chesapeake City Dock recently. The boat, M/V Winnie the Pooh, started life as a Heritage West Indies 46 Ketch. Mark, the owner/converter, bought the boat as hurricane salvage and carted it to his home in Florida. After 4.5 years, $50K and about 9,000 hours of work, Mark has a brand new trawler with a 20-year-old hull.

Mark gutted the center cockpit sailboat and installed new wiring, new plumbing, a new engine and drive train and built a pilot house over the center cockpit. He reasoned that sailboats of the size he was interested in were too hard for him and his partner to sail. New trawlers in the 40-45 foot range were way too expensive for Mark’s budget. Having completed the conversion and cruising the boat seasonally for several years, Mark is totally satisfied. When I met up with him in Chesapeake City, he was on his annual cruise away from the hot Florida summer weather. A true cruiser, he wasn’t sure how far north he was going or where exactly he was headed.

One of the critical design issues in converting a sailboat to power cruising is the relationship between the height, weight and steadying forces of the sail and the ballast. In Mark’s case, he cut down the mainmast and moved it aft to hold a steadying sail. The mast is pivoted at its base so it can quickly be lowered for passage under low bridges. Mark also cut down the keel, reducing the ballast weight to compensate for losing the majority of the mast. This turned out to be a real surprise for Mark. Cutting down lead keels to reduce weight of draft is not uncommon. You fire up your trusty chainsaw and hack a bit off the bottom. Mark learned the hard way that this boat was designed with either a centerboard or fixed shallow draft keel. Both lead keels were the same, with a slot in the middle. The manufacturer filled the centerboard slot to add ballast to compensate for the lack of a center board. Mark assumed they filled the slot with more lead. Wrong! They filled it with concrete, which Mark’s chainsaw soon choked on. Winnie the Pooh is the biggest conversion I’ve come across. Most have been smaller boats, in the 22 to 26 foot range. Some have been motorsailers converted to power only use. Others have been gutted and rebuilt. So, should you rush out and get a new sailboat to convert? Obviously not. This type of conversion is best suited to a hull that is on its last legs; in sound condition but unloved and ready for the chainsaw. Face it, unless you do a bang-up job on the conversion, you won’t make any money when you go to sell it. If you do a bad job, you may still have to chainsaw it. By the way, there is no way you’ll be able to afford to have somebody do the work for you. If you’ve got those kind of boat bucks, you can by a new or used trawler. So does such a conversion make sense? For the vast majority of boaters, not really. However, there is always that small group that marches to a different beat. That’s one thing that makes the boating business and lifestyle so interesting.

Now that I’m thinking about it, Daydream is 26 feet long with a draft of about three feet. I could reinforce the transom and add a 15 horsepower, 4-stoke outboard, build a pilothouse and cut down the mast. Hmm, it might work. What do you think?

Paul Esterle Freelance Boating Writer

Capt'n Pauley's Place The Virtual Boatyard View a digital edition of Nor'easter Magazine on our website www.noreastermagazine.com

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Converting a Sailboat to a powerboat

Discussion in ' Boat Design ' started by fpjeepy05 , Sep 22, 2021 .

fpjeepy05 Senior Member

I'm interested in converting a 17-21 centerboard dinghy to a powerboat. Ideally, I would like to make 16 knots, s/l ratio ~ 3.5-4 so it would be mostly planning, but most of the boats in this size range are displacement or semi-displacement. So my hypothetical question is... What modifications would you make to the hull would you make to maximize performance and minimize cost and complexity. For the purpose of this thread assume all other boats have been burned to ashes and you will be shot for suggesting starting from scratch. (I know it is a terrible idea, but I don't need you to tell me) I'm thinking trim tabs, interceptors, or wedges to flatten the affective buttock angle, but I want to hear your ideas.  

TANSL Senior Member

Do you have a body lines plan that you can show us? It would be important to be able to propose valid ideas / solutions.  

TANSL said: ↑ Do you have a body lines plan that you can show us? It would be important to be able to propose valid ideas / solutions. Click to expand...

duluthboats Senior Dreamer

Most sail boats don't like to plane. And it takes lots of extra hp. If you want a planning boat, start with the best planning hull you can afford.  

Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

Similar concept. super-size 15'4" Grumman SportBoat into 23'6" SportsUtilityVessel? https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/super-size-154-grumman-sportboat-into-236-sportsutilityvessel.66042/ Maybe find a beat up MacGregor 26 designed for big outboard then cut it down.  

Mr Efficiency Senior Member

No doubt if you trawl through enough of the "prospects" you have listed, you will find one that is "least bad". Wider and flatter at the stern would probably help, but one aspect you have to clarify, is what is the motive power to be supplied by, inboard or outboard ?  

fredrosse USACE Steam

I have converted a 14 ft O'Day Javelin sailboat to a planing inboard motorboat. I wold have preferred the 17 ft O'Day Davsailer, and both of them are planing sailboats. With a 14 x 17 three bladed prop driven by a 13 horsepower inboard IC engine I got 15 MPH, and the boat behaved well, in spite of several "nay-sayers" who thought the conversion would not work. While far less than ideal, I am satisfied with the conversion, which required about two weeks spare time to cut out the centerboard well, and install a 1 inch diameter propeller shaft, plus two aluminum bilge keels for stability, mated to wood engine stringers running the length of most of the hull. A rudder clamps onto the transom, much smaller than the original. I see no reason why an outboard would not work well here also.  

Mr Efficiency said: ↑ No doubt if you trawl through enough of the "prospects" you have listed, you will find one that is "least bad". Wider and flatter at the stern would probably help, but one aspect you have to clarify, is what is the motive power to be supplied by, inboard or outboard ? Click to expand...

duluthboats said: ↑ Most sail boats don't like to plane. And it takes lots of extra hp. If you want a planning boat, start with the best planning hull you can afford. Click to expand...

fpjeepy05 said: ↑ Why do you say wide and flat? I thought narrow would be better and flatness seems less important than buttock angle. No? I thought an outboard would be easier Click to expand...

Mr Efficiency said: ↑ Narrow stern will kill any chance of speed, I would say, it will squat horribly well short of your target speed, but these boats will all be similar shape unless they were designed to plane in the sail mode. That sort of boat would be the best prospect I think. Click to expand...

You are getting the double whammy, a narrowing stern and rising buttocks, with non-planing sailboats, those bartenders actually might have been a better low speed conveyance than a typical transom-ended planing boat. As for the outboard power, there is the problem of not being able to run the prop lower without a lot of drag on the leg, and also interference from any keel in front of it, that all needs to be allowed for.  

Mr Efficiency said: ↑ You are getting the double whammy, a narrowing stern and rising buttocks, with non-planing sailboats, those bartenders actually might have been a better low speed conveyance than a typical transom-ended planing boat. As for the outboard power, there is the problem of not being able to run the prop lower without a lot of drag on the leg, and also interference from any keel in front of it, that all needs to be allowed for. Click to expand...

cracked_ribs Senior Member

I don't think I saw a power requirement mentioned...what's the max HP? Or planned engine, if there is one? I haven't been through all the proposed boats but just looking at three or four, I see a lot of hulls that will squat like crazy and dig deep holes if you try to get them to that speed. The rising buttocks especially seems very, very difficult to address. The modification I'd suggest would be to cut the latter half of the running surface off, and replace it with a running surface designed to plane, whether monohedral or "warped" plane.  

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fpjeepy05 said: ↑ You got shot. Sorry Click to expand...

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Converting a sailboat into a power boat.

• Thread starter MoonSailer
• Start date Aug 8, 2010
• Forums for All Owners
• Ask All Sailors

Thinking about an efficent trawler that sips diesel a sailboat cames to mind. Remove the mast and cut off most of the keel then add a steering staion protected from the weather. The result might be an efficent powerboat that is comfortable ,efficent and capable of going under bridges and into shallow water. Has anyone made such changes and how did it work out???  

Gulfstar had a 36, and maybe a 40ish that came either way from the factory. 36 sailboat didn't sail all that well. Motored like crazy with a 120 hp Ford Lehman in it.  

Hermit Scott

I've seen it done and the result usually looks like garbage. If it didn't, of course, it would have been cheaper to just buy a trawler in the first place. Besides, most sailboats of modern vintage motorsail at trawler speeds to begin with, so what would you gain?  

You could shorten the mast to the equivilent of a double reefed main. Leave the keel alone but find a boat with a shallow draft. Motoring with a small sail is a much nicer ride than with no sail.  

The wost times of my boat life have been motoring on a sailboat when you could sail as the motion is terrible with the sails down  

I'm with you on this. There's thousands of miles of river systems and sheltered waterways there need to be checked out. Besides you'll have more scenery while you're cruising. Someone posted a short time ago about doing this on a lake up in Canada. I tried to find the thread but couldn't- I'm in a bit of a hurry right now. Go for it. Rich  

Just by a trawler All the benefits of a sailboat under power AND some flat floor space, not so much rolling in the seaway...... That was what trawlers where designed for. Cruising under power.  

No mast and shortened keel in heavy seas does not sound like a fun time to me. I have owned a 37 foot Egg Harbor. I enjoy the roominess and comforts of a large power boat, but I love to sail. There is something about how a sailboat moves through the water under sail that a power boat can never do for me. I would think it best to have a boat specifically designed for it's purpose.  

Sounds like our Beach House. Uses a little over 2 gallons per hour for our Ford Lehman 120 HP, draws 3 1/2 feet, plenty of room and we can still carry a sail. Chuck  

You've got a lot of nerve, Moonsailor. What you are asking is sacriligious, almost profane...... this is a sailboat owners' forum, man. If you want to know whether a sailboat can be successfully converted to a powerbore/trawler you need to ask a POWERBOAT owner..... there you might find someone who actually would be demented enough to make such a conversion and find others who might mysteriously think it's cool. You know, of course, that even thinking of going over to powerboats automatically destroys any credibility you may have had on this sailing forum.... and once you actually make the conversion... you're 86'd. heh heh  

Hermit Scott said: I'm kinda hoping to dismast my C30 so I can do that very thing. Click to expand

I am sure this is just a joke.  

Just thinking out loud. But talking to trawler people they use a lot of diesel. My sailboat uses less than 1/2 gallon/hr. I agree that sailing is the best but you can't sail up rivers and there can be so many bridges. Sailboats in general have very efficent hulls for a small diesel.  

Seems to me, and I'm certainly not an expert, that sailboats would make lousy motorboats, with possibly McGregors being excepted. The hull designs are going to be different. Almost any powerboat is going to be at some point on its hull flatter than a sailboat. Conversely, a sailboat's hull will be more rounded. That would make for an uncomfortably rolly ride, especially in any swells. By the way, I have it both ways. I've sailed for almost 30 years, and I love my fishing. Lost a Santana 20 in Katrina, and my wife and I are on the verge of getting another sailboat (after hurricane season ends). But I love my Whaler and going fishing in the marsh. I think here in South Louisiana, we don't care which way you go, it's being on the water that counts.  

Those trawlers that have a single diesel engine do not consume much fuel (1-2 gal/hr). It is a much better way to go and you may have something that someone is will to buy from you when you decide boating is not in the cards any longer. These boats will out run a sail boat and have all of the comfort that you may expect in a trawler (not a sailboat).  

Brian M H23

Under "hull speed" , the shape of the hull doesn't matter much for fuel consumption. Sailboats get good mileage because they motor slowly - but so would a powerboat, if they had an engine that ran efficiently at low power output. It's not the hull. "There is something about how a sailboat moves through the water under sail that a power boat can never do for me." ---> A sailboat under motor with no sails doesn't move through the water like a sailboat. I've got it!!! A sailboat hull with no rig and a canting keel. Then you can be heeled over!  

Brian M H23 said: Under "hull speed" , the shape of the hull doesn't matter much for fuel consumption. Sailboats get good mileage because they motor slowly - but so would a powerboat, if they had an engine that ran efficiently at low power output. It's not the hull. Click to expand

Build your own. How about a catamaran based design with a small diesel in each hull and a short mast on each hull? You could have good bridge clearance, drop the masts in a pinch and exceed hull speed no sweat. Have your cake and eat it too.  

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Our kits fold to the size of a set of golf clubs and fit in your vehicle’s trunk.  We offer the largest selection of extremely portable sailboats and sail kits anywhere.  In addition to open fishing boat rigs, we also offer sail rigs for  , , and , as well as  ,  , and   and  .  And we offer   at deep discount prices. A SailboatsToGo sail kit attaches to your open boat with no tools required.  Easy on ... easy off.  It sails crosswind, downwind and tacks into the wind. 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Our sail rigs are made tough, to stand up to wind, waves, and salt water.  All parts are made from corrosion resistant materials like anodized aluminum, high-performance plastics, and stainless steel.  You will be impressed with the quality.  Read our testimonials page to see what other buyers say. The Components The sail kit is complete with everything needed to sail upwind, crosswind, and downwind: Frame, Steering, Mast, Spars, Sail, Ropes, and Leeboards. More details about each of these parts. A sturdy T-shaped front frame made of anodized aluminum attaches to the front section of your boat and the mast step (socket) and leeboards mount to this frame. The mast is inserted into the mast step. The spars are mounted on the mast using a mast slide that allows the sail to pivot around the mast. Leeboards snap into the sides of the front frame. Leeboards allow you to sail crosswind and upwind as well as downwind. Leeboard perform the same function as a centerboard or  keel  in  this respect and they work just as well.  Any of these devices is nothing but a vertical fin in the water making it easier for the boat to go  forward and harder for it to slip sideways. You do not need to fiddle with the leeboards while sailing -- just leave them hanging down. You can sail right into the beach and the leeboards will kick up by themselves. Steering on the standard version of the rig is by a special wide-bladed ruddering oar, which pivots off a crossbar that clamps to your boat near the transom.  This rear crossbar has pivot holes that accept the pivot pin attached to the ruddering oar, so you can steer from any position -- center, port side, starboard side, or in between, just by repositioning the oar.  You can have a motor in the center and still steer off one side.   Steering from an off-center position makes no difference to the handling.   Get a second steering oar, put one on each side, and then you can switch to rowing to propel the boat in an instant, using the steering oars as rowing oars. Optional kick-up rudder takes the place of the standard steering oar assembly.  You can still beach the boat with rudder mounted, because of the automatic kick-up blade.  Rudder is the most effortless steering method, but a steering oar provides much more control if you lose forward motion or for quick turns in tight spaces. The Porta-Bote adapter kit adds a second crossbar to the front frame and special mounting plates (J brackets) for those boats that lack a gunwale for the kit to clamp onto, like the Porta Bote. Works on any Porta-Bote model.   Simpler, less expensive, and more portable than any other sail kit for the Porta-Bote. Worried about stability? Add our stabilizer floats . The float arms snap into the front crossbar, but most dinghies don't need them. 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About the Porta-Bote Adapter Kit This same rig will work on the Porta-Bote with the addition of another, smaller front crossbar up near the base of the mast since the bow on a Porta-Bote is open and not suitable to support the front of the front assembly.  Bolt-on J-brackets to receive our gunwale clamps are also required, since the gunwale lip on the Porta-Bote is not suitable.   The brackets stay on the boat and the rig installation and removal is still a no-tool operation.  The brackets are quite unobtrusive.  The complete set of Porta-Bote adapters consists of 3 sets of bolt-on brackets, secondary front crossbar, and additional set of small gunwale clamps for the additional crossbar. Ordering Info. Picture below shows the small bolt-on bracket and how that mates up with out gunwale clamp. Co-owners Jim Luckett and Rob Michael are passionate about extremely portable sailing.  If you need assistance shopping, sailing advice, or have a boat not listed on our site, contact us! Contact Us : Call  1-888-Joy-Sail or 1- 978-263-7598. Email: [email protected] General Ordering Information and Return Policy Sailing Safety Tips CLASSIC 9FT ROWING BOAT Just Listed Used boats for sale, skiffs / dinghies / inflatables. 426 COMMENTS How to Convert a Rowboat to a Sail Boat Category. Sail Boats. These plans are for an add-on dagger board and sail to convert a rowboat to a sailboat. From the plans: Equipped with this inexpensive portable sail rig any rowboat becomes a sailboat. While dimensions given in Fig. 2 are for a small boat having a beam of 4 ft., the length of the thwart may be varied to suit the boat at hand. Sailboats To Go » Sail kit converts your rowboat to a sailboat If you need assistance shopping, sailing advice, or have a boat not listed on our site, contact us! Contact Us: Call 1-888-Joy-Sail or 1- 978-263-7598. Email: [email protected]. This folding clamp-on sail kit converts your rowboat into a fully capable sailboat. Clamps on. Convert your rowboat or canoe into a sailboat Sailing Conversion Plans & Manual $119 USD. Includes full sized plans and manual. DXF files available for an extra $10. This add-on sailing system can be used to convert a rowboat or canoe into a sailboat using a trimaran setup. It can be built from plans. Converting wooden/row dinghy to sailboat Re: Converting wooden/row dinghy to sailboat - And what about converting aluminum boa This is not a rowboat, it is an outboard skiff. It is not the right shape for a rowboat nor a sail boat, both of which should be narrower in the transom with rocker in the keel. You would be better off building a new hull of the correct design. Convert Your Rowboat to a Sailboat From Plans Sailing Conversion Digital Plans. $89.00. The Sailing Conversion plans converts a canoe or rowboat into a sailing vessel. Originally designed for the RowCruiser, this system can be used on a wide range of canoes and rowboats. It utilizes a trimaran setup that has been carefully designed so the sliding seat is not impeded by the amas (outriggers ... Sail Your Fishing Boat with SailboatsToGo Folding Sail Rig http://www.sailboatstogo.com offers this folding sail kit to convert your rowboat into a sailboat. Includes leeboards, so you can tack upwind. Call 978 26... Affordable Sailboats You Can Build at Home Some plans can be rowing boats that can convert to sailboats; Cons. Might take a while to hear back from them, as their contact section is a little outdated; ... The time that passes for simple boat designs on small sailing vessels can be done in a few weeks. This is assuming you have everything you need and work non-stop around the clock. PDF By David Swartwout becomes a sailboat. While dimen- sions given in Fig. 2 are for a small boat having a beam of 4 ft., the length of the thwart may be varied to suit the boat at hand. With the exception of the rudder and tiller, which should be made of oak, %-in. pine will do for the leeboards and thwart. Begin by making the thwart. Rowboat->sailboat conversion For a flat bottom boat most people say there should be no lead, CE should be over CLR. Where CE and CLR are depends on the sail and board+rudder shape. For a conversion the reality looks like this: the mast is more or less fixed in place, the leeboards are not. How to Convert Boats to Sail Power Step 1. Decide how many sails you will use. Single sails are more efficient but harder to place, and put more tipping force on the boat. Multiple sails can be used to balance the boat, but require more masts and more strings to pull. For most conversions a two-sail rig such as a cat ketch is easy and convenient. Row boat conversion Three, will the boat be able to stand up to that much sail. Most real rowboats (boats designed exclusively for rowing. Not your typical small riveted aluminum outboard skiffs which are really intended to plane) tend to be somewhat tender because having a narrow flat bottom or a relatively deep V bottom makes them row easier. Sailboats You Can Row (Complete List) They offer three sailboats that you can row, which include the Norseboat 12.5, 17.5 Classic, and the 21.5. Each boat offers unique features that can suit any sailor's tastes. They all are well built and are fast, but the size could make the biggest difference. The prices range from $13,000 to $35,000 depending on size and features. converting rowing dinghy to sail Tweet. #1. converting rowing dinghy to sail. 07-09-2012, 01:56 PM. Ok so a couple years ago I built a small dinghy from the old popular mechanics plans called the junior . the boat is built out of plywood with the exterior covered in poly fiberglass . 9ft long by 4 ft wide at the widest point . pointed nose and curved bottom with a center keel ... Duckworks After 4.5 years, $50K and about 9,000 hours of work, Mark has a brand new trawler with a 20-year-old hull. Mark and Joyce aboard their converted sailboat => Trawler, M/V Winnie the Pooh. Mark gutted the center cockpit sailboat and installed new wiring, new plumbing, a new engine and drive train and built a pilot house over the center cockpit. Converting a 10' jon boat to sailboat! WORKS GREAT!! This jon boat belonged to my dad since I can remember. It has not been used in years and I needed a sailboat. I can't put a motor on it as it has no title an... RowSUP Row SUP. Convert from a stand up paddle board to a row board in minutes! At a fraction of the cost of a sculling boat our RowSUP allows you to enjoy the benefits of sculling and standup paddle boarding in one package ideal for both recreational use and learn to row programmes. Single. Durability. How to Convert a Rowboat to a Sail Boat These plans are for an add-on dagger board and sail to convert a rowboat to a sailboat. From the plans: Equipped with this inexpensive portable sail rig any rowboat becomes a sailboat. While dimensions given in Fig. 2 are for a small boat having a beam of 4 ft., the length of the thwart may be varied to suit the boat at hand. Build a Traditional Dory Row Boat Build a Traditional Dory Row Boat. Category. Sail Boats. These plans are for a building your own row boat. One day while hiking in the woods of southeastern Massachusetts with my young sons, we came to a cranberry bog reservoir and spotted a boatlike shape in its depths. We pulled it ashore and found it to be the battered remains of a little ... Rowboat to Bass Boat Conversion Part 1, simple boat into a ... Here's the first part of turning my little aluminum boat into a bass boat. This is a big project so it will have to be a multi-part series. I'm taking my old... Converting a Sailboat to a powerboat I'm interested in converting a 17-21 centerboard dinghy to a powerboat. Ideally, I would like to make 16 knots, s/l ratio ~ 3.5-4 so it would be mostly planning, but most of the boats in this size range are displacement or semi-displacement. So my hypothetical question is... What modifications would you make to the hull would you make to ... Converting a sailboat into a power boat. Aug 8, 2010. #1. Thinking about an efficent trawler that sips diesel a sailboat cames to mind. Remove the mast and cut off most of the keel then add a steering staion protected from the weather. The result might be an efficent powerboat that is comfortable ,efficent and capable of going under bridges and into shallow water. Build a Rowboat, Sail Boat, Power Boat COMBO Category. Sail Boats. We have two plans for a small boats that can be a sail boat, row boat or outboard powered. Designed for the man who likes to fish, this sturdy craft can be rowed, powered by an outboard or by an inboard, or driven by the wind. The sea skiff is quickly built over forms for construction of one or for several boats. Sailboats To Go » Sail Rigs for Dinghies and Rowboats Sailing Rigs for Fishing Boats, Rowboats, and Dinghies. Sailing kits to transform virtually any open fishing boat, rowboat or dinghy! Fast, Fun, Packable, and Quick Setup! Our kits fold to the size of a set of golf clubs and fit in your vehicle's trunk. We offer the largest selection of extremely portable sailboats and sail kits anywhere. Used Classic 9ft Rowing Boat for Sale fiberglass clinker built 12 ft (2m 85) rowing boat finished with american ash trim and stainless row housing and cleats. comes with a set of oars, boat cover, trailer, anchor and bailer. loving handmade with no time spared, l=reluctant sale as not able to use due to medical reasons. looking for a good home has a watertight non skid watertight ... catamaran gulet motorboat powerboat riverboat sailboat trimaran yacht