van Lent has built in the 70's a demonstration vessel for Lips Propellors to demonstrate variable pitch prop's. The vessel was originally called Rob II and later renamed to Macharius. I attach some pics of this beautiful little ship.
Macharius ex Rob II Feadship she is indeed an exquisite yacht. Do you happen to know where she is now lying as I'd like to contact the owner to get further details about her. I'm i trying to figure out what will be my next "project" will be after I finish the refit/rebuild of my 61ft 1961 Feadship Alto (ex Tiky), and a 50/50 motor sailor such as Macharius is definitley on the cards. best David
Motorsailer ? While this is a nice looking vessel design (hull, superstructure), it would be difficult to classify her as a motorsailer. At best this size rig on this displacement would only allow for steadying motion in a seaway...certainly not much forward propulsion. ...best have a look thru a few of these... http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/general-sailing-discussion/6710-motor-sailers-philip-rhodes-john-alden.html
Steadying Sail vs. Get Home Sail ...just found this thoughtful anaylsis on another forum...thought it could be appropriate to some of these discussions...brian Unlike most of the scholastic arguments on the TWL, I have some practical data on this one. For a couple of decades I owned an older Willard Horizon motorsailer. The Willard had a full keel displacement hull with gently rounded chines, a high bow and a rounded stern. The design was similar to that of small sail working boats of a century ago with all that that implies. Power was supplied by a Perkins 4-107 driving an 18" x 14" prop. It was easily driven below hull speeds and had good seakeeping qualities but tended to roll in beam seas. The boat carried 260 sq. ft. of sail on a low aspect rig, a large foresail and a smaller main. This is only about half the sail that a cruising sailboat of similar specifications would carry and the Willard could be considered to be sailing under perpetually reefed conditions. On a calm day and with a clean hull it required 22.6 hp. to drive PUFFIN at its 7 kt. hull speed. This estimate was confirmed by careful fuel consumption measurements kept over several years. The best speed I had ever gotten under sail alone in a beam wind was 5 kts. It took approximately 8.2 hp. to move the boat at this speed under power. Sailboat designers estimate that sails can produce about 1 hp. for each 27 sq. ft. of area under good conditions. The 260 sq. ft. of sail on the boat should generate about 9.6 hp. of propulsive effect. The 1.4 hp. difference between the 9.6 hp. generated and the 8.2 hp. required to move the boat at a 5 kt. speed is undoubtedly due to the drag of the large non-feathering prop. In essence, the prop drag costs 15% of the generated sail power. To make only 3 kts. in a get home sailing mode, the boat will theoretically require approximately 1.8 hp. Allowing for prop drag the sails will have to generate about 2 hp. Under good sailing conditions this would require 54 sq. ft. of sail, about that of a small sailing dinghy or Sunfish. Obviously this is for ideal conditions. To be on the safe side, a minimal get home rig for the Willard would require at least 100 sq. ft. of sail. And, since get home conditions are likely to be in horrible weather, the mast and rigging should be strong and the sail made in storm sail weight. A low aspect ratio 12' x 10' standing lugsail would suffice. Scaling this data up for a 45' LWL, 45,000 lb. displacement boat, 3 kt. get home speed, allowing for prop drag, would require 2.75 directly applied hp. under ideal conditions. This could be generated by about 75 sq. ft. of sail area. Using a safety factor of 2, the get home rig should carry 150 sq. ft., about that of a small daysailer. This might require a 20' mast and a 15' boom. As in the previous case, the rig should be suitable for storm conditions. Low aspect ratio rigs, perhaps a gaff, spritsail or lugsail would be best for carrying the maximum amount of sail on an unballasted boat. This type of sail is more efficient in beam and following winds anyway. Even a square sail would do but these require more rigging and knowledge than most of us want to burden ourselves with. I would like to point out that either of these minimal get home rigs will have very poor sailing performance by modern standards. They would parallel those of ancient Greek and Egyptian vessels. Pointing ability would be almost non existent. The boat could make progress only in beam or following winds. That's exactly the way the ancient ships sailed. They stayed at anchor or rowed until the wind was favorable. Still, with patience, a boat could cross oceans with this type of rig. Getting back to the main topic. Steadying sails are not for propulsion and are effective in stopping roll in beam winds. I have found a reefed mainsail minimizes roll when motoring in choppy conditions. For the Willard that meant about 50 ft. of sail area. The sail is sheeted in tight amidships and offers no propulsion power. The boat takes up a slight angle of heel and and the roll is attenuated. It is far more effective, of course, to actually sail using the full sail area. In that case the roll disappears almost entirely. We did most of our cruising along the Atlantic coast in a motorsailing mode, using both power and sail whenever the wind was suitable. Fuel consumption dropped to low levels and the sails stabilized the boat. Again scaling up to bigger boat size, a 75 to 100 sq. ft. sail would be effective as a steadying sail. But, if you are going to rig a sail anyway, why not go whole hog and make it a get home sail. Riding sails are useful for high bowed or forward pilothouse trawlers that sheer back and forth at anchor. These are small sails mounted at the stern of the boat that serve as feathers on an arrow, keeping the bow pointed toward the wind. A small 20 or 30 sq. ft. sail will usually suffice. Recent research at MIT shows that a small riding sail will substantially reduce anchor loads by minimizing sheering. Finally, under the windy conditions in which get home and steadying sails are used, there is a lot of stress on the mast and stays. The rigging should be sized primarily for the stiffness of the boat not for the sail area. While a 150 sq. ft. sail area daysailer may get by with 1/8" wire rope for mast stays, a trawler using the same sail might need to upgrade the stays to 1/4". Most of the force on the sail is translated to downward pressure on the mast and upward pull on the windward stay. Typically trawlers are not constructed to resist deck compression forces and the structure under the mast may have to be reinforced or a compression post installed to transfer load to the keel. Using sails as roll dampers is even harder on the rig than steady sailing and the chainplates, the places where the mast side stays are attached, must be firmly fixed to the hull structure and not just the cabin sides. The ultimate disclaimer, of course, is to have your get home or steadying rig designed by a good naval architect. Larry Z
Feadship Motorsailor ex-Rob I have seen the Rob yesterday in the Netherlands I think and has been converted in a motoryacht.
Motor sailor If there is a smooth changeover from a motorboat towards a true sailing boat, this boat with its steadying sails is much more on the motor boat side. This example below, of a 40 meter Jongert, is IMO a true motor sailor. It does not sail very well and it is not performing very well under engine power (underpowered). A motor sailor, a bit of both worlds but nothing perfect. With todays naval architecture and computer designed hulls and riggs, the time of a motor sailor is over. A term of the past. Modern, larger sailboats perform perfectly under sail and cruise under engine power for several thousend miles.
Well that's Perini Navi out of business then. Done and dusted. Hands washed. Perini Navi Group Fleet | PERINI NAVI
I don't think that motorsailers are history. I sure would like to have one of these Rhodes 44 http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/178266-post107.html ...or one of these Aldens http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/178813-post108.html
Do not get me wrong. I am just saying, the term Motorsailer is a thing of the past. With todays knowledge and technology, you can have a perfect sailing boat, which is performing under engine also very well. The old type heavy long keel motorsailer was a symbiosys of both worlds but nothing perfect. Long keeled sailboats are left for the classical design (Meteor type or J-class). As far as maneuvering and sailing performance and even seaworthiness is concerned, they are not needed anymore. Perini Navis are good sailboats. But with todays aluminum (Alustar) technology, a steel hulled sailboat IMHO is out of date. Even PN is changing to Alu. Look at boats like Athena, Twizzle, Mystere and many more examples from those yards, they are the future of larger sailing boats. GRP / CRP is great for the racing minded owner. The owner, who likes performance but wants a lasting and sturdy sailing vessel will be more than happy with an Alustar hull with modern underwater body and leave the carbon part for the rig. I still love historical and clasical sailboats. Yesterday, I acted as skipper on an more than 120 year old wooden shooner during a tall ship race in the German bay. Piloting this type of vessel is an unbelievable amount of fun but for personal use? Far to much maintenance, to much crew, very hard work, maneuvers like a slowpoke, bad performance under engine (barely beats the tide). Competing with us were some large Dutch sailing vessels (former cargo vessels, converted into square rigger barks, barkentines and brigantines and some schooner) They do not performe very well either and look awfull as well. We were at least the best looking vessel, from the aestethic point of view . The most important thing is not to win but to take part! (Pierre de Coubertin)
This is an example of a true Motorsailer, the Nauticat 44 (still in production !). It is not a bad sailer but the upwind performance is not by far as good as with a "real" sailboat. Very good quuality boat, made in Finnland. The also build smaller ones, 38 and 33 ft and a bigger one, 52 or 55 ft. And they come with different rigging, Schooner, Ketch and Sloop. You will find some of them on the used boat market.
While that Nauticat 44 looks like a nice vessel, it just doesn't do it for me 'looks wise'. I prefer the Rhodes 'Discoverer model' or this Alden 57 footer. BTW I need to correct that link I gave above for the Alden http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/178813-post108.html
Rob 2. I have bring the ship from Brest tot Holland to converted to a motoryacht for the new owner. Having a lot of problems on sea. Firs the Lips was not working and afteer lossing sterring in havy sea near by the cannal . pick-up by marines from my securite massage. The ship have a verry special story of live. Driven by Caterpillar 680 Pk and Vosper wave stem on old girosysteem . But nice ship