Bill McKee wrote:
"Jeff" wrote in message
But what if it wasn't the engine but the genset? What if the engine was
running but the transmission was broken. Or not warmed up enough to put
in gear? If the sail is drawing you have to treat it as a sailboat. (And
yes, I've seen a sailboat powering into the wind with the sail luffing,
insisting the he has right of way over other sailboats!)

Motor running power boat. Not warm enough engine? Same could be said for
any motor driven boat.

Oh really??? Is it that common for "motor driven boats" to deliberately
leave a slip or mooring before the engine is warmed up? I think its
pretty obvious that no powerboater would want to be underway with engine
that needs a few minutes before it can be trusted, but in fact many
sailboats are in precisely that situation every time they return to port.

Example: On my previous boat, I would generally power only within a few
hundred yards of the slip, both leaving and returning. But the engine,
an elderly Westerbeke, needed about 5 minutes before it could be put in
gear without stalling. This meant that anytime time I came back from a
long sail with a cold engine, I had to sail through a busy harbor with
an engine running that was not available for use.

Someone stated Americas Cup boats could run a
generator during a race. Races are controlled areas, and AC boats do not
have props as far as I know.

So, are you claiming that running a genset really does make a sailboat a
powerboat???

Plus there is no right of way in maritime law.

Not strictly true, but since its clear you've never actually read the
rules, we'll forgive you for that.

And you should note that no one, other than the unnamed straw man, has
claimed "right of way;" I only mentioned obligations. And that is at
the heart of this. A Sailboat is still a Sailboat if "propelling
machinery ... is not being used", but it still has an obligation to
avoid a collision.