I would think that any small boat capable of planing under sail would
be capable of planing (with dagger board raised) propelled by an
outboard. The trick I would think would be to arrive at the minimum
requirements for the outboard i.e. have the required power and at the
required minimum weight ... not well put, but you know what I mean.

OT: I saw a few years back at a boat show, a self-propelled surf board.
It used a relatively powerful jet propulsion system. A bit bizarre but
one of those turbo engines would likely meet the power/weight
requirement ... not that I would want to be in the boat with one of
them ... noisy or what.

Are there many sail boats that can plane under sail regularly? The Sunfish
would, on a broad reach with a stiff breeze and a light crew (I gave away
some 40 lbs to my competitors and did not profit from the conditions).
Position of the engine weight (OK, the total CG) would also be critical.

A few inches of daggerboard, or equivalent, are needed to give the rudder
something to work against. Popping the daggerboard out momentarily is a
useful trick on the Sunfish; you pivot about the rudder, but ...

Your last line is a show stopper to me. As a stunt, it might work, but as
an investment worth owning????

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"bowgus" wrote in message
oups.com...

I would think that any small boat capable of planing under sail would
be capable of planing (with dagger board raised) propelled by an
outboard. The trick I would think would be to arrive at the minimum
requirements for the outboard i.e. have the required power and at the
required minimum weight ... not well put, but you know what I mean.

OT: I saw a few years back at a boat show, a self-propelled surf board.
It used a relatively powerful jet propulsion system. A bit bizarre but
one of those turbo engines would likely meet the power/weight
requirement ... not that I would want to be in the boat with one of
them ... noisy or what.

In outboard mode, no rudder req'd :-). As to that jetboat mod, the
engine would be low and inboard ... I myself,as mentioned, could not
tolerate the noise. As to daggerboard, I guess our styles differ ... in
a dingy/on a wind surfer on a broad reach and plane, up comes the
daggerboard ... take care though else yer rockin an rollin :-) And hey,
no boat is an investment :-)

I'd guess you must have had some sort of hard chine or other lateral area
forward. I calibrated my daggerboard with a felt tip marker: 3" for
running, 9" for a close reach, and full down for beating. With zero
protrusion, my Sunfish pivots about the rudder! No style here, it just
can't be pointed with the rudder.

The return on your investment is hours of pleasure/use. A friend spent
several years restoring a trawler. Two months after he finished, he'd sold
it. His comment was "You can only run up and down the river so many times."
I have a dinghy that's been sailed exactly once -- bad investment.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"bowgus" wrote in message
oups.com...
As to daggerboard, I guess our styles differ ... in
a dingy/on a wind surfer on a broad reach and plane, up comes the
daggerboard ... take care though else yer rockin an rollin :-) And hey,
no boat is an investment :-)

thiswebsite has links to several designers that might have something to
fit you desires. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/