Speed of a Core Sound with an outboard?

[Adrian]

G'day,

I have read the previous posts about the what size outboard would be most appropriate for a Core Sound, but I am still a tad confused and have couple of quick questions:

Does the Core Sound series plane under power or are they really displacement/semi displacement designs?

What sort of speed are we talking about here?

What size motor would be needed to move right along in a Coresound 17?

Would putting a 9.9 or 15hp mtor on the back adversely affect the boats sailing ability if that's what is needed to get the boat to semi displacement/planing speeds.

I ask as I am looking for a rough water fishing boat that I can use in SW Western Australia. Typically I would like to motor out to the fishing grounds 2-8 km down the coast in the morning (swell normally 1-3 m) and then fish until the inevitable stong easterly comes up 20kts + (with the associated wind chop) and then run for home under sail. Do you think that the boat would cope with this sort of useage?

I ask as it seems that this boat might be able to do all this and still be rowable, a rare combination indeed!

Thanks in advance,

Adrian

[mustangermatt]

I think the Core sound COULD do what you suggest. But I think you could be alot more comfortable in a deeper heavier boat. The swell wouldn't be an issue from my experience on the coresound, but sailing into a chop of any size is slow, wet, and abrupt. Motoring is the worst since you lose the massive roll dampening of the sails as Joe Nelson could probably tell you after his Sucia trip.

I have never owned a more versatile boat then my Coresound 17, but some blue water comfort is traded for performance, draft, etc. If you really want to enjoy her strong sailing abilities find 15-20 knots of wind and water as flat as you can so she can accelerate to a plane.

If it is blue water you must have, invest in a mustang suit and reef points, seat belts may be a good idea too :-) Hittin a 3' chop at 8-9 knots in a 500 pound boat is like hitting the curb at 30 in your toyota celica.

If you can fall off the wind a bit and ease over the chop at a shallow angle then life gets really really good! I love the way the boat feels in these conditions.

[Adrian]

Mmmm, that's got me thinking. I would probably only use the motor to motor out before the wind kicked in and for emergencies, but I would certainly face regular swells topped off with a healthy wind chop. Come to think of it though I tend to fish so that when the wind gets up I have a down wind run/reach home so I probably wouldn't be running directly into the chop very much.

I definitely take your point though, a heavier boat would certainly be more comfortable, but I want to be able to launch, retrieve from a beach singlehanded and be able to pull the boat above the high tide mark, so a light boat is a higher priority (I think).

Given this scenario, how does the boat handle a following sea? My tinny (aluminium boat, 14' long) is decidedly dodgy in these conditions and even worse into a chop and I was hoping that a Core Sound would be more seaworthy and stable, especially under sail.

Thanks for the input,

Adrian

[mustangermatt]

Good points. I had forgotten why I own the coresound myself. When compareded to your aluminium boat, you will think your in a luxury yacht. I sail in the northwest US and western canada, so we have alot of steep tall chop from wind and strong tides.

On my last overnight trip (see post on Sucia Matia Islands) we encountered gusts to 30 and 4-6 foot "wind waves". When our destination was on a reach we just dropped the main and sailed on the mizzen in the trough. Wind pressure on the sail keeps the roll to a comfortable level, and since we weren't having to go over the seas we were moving at hull speed or better.

The times we encounter these conditions and the destination is upwind, we change our destination :-)

I have said it before, this boat handles weather I would never expect a 17 foot skiff to cope with, and I have made my living on ships so I have something to compare it to. All the kicker boats and fishing skiffs in the same size range are long gone before the coresound starts to get uncomfortable.

[Adrian]

The conditions you describe sound pretty robust! It's good to hear that the boats will cope with prudent handling; it must be good to have a variety of reefing/sail options when the weather pipes up.

Although sailing would be my primary interest I am still curious how fast a Core Sound 17 would go with a motor on a flat (ish) sea and what might be a good size motor to get out to the fishing grounds at a reasonable speed?

Thanks,

Adrian

Ps. I have just seen the photos of your Sucia Matia trip, good scenery, good weather and with the family too, that's what it's all about!

[Ken_Potts]

It seems I remember an aluminum Core Sound boat out there somewhere that was built primarily for outboard power. Can anyone provide more detail on that one? It might shed some light on the speed issue.

[Rob Blackburn]

Well, if you want my opinion.. and here it comes... a big motor would require a fair bit of a rethink on some of the design/strength around the transom to start with. I have a 20 footer and have managed to crack the transom / hull join with it at a max speed of 6.5 knots at Wide Open Throttle.

It would also be a wet ride.

Rob

[Terry Dunn]

I have a CS 20 with 5 hp outboard. My GPS recorded 8.7 mph max between Anacortes and Friday Harbor and 10.1 max between Deer Harbor and Friday Harbor this past week. That is moving over ground in miles per hour. I did not pay any attention to the direction of the tide.

I think 5 hp is plenty for the boat. I ran part throttle most of the time at 6 mph. I have not used the motor near as much as Rob has so his insight regarding potential hull issues is valuable.

Terry