Does anyone have feedback on Devlin's Lit'l Coot mini motorsailer

[bhanchett]

I had a motorsailer for 11 years and liked the visibility and livability of it.  The Sam Devlin Lit'l Coot is small but I like it's looks and it doesn't look like a major project.  It wouldn't be a fast boat but without the full keel option, would it be a comfortable boat.  I live on Lake Huron so it can kick up but there is usually warning before she blows hard.  I'm interested in your opinions.

 

Thanks,

Bill

[bhanchett]

There are full keel and shoal draft versions, approx. 18 feet long

[Howard]

I guess none of us are much help with this one.

 

On the topic of Lake Huron and weather, I was watching that big winter storm from a few weeks ago and at one time, the a NE wind was blowing down Lake Michigan a steady 40 to 50 knots and gusts to 55 and 60. Waves in a few places were reported to 20 and 25 feet. I suspect you may have seen the same thing?

 

Where were the Weather Chanel guys and video of those waves walloping the breakwaters and jetties? I once mentioned something similar to a friend of mine who keeps a boat near Nags Head. I told him I thought it would be nice to see some video of the Hurricane waves out off the breakwaters and boardwalks along the surf. He said he would like to see them too and suggested I come down to hold the camera.

[bhanchett]

I had a 29' Bayfield Cutter and decided when I retired in 1996 I'd like to do the Great Loop trip.  We needed some life jackets went to the September Mt. Clemen's In-The-Water boat show.  I ended up buying a 33' Nauticat Pilothouse Ketch.  We planned on going up the east side of Michigan, through the Mackinaw Bridge and down the west side of Michigan before going across to Chicago and into the river system.  We started two weeks later on October 14th and unfortunately most of Michigan's state marinas closed on October 15th.  The Nauticat had a lot of bells & whistles we weren't used to and it was a scary trip just because I knew if anything went wrong, I probably couldn't fix it.  We also had a hard time finding fuel and food though when we found a place to stop, everyone was friendly and loaned us cars for shopping trips and we found a few private marinas where we could still buy fuel. We reached South Haven, MI, across Lake Michigan from Chicago, in early November.  The next day, 'the Gales of November' started and that means big storms on the Great Lakes.  The waves on the lake were about 14’ and spray routinely went over the lighthouse at the entrance of the channel.  After the first week, we thought we were stuck there for the winter so I had the masts pulled and fastened them on the fore & aft deck and pilothouse top.  Then we had a day of lowered wind and only 5’ waves so thought we’d try to get to Chicago, about 68 nm.  We went out through the South Haven channel and were out about half a mile when the masts started to slide around.  I told my girlfriend to take the wheel (for the first time ever), keep the bow into the wind (how?), and I ran out to secure the masts better.  I was able to refasten the masts, ran back into the pilothouse, and we spun around and headed back into the channel where we surfed back into town on 8’ waves.  The channel walls seemed like they were only 10’ on each side of the boat.  I still remember the exhilaration and fear of that ride.  The next day waves were back up and then we had 8”on snow on the deck that night.  That was the same night that Buffalo, NY received 49” of snow.  On the 12^th day, the waves were down to 3’ and we took off again.  By the time we arrived in Chicago, the water was glassy.  The next day we entered the Illinois River system and started another part of life. 

 

Yeah, we have waves.

 

Bill

[Howard]

I suppose there are worse things that could happen than being holed up somewhere with a girlfriend for days on end. Or depending on how that worked out, you might end up with an ex girlfriend.

 

So did you finish the Loop?

[bhanchett]

We took the Ten-Tom route and arrived in Mobile a couple of days before Christmas, about 75 days from our start, met with family, and then went over to Slidell, north of New Orleans on Lake Pontchartrain.  We left the boat there over the hot-hot summer and came back to Michigan for some contract work.  In the fall we headed back on board and then went on the inter-coastal to Florida.  After a hellish trip across the gulf, we stopped in Tampa for a while, the keys, and then came back up the east coast and have stayed in Michigan since.  I sold the Nauticat a couple of years ago.  She's in Oregon now and has been to Alaska without me.  It was all a great experience, one of my best.  

 

By the way, my girlfriend is still with me though there were some problems when I asked her to jump from the bow to the pier with a line once.

 

Bill

[Hirilonde]

By the way, my girlfriend is still with me though there were some problems when I asked her to jump from the bow to the pier with a line once.

 

That is a minor issue.  If you can go long distance cruising with her and still be together, then something is right.

[Greg Luckett]

Bill, I live in Saint Joseph, MI. I use to own a Catalina 22 wing keel and had similar experience with Lake Michigan. I sold her, bought a slightly bigger boat, rarely used it, then sold it, at a loss, and have not been sailing since. That was several years ago. I do motor homing now instead. My Spindrift 12S is all I really need anymore.

Greg.

[Charles Treichel]

Being that this thread has sorta morphed into tales of boating on the great lakes I will interject some comments.   Most of my experience started on small N. WI lakes and then Lakes Superior and Michigan.  Toured the Apostles in a wooden 18' Thompson all the way out to Outer Island.  Never want to do that again!  Later, my outings were in a 21' deep v by Cruisers.  I guess I have been to just about all those Islands including a few trip to Isle Royale - spectacular!  I have been caught in bad weather on many occasions.  On the great lakes, those storms can develop in less than 15 minutes.  Once rescued a sinking boat off of The Door penninsula in Lake Michigan.  3 priests without life jackets who appeared to be on the verge of accepting their fate in a fishing boat up to the gunnels with water, I  tossed them some preservers and towed them a few miles to small rocky inlet of a private safe harbor.  Cut them loose and luckily they drifted into the inlet.  Made our way back to the marina, had dinner and as the sun was setting drove back to the location where I thought I must have cut thems loose.  A caretaker gave us our lines and life preservers but I never heard another word.

Now my boating takes place in the San Juans, out of Anacortes,  WA where I keep my boat on a mooring.  It is a 21' C-Dory and has the advantage of being relatively fast and economical, and I can slide in on the numerous beachs in just a few inches of water.   The weather here seems to be very predictable with very few storms picking up spontaneously.  The water, however is just as cold.  And the turbulance from the tide changes can be something to behold, especially for a midwesterner.  

[Frank Hagan]

I love the design. I guess she would go about 6 - 8 knots with a 10 HP outboard, right? Devlin makes great looking designs.

[bhanchett]

They don't say on the Devlin website but I calculate about 6.5 knots unless you overdrive it with the motor, Honda 9.9 recommended.  The website is (http://store.devlinboat.com/litlcoot--fullkeel.aspx)  I think Devlin sounds a lot happier with the full keel version rather than the shoal draft he originally drew up.  I have a fiberglass Gloucester 20 that I'd like to adopt to a keel vs. the present centerboard since there is no room in the cabin presently.  I purchased the boat and trailer very cheaply after the previous owner put a charcoal grill away in the cockpit locker while still hot.  The grill rekindled and started a fire that burned away the cabin interior headliner.  The Gloucester hull profile is very much like the Little Coot and I had high hope to go with the shoal draft underbody on it but I guess that's out.  I'd also like to go with the pilothouse topsides on the Gloucester.  Com-Pac did that with their 23', shown below, and it looks great.  I also like their Scheel keel.  As always, any comments appreciated.  I don't know if my ideas are too far out.  

Bill