Power Options

Looking for the group's advice on power for my '63 Cal 28. The boat is currently in Ventura California. Currently have a 4HP Mercury (normal shaft length) outboard. Is 4 HP enough power? If not, what would be appropriate? Does the Cal 28 require an outboard with a long or extra long shaft? What abot switching to an inboard? Pros vs cons? I'm a newbie and appreciate any & all advice. Thx

Welcome to the list, there are lots of Cals in our area, I am in Channel Islands Marina. Do you have a flush deck the later cabin top version? I have the Cal 29 and have seen transom mounted outboards on them. They had the 9.9 hp Yamahas. I think as rough and bumpy as our waters get you would need a long shaft. Especially in front of  Ventura Harbor entrance. It seems to get a lot more big rollers than CI. I raced on an Olson 30 for years and when the seas roll in and there is little to no wind early in the day the little 3 hp short shaft just keep popping out of the water. Cheers Randy Cal 2-29 Out Patient -- Sent from my Palm Pixi On Dec 6, 2010 5:43, Grey <gr… [at] gmail.com> wrote:   Looking for the group's advice on power for my '63 Cal 28. The boat is currently in Ventura California. Currently have a 4HP Mercury (normal shaft length) outboard. Is 4 HP enough power? If not, what would be appropriate? Does the Cal 28 require an outboard with a long or extra long shaft? What abot switching to an inboard? Pros vs cons? I'm a newbie and appreciate any & all advice. Thx

On 12/6/2010 8:42 AM, Grey wrote: > > Looking for the group's advice on power for my '63 Cal 28. The boat is > currently in Ventura California. Currently have a 4HP Mercury (normal > shaft length) outboard. Is 4 HP enough power? If not, what would be > appropriate? Does the Cal 28 require an outboard with a long or extra > long shaft? What abot switching to an inboard? Pros vs cons? > 4 hp will move your boat if there are no significant seas or wind. It's OK for moving around a marina. I was using a 3 hp temporarily on my Cal 20 and it was a bit feeble when powering into the wind and small chop. The usual OB is a 6 hp. My other boat, a 26' keel boat, uses an 8 hp Merc in a well. It still has prop ventilation problems if crew goes forward in seas. I love outboards for the ease of maintenance, replacement, & repair. Unclamp it, take it home. Chris Campbell

When choosing an outboard you should go with at least 8HP for this size boat, also with a long shaft. An important option is to get one with an alternator which could also charge your batteries. Nick "Jade" Cal 9.2 From: "Chris" <cc… [at] lsnm.org> To: "Cal Boats" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, December 6, 2010 11:33:03 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Power Options On 12/6/2010 8:42 AM, Grey wrote: Looking for the group's advice on power for my '63 Cal 28. The boat is currently in Ventura California. Currently have a 4HP Mercury (normal shaft length) outboard. Is 4 HP enough power? If not, what would be appropriate? Does the Cal 28 require an outboard with a long or extra long shaft? What abot switching to an inboard? Pros vs cons? 4 hp will move your boat if there are no significant seas or wind. It's OK for moving around a marina. I was using a 3 hp temporarily on my Cal 20 and it was a bit feeble when powering into the wind and small chop. The usual OB is a 6 hp. My other boat, a 26' keel boat, uses an 8 hp Merc in a well. It still has prop ventilation problems if crew goes forward in seas. I love outboards for the ease of maintenance, replacement, & repair. Unclamp it, take it home. Chris Campbell

I have a '64 cal28 with an outboard that is in it's separate compartment below the cockpit (not sure what that is called). I would consider the length and orientation of the throttle arm on the outboard. The arm gets in the way and I can't close the compartment while the engine is in use. On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 10:57 AM, <ng… [at] comcast.net> wrote: > > > When choosing an outboard you should go with at least 8HP for this size > boat, also with a long shaft. An important option is to get one with an > alternator which could also charge your batteries. > > > > Nick "Jade" Cal 9.2 > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Chris" <cc… [at] lsnm.org> > To: "Cal Boats" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Monday, December 6, 2010 11:33:03 AM > Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Power Options > > > > On 12/6/2010 8:42 AM, Grey wrote: > > > > Looking for the group's advice on power for my '63 Cal 28. The boat is > currently in Ventura California. Currently have a 4HP Mercury (normal shaft > length) outboard. Is 4 HP enough power? If not, what would be appropriate? > Does the Cal 28 require an outboard with a long or extra long shaft? What > abot switching to an inboard? Pros vs cons? > > > 4 hp will move your boat if there are no significant seas or wind. It's > OK for moving around a marina. I was using a 3 hp temporarily on my Cal 20 > and it was a bit feeble when powering into the wind and small chop. The > usual OB is a 6 hp. My other boat, a 26' keel boat, uses an 8 hp Merc in a > well. It still has prop ventilation problems if crew goes forward in seas. > > > I love outboards for the ease of maintenance, replacement, & repair. > Unclamp it, take it home. > > Chris Campbell > > >

I fully agree with with Nick on the sizing and length. 8 horses would be a minimum for general use. Another note. I you can't find an old 2 stroke in decent condition, the present size cut-over for 4 strokes is 8 horses. The 6 horse 4 stroke is 60-70 lbs and is a single cylinder that rattles like an SOB. The 8 horse 4 stroke is a two cylinder at about 110 lbs. The 8, 10, and 15 are typically the same form factor and weight. Given that, I think the 10 would be good for the CAL 28. We use 6 and 8 on the CAL 25. One must always fight waves and wind with your engine at the least convenient times. If you can find a 2 stroke that works, it is typically a lighter engine. Cheers Charlie From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ng… [at] comcast.net Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 1:57 PM To: Cal Boats Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Power Options When choosing an outboard you should go with at least 8HP for this size boat, also with a long shaft. An important option is to get one with an alternator which could also charge your batteries. Nick "Jade" Cal 9.2 From: "Chris" <cc… [at] lsnm.org> To: "Cal Boats" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, December 6, 2010 11:33:03 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Power Options On 12/6/2010 8:42 AM, Grey wrote: Looking for the group's advice on power for my '63 Cal 28. The boat is currently in Ventura California. Currently have a 4HP Mercury (normal shaft length) outboard. Is 4 HP enough power? If not, what would be appropriate? Does the Cal 28 require an outboard with a long or extra long shaft? What abot switching to an inboard? Pros vs cons? 4 hp will move your boat if there are no significant seas or wind. It's OK for moving around a marina. I was using a 3 hp temporarily on my Cal 20 and it was a bit feeble when powering into the wind and small chop. The usual OB is a 6 hp. My other boat, a 26' keel boat, uses an 8 hp Merc in a well. It still has prop ventilation problems if crew goes forward in seas. I love outboards for the ease of maintenance, replacement, & repair. Unclamp it, take it home. Chris Campbell

Hi Guy, I have a Cal 28 which originally came with a extra long shaft Johnson 9.9 mounted directly on the transom (someone cut a hole in the transom to mount it). The motor itself was tired, so presently I'm using a 9.8hp Nissan 4 stroke long shaft. It's only 86 lbs and is a very nice engine. I mounted it on a kicker mount, with which you can raise the engine out of the water. This makes it easy to flush the engine with fresh water and keep it from getting fouled in salt water. As with any outboard, a high thrust prop is a plus because of reversing ability (exhaust gets redirected out the front of the prop, reducing cavitation), and allowing the outboard to reach its optimum RPM due to reduced pitch. I would think 8hp would be the smallest you want on a Cal 28, but I would recommend a 9.9. The 8 and 6 hp are usually the same engine, so everything on that engine is smaller and less beefier than the 9.9 version, which usually shares its design with the 15hp. The reason I use a 9.9 instead of a 15 here is because I don't have to license the boat if an engine smaller than 10hp is attached. The 9.8 pushes my Cal 28 around 5.2knots--maybe 5.5 knots with a totally clean bottom and calm seas. The biggest problem with transom or kicker mounted outboards is lack of maneuverability in harbour, especially if the outboard is out of reach from the cockpit as with the Cal 28. I developed a linkage system which connects the outboard to the tiller so the outboard turns with the tiller, so that takes care of that problem. I found a long shaft OK except in seas bigger than 2-3 feet, in which case the prop can pop free from the water, depending on how you attack the seas. The advantages of an outboard: 1. Easier maintenance--remove the outboard and work in a shop 2. Less expensive than inboard 3. No potential for diesel smell inside 4. Much easier to repower if necessary--in an emergency, your dingy kicker can be used in place of the main engine 5. You don't have to worry about a stuffing box leaking 6. Much easier to unfoul the prop, whether from seaweed or barnacles, or a tow line... 7. The engine can be raised right out of the water to be flushed, etc. 8. The implications of an engine fire are not nearly as catastrophic 9. The possibility of fuel vapours entering the bilge is greatly reduced 10. Lots of extra space inside due to no inboard Disadvantages: 1. I think they are louder in the cockpit, though an inboard may be louder when inside. They have an annoying "outboard" sound which really isn't very nice on a sailboat. 2. The prop can pop free from the water in heavy seas, or the outboard itself can get swamped 3. It really looks ugly and interferes with the nice lines of the Cal 28. This is a beautiful boat, and an outboard makes it look cheap. I've owned a sailboat with an inboard diesel as well, and I must admit, I think the advantages of an outboard far outweigh an inboard, but it really depends on your values. Disadvantage #3 may be enough for some people to go with an inboard. --Jim --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Grey" <gregorogers@...> wrote: > > Looking for the group's advice on power for my '63 Cal 28. The boat is currently in Ventura California. Currently have a 4HP Mercury (normal shaft length) outboard. Is 4 HP enough power? If not, what would be appropriate? Does the Cal 28 require an outboard with a long or extra long shaft? What abot switching to an inboard? Pros vs cons? > I'm a newbie and appreciate any & all advice. > Thx >

On 12/7/2010 1:11 PM, James wrote: > > As with any outboard, a high thrust prop is a plus because of > reversing ability (exhaust gets redirected out the front of the prop, > reducing cavitation), and allowing the outboard to reach its optimum > RPM due to reduced pitch. > When I bought the 8 hp two-stroke for my other boat, list members suggested a lower-pitched, high thrust prop. I bought a workboat prop which serves very well. > > > > 3. It really looks ugly and interferes with the nice lines of the Cal > 28. This is a beautiful boat, and an outboard makes it look cheap. > This is why I've kept my 6 hp in the Cal 20's outboard well instead of putting it on a transom bracket. On the bracket, it's out of the cockpit, out of the water when not used, and not dragging my speed down. But it looks awful. Last summer it wasn't working, so I sailed half the summer with no motor at all. But then I fixed it and put it back in, just in time for late-summer doldrums when it was useful for getting back to the mooring. Chris Campbell

I have a 1965 Cal 28 that has a 9 hp outboard. Anything less and you are probably under powered, particularly once you are out of a bay.

On 12/7/2010 11:06 PM, We The People wrote: > > I have a 1965 Cal 28 that has a 9 hp outboard. Anything less and you > are probably under powered, particularly once you are out of a bay. > Of course, that's when you ought to be sailing anyway.... Chris Campbell > > > >