Hi Dick. 

I'm about 1/4 of the way through my Peeler build and am thinking about selecting the motor.  I'll be in Long Island Sound as well as the Connecticut river most of the time.  At the mouth of the river with the tide going out and traveling upsteam with 4 adults on board has me wondering if a 9.9 HP is enough or should I go with a 15 HP (I've paddled it in my Shearwater 17 plenty of times and it's a workout).   

If you have experience in similar conditions I'd appreciate your expereince with the 9.9HP.

Thanks in advance,

Scott

Scott,

The closest thing I've experienced to your conditions would be the mouth of the Merrimac River at Newburyport, MA.  I used to push a Pacific Seacraft Flicka with a 9hp inboard through there. At peak flow, it was slow, but the boat made headway with full control.

I picked the 9.9hp Yamaha outboard for a number of reasons:

1. It's dead reliable. It's never taken more than one pull to start if properly primed and has never quit on me.
2. It sips fuel when the throttle is not wide open.
3. It's pretty light. I can lift it.
4. It will plane with 3 aboard if the weight is distributed properly. I have a low console and sit on the forward part of the cockpit seats.
5. I have a low tolerance for serious pounding so I tend not to go too fast when out on Narragansett Bay.
6. Many states have higher taxes and more operating restrictions on motors 10 hp and up, and many lakes and ponds do not allow motors 10 hp and up.

That being said, a Peeler Skiff will take a 15 hp motor, but for the above reasons, I'd recommend the Yamaha F9.9 High Thrust for saltwater use. I bought my motor in 2014 and Yamaha stopped putting the remote steering, shift, and throttle connections on the F9.9 the year before. However, the service manager at my Yamaha dealer had no difficulty making everything work with my center console.

I also don't think you can go wrong with the Yamaha F15. It's about the same weight and you control the throttle. It is a just more expensive.

Cheers,

Dick

   I am not far from where Dick keeps his Peeler and have 15hp Mercury remote. I built mine with the intension of running a 15 so I doubled up on the 6oz. fiberglass cloth on the bottom and took extra care with the fillets. It handles well and I can get 20mph on flat water.

HOWEVER, being a flat bottomed boat, it WILL knock your liver loose if you push it in a chop. It also it can do some interesting gyrations if broadsided with large boat wakes or steep seas. It also is affected by wind more than you might expect.

Whichever you choose you may want to consider mounting some sort of lifting foil on your motor. I have a Dol-Fin on mine and it handles much better, especially with a load.

This boat handles like a bigger boat so I have to keep reminding myself it isn't.

Scott - I have a Peeler that lives in the water with a 10hp Yamaha high thrust, tiller steered with electric start and power tilt.  It is a great motor as long as fresh gas is kept in it.  While I have always used the recommended Yamaha additive and run it dry after every use, I still had the carb replaced after the first off season (under warranty).  That would not dissuade me from buying another, but it is much more particular than the 2hp Honda on my sailboat.  While 10hp is adequate, I would probably opt for the 15 - I think it is the same weight as the 10.

Dick - I used to keep a boat in Wickford - it is a great place.  Keep an eye on the areas painted with Brightsides that will remain wet now that you live in the water.  I have confirmed that Brightsides is great in all areas that don't stay wet - check your bootstripe and the after end of your bilge after a season.

Jeff

Jeff,

I stripped all the Brightsides off the bottom (below where the build manual says to strike the waterline) and applied 2 coats of Interlux Fiberglass Bottomkote NT. Interlux does warn against submerging Brightsides for over a week or so. Next week I'm installing an automatic bilge pump to keep the rain water from collecting.

I've not had any issues following Yamaha's fuel instructions and fuel additive. The additive is supposed to prevent fuel oxidation in the tank. My F9.9 is in her 5th season and has never taken more than 2 pulls to start and has never quit on me. As the son of a Naval Aviator, I watch fuel levels like a hawk. I do change oil, filters, and plugs every off-season.

Cheers,

Dick

Bob (catboater),

I don't use a Dol-Fin but recommend it. The Peeler is sensitive to fore-and-aft trim and can squat badly. I built my console forward of the cockpit seats to move the weight forward. A Dol-Fin accomplishes the same thing with a tiny drag penalty that is far outweighed by the improved trim.

I have 3 layers of glass on the bottom and built with good fillets the boat is tremendously strong. No issues handling 15 hp. Maybe I like the 9.9 hp motor because I've spent most of my time under 10 knots in sailboats. I definitely do not like pounding in chop.

Cheers,

Dick

Dick,

Let us know how the bildge pump works out.  Short of a sponge I have never seen anything that will remove all of the water, especially on a flat bottomed boat.  My Peeler has always had an automatice pump but it doesn't remove all of the water and the after 12" or so stays wet = Brightsides blisters.  To date Kiwi Grip is much more tolerant of water, and is also really easy to apply.

Jeff

Jeff,

A large sponge is definitely required to remove the last bit of water. When she lived on the trailer, the drain plug was about 1/8th inch above the low point. Rainwater always remained in the stern under the cockpit seats, It took a sponge to get it dry there. The Brightside never blistered (even though Interlux warns about it). Maybe it was because I didn't use PreKote, but painted 2 coats directly on resin that had been roughed up by 89 grit. I was going for a flat workboat finish.

Cheers,

Dick

That was 80 grit. Fat fingers.   

My apologies, I previously stated that the Yamaha F 9.9 and the F 15 weighed the same. Not true. F 9.9 weighs 87 pounds, the F 15 weighs 111 pounds. Forry.   

Jeff,

You asked me to let you know how the bilge pump worked out. Well, About Time is out of the water and in storage for the winter. The bilge pump worked perfectly and the solar charger kept the 12V battery topped off. As you noted earlier, the bilge pump cannot get the last 1/2 inch of rainwater in the stern. I bought a couple of humongous bailing sponges that made quick work of the remaining water when I needed to. I was worried that the Brightside paint might bubble where the deck (inside bottom) stayed wet for as much as a week. I'm happy to report that there was no bubbling, despite Interlux's warnings. I had put down 2 layers of glass and resin on the inside bottom, so the Brightside had a solid moisture-resistant base. Maybe that helped.

Cheers,

Dick

I have been off of my build for several months.  I did the initial install of the splash rails to get them partially shaped, followed the directions by draping some plastic over the sides so nothing would stick. Went to remove them to do the finish shaping and its no go. The screws are stuck fast. I used the recommended dry wall screws. I thought about lubricating them, but did not. Now I am really flumoxed. I can't be the first guy to do this. I am sure the epoxy must have gotten on the screws as they penetrated through. Any ideas how to free them up? I tried hammering a philips head screwdriver thinking the vibration might help, but no luck. At this pooint I'll try nearly anything to get them loose. Thanks.

���If it's the epoxy, try heat. For getting stitches out of epoxy, I would use a soldering gun to the wire. The conducted heat softens the epoxy and the wire can be pulled out. Same with the screw. It shouldn't take much.

Charles,

I had a few drywall screws refuse to back our of the spray rails myself. I used a carbide-tipped drill bit and ground them down about 3/16 inch and filled the holes with epoxy and wood flour. Haven't seen any sign of them after five years of saltwater use.

Cheers,

Dick   

Thanks guys, heat helped and persistence with hammer drill. Did have to cut one and used a drift punch to knock the remnants out. I have the spray rails shaped now and when they go on for good I will lube the screws!

Charlie D