I'm an Aussie, working on Duke of York Island, off the coast of Papua
New Guinea, as a volunteer teacher. I'm teachiung maritime studies;
navigation, boat building, fisihing etc. The school is dirt poor... me
too.
My boys and I have managed to salvage a GRP eighteen foot trailer
sailer. The deck is pretty buggered, and has been removed (by the
surf) but the hull, and centreboard (which is lead, about 150kg and
which I removed) aren't too bad. I intend to fit a keel, and make a
work boat for the school out of it; to teach the kids fibre glass
repair, and FAD deployment, and other boaty things.
I'm not exactly sure whether I should treat this as a displacement or
planing hull. Therefore, I'm not exactly sure what size outboard to
use. Banana boats are ubiquitous here, and everybody speaks in Yamaha,
40 hp terms, but that'd push the arse out of this little boat, and she
would be trying to climb her own bow wave.
Any help would be appreciated, and since I haven't got ready access to
the net (we haven't even got a telephone), replies copied to
would be appreciated.
Size of outboard? Central or offset?
Rigs, spars and sails from native materials? Bamboo/kokonas?
What else should I ask?
Tenk yu tru... That's Pigin for thanks a lot.
Geoff P